Steering guard - Will I - Won't I?

[Disco_Stu]

Hi all.

Some of you may remember I had my winch bumper nicked a while back. Well, I've got a new one ready to go on now, and its gonna be bolted and welded to the car so no thievin scrubber can make off with it this time!

My dilemma is this.

I quite fancy a steering guard but I'm aware that a lot of people now prefer to go with DAN or Sumo bars instead. I need to decide if I'm going to fit one or not pretty sharpish because once the bumper is on I'm welding the bolts and thats that! (I'm assuming steering guards use the same chassis holes as the bumper).

Now, if I do decide to fit a guard, which make? Steel or alli? Weight is a factor, there will be a winch bumper, winch and steel rope on the front. Are alli that much lighter etc? Price is a factor also, cheap is good as long as quality isnt compromised too much.

Any advice would be welcome,

Stu.

[ChrisW]

The steering guard only uses one bolt on either chassis rail that will be common with the bumper - weld the other two bumper bolts but leave the lower bumper mounting bolt, that way if you ever decide in the future to fit one you can.

[Disco Matt]

I've got the Bearmach aluminum one on mine - it seems pretty good. It will bend if you land on it but isn't that hard to remove and straighten with a handy concrete path and sledgehammer.

Can you get some form of tamper-proof bolts? Just thinking welding it will be a pain if you have to remove it to work on something else (or if it gets damaged) later.

[Bulli]

i have both steering guard and heavy duty bars, cant be too careful and weve had a winch a few straight to get home lol

just weld the bolt ends...easiest.

[Disco_Stu]

just weld the bolt ends...easiest.

Thats the plan. Need an angle grinder to shift em. Not too hard but you cant do it quietly :)

[crazymac]

I've got a steering guard fitted, and still managed to bend my steering bars ::)

So I now have Sumo bars on, and although I've kept the steering guard, I've only done it cos I can't be bothered to take it off

[boss]

sorry to hear about that mate...if you opt for a d44 bumper and get the steering guard to go with it it all bolts together really well and it looks bloody strong. its the only steering guard that ive seen with a brace going across it, if you look at alot of the others they have dents in the middle where they been hit. as for dan bars, good idea but i always thought you could easily get them caught on rocks......just my opinion lol

[freeagent]

I've got heavy duty bars and a steering guard.
I bent the standard bars after fitting the guard, so decided to upgrade to a set of the Britpart bars.. they are really well made (unlike most of their other stuff) and so far they haven't bent.

the main reason for fitting my steering guard was to gain front recovery points and jacking tubes, as the steel 'Paddocks' guard I have has both of these fitted...

I'm happy with my set up and will not be changing it, the steering guard now has a bend in it so it must be doing its job...