oem
08-07-2007, 09:27 PM
hello, i am new to this forum, but was lucky enough to be picked to test out fattie92's light bar on my 04 WRX wagon. the following thread will focus on the light bar itself, the installation, the practicability with lights and a road test. currently i have only installed the bar (without lights) and have driven with it on for a few days, i will have a more comprehensive road review within the week, along with mounting the lights. all comments will be objective and truthful. all questions regarding price and availability should be directed to fattie92. thanks
First off, when i pulled the bar out of the packaging the bar felt very solid. for testing purposes, not recommended after retail purchase, i decided to put pressure on the two welded joints, i did this by pressing the two radiator supports toward each other then away from each other (please see pic of bar below). though the bar would never experience this type of stress, this would be the weakest point of the bar and quickly bring out any design flaws. during the test the radiator supports did flex (.5" or so, as expected) they did not bend or feel stressed. for the next test, i grasped the bar and tried, one at a time, to bend each support in half, i quickly met with negative results. through these quick stress tests i found out that this bar is fairly stout and well made.
i knew these foam cores would come in handy at some point...
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198216_rfrrl/DVC00092.JPG
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198219_6xaa5/DVC00095.JPG
next to the finish and design of the bar. the bar is finished off with a rubber undercoating, the pros are that it keeps the price of the bar down and it is tough stuff (when it dries), the only con is that it will not win any beauty contests. Next for my bar a total of 10 holes were drilled for lights...no not for 10 light housings... but for flexibility in choosing housing sizes. i am not sure if the holes will be standard per bar or if each bar will be drilled per order, fattie92 will have to answer that question. but either way drilling new holes would not be difficult.
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198223_2wybr/DVC00099.JPG
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198222_plyhp/DVC00098.JPG
next i wanted to see the weight of the bar...from the pic you can see that the bar is only 5.4 lbs. before i received the bar i expected the bar to weight at least twice that.
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198214_5luk0/DVC00090.JPG
lastly i installed the bar...which took all of 5 minutes. step one: remove the two radiator support bolts step two: remove the two license plate screws, step three: place bar in position, step 4 &5: reverse steps one and two. be sure to tell your significant other that the installation will take most of the day along with the help of you buddy...at his house!!! this will give you at least 4 hours of free time.
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198224_nlz1w/DVC00100.JPG
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198225_caxwl/DVC00101.JPG
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198226_snqtn/DVC00102.JPG
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198228_zx6fk/DVC00104.JPG
as for the driving i have only driven without lights, but there is no noticeable shakes, squeaks or rattles coming from the front of the vehicle. i will be installing two sets of lights this week, one set of hella 500s and one set of hella FF1000s. I will update within a week, but i will field any questions you might have till then.
Thanks
Brad
First off, when i pulled the bar out of the packaging the bar felt very solid. for testing purposes, not recommended after retail purchase, i decided to put pressure on the two welded joints, i did this by pressing the two radiator supports toward each other then away from each other (please see pic of bar below). though the bar would never experience this type of stress, this would be the weakest point of the bar and quickly bring out any design flaws. during the test the radiator supports did flex (.5" or so, as expected) they did not bend or feel stressed. for the next test, i grasped the bar and tried, one at a time, to bend each support in half, i quickly met with negative results. through these quick stress tests i found out that this bar is fairly stout and well made.
i knew these foam cores would come in handy at some point...
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198216_rfrrl/DVC00092.JPG
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198219_6xaa5/DVC00095.JPG
next to the finish and design of the bar. the bar is finished off with a rubber undercoating, the pros are that it keeps the price of the bar down and it is tough stuff (when it dries), the only con is that it will not win any beauty contests. Next for my bar a total of 10 holes were drilled for lights...no not for 10 light housings... but for flexibility in choosing housing sizes. i am not sure if the holes will be standard per bar or if each bar will be drilled per order, fattie92 will have to answer that question. but either way drilling new holes would not be difficult.
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198223_2wybr/DVC00099.JPG
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198222_plyhp/DVC00098.JPG
next i wanted to see the weight of the bar...from the pic you can see that the bar is only 5.4 lbs. before i received the bar i expected the bar to weight at least twice that.
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198214_5luk0/DVC00090.JPG
lastly i installed the bar...which took all of 5 minutes. step one: remove the two radiator support bolts step two: remove the two license plate screws, step three: place bar in position, step 4 &5: reverse steps one and two. be sure to tell your significant other that the installation will take most of the day along with the help of you buddy...at his house!!! this will give you at least 4 hours of free time.
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198224_nlz1w/DVC00100.JPG
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198225_caxwl/DVC00101.JPG
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198226_snqtn/DVC00102.JPG
http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/thumbs/large/198228_zx6fk/DVC00104.JPG
as for the driving i have only driven without lights, but there is no noticeable shakes, squeaks or rattles coming from the front of the vehicle. i will be installing two sets of lights this week, one set of hella 500s and one set of hella FF1000s. I will update within a week, but i will field any questions you might have till then.
Thanks
Brad