One of the quickest ways to make a vehicle look tougher is by adding a bullbar to the front. But is that all that a bullbar is suitable for, or does it have other functions?
A bullbar is a protective attachment on a vehicle's front, intended to protect the car and its occupants during a head-on collision with bulls and other wildlife on the road. It's also useful as a mounting point for lights and other accessories while improving the vehicle's aesthetics.
So, whether you’re in the market to buy a bullbar for a Hilux or just love how these things look, keep reading through this guide. You’ll learn what bullbars are suitable for and discover a couple of them that are proudly made in Australia!
Let’s get started.
What Is a Bullbar?
A bullbar is a metal bar that attaches to the front of a vehicle to serve as a protective barrier. Bullbars take many shapes and forms and come made from different materials.
In its most basic form, a bullbar is nothing more than a simple metal bar that stretches across the front grille, offering collision protection for the engine bay and the vehicle.
The purpose of a bullbar is to minimise damage to a car or truck during an accidental collision. Even the term ‘bullbar’ refers to the accessory and how it protects against unintentional collisions with bulls and other wild animals on the road.
Bullbars are also helpful in scenarios where collisions are deliberate. For instance, you’ll find many police vehicles equipped with them to be used when nudging a criminal’s car off the road or performing similar tasks.
These days, you can find bullbars in many different shapes, like the single-hoop option that forms a hoop over the radiator. Another example is the triple-hoop bar, which, as the name suggests, protects the vehicle with three metal bars on its front.
Traditionally, bullbars were made of metal to provide maximum protection. However, that material also adds a lot of weight to the vehicle. They’re still the standard option, but other materials like aluminium and plastic have also entered the market, each with its advantages.
Plastic bullbars, for example, offer less protection to a vehicle when colliding with anything hard, like another vehicle or a large animal. However, it reduces the chances of death if the vehicle collides with a pedestrian.
Bottom-line, bullbars offer additional protection for cars, trucks, and other vehicles by making them more capable of withstanding frontal impacts.
What Are Other Names for Bullbars?
Bullbars are known by many different names worldwide, so don't worry if you didn't recognise what it was.
Remember that the term ‘bullbar’ came from how some people used them to protect against collisions with wild bulls on the road. So, it should be no surprise that many people in Australia refer to their bullbars as ‘kangaroo bars’ or ‘roo bars’ instead.
Other names for the same thing include ‘nudge bars’ and ‘grille guards’.
Undoubtedly, you'll likely find other colloquial names for the bullbar, depending on where you are.
What Is a Bullbar Good for?
As mentioned, bullbars are meant to protect vehicles during collisions with other cars, animals, or even pedestrians. However, they also offer plenty of value in other ways.
For example, you can buy a bullbar for a Ford Ranger or other vehicles for one or more of the following reasons:
- Occupant protection: A bullbar doesn’t just protect the engine bay and vehicle body during a collision. Instead, it also ensures that the collision’s force is spread out, impacting the driver and passengers less. Doing so protects the vehicle’s occupants from injury and death.
- Mounting point: A bullbar is also handy for mounting other auto accessories. For instance, you'll notice that plenty of off-road vehicles mount spotlights on their bullbars. Besides that, the bullbar provides a place to wrap a cable used to tow or pull objects, like freeing a car stuck in the mud.
- Aesthetics: Lastly, bullbars are also an accessory you can use to personalise your vehicle and improve its look. Whether or not you use it for any of the reasons listed above, a bullbar gives any vehicle a more aggressive aesthetic, especially when viewed from the front.
By understanding how a bullbar is good for your vehicle, you’ll get a better sense of why it can be pretty pricey to have one installed.
Still, regardless of your reason for wanting one, remember that a bullbar is not something you want to skimp on.
Does a Bullbar Increase Fuel Consumption?
Yes, having a bullbar on your vehicle does increase its fuel consumption. That might not make sense at first, given that the bullbar is not mechanical and has no relation to your car’s engine.
But here are two reasons why a bullbar makes your engine burn more fuel:
- Aerodynamics: All vehicles are designed to optimise how air flows around them, also known as 'aerodynamics'. Adding an aftermarket bullbar has a negative effect on aerodynamics, causing more friction and forcing the engine to work just a bit harder to move the vehicle forward.
- Airflow: The bullbar sits in front of the vehicle's grille, restricting the airflow to the radiator and forcing the engine to work harder.
Adding a bullbar won't dramatically spike your car's fuel consumption, but your fuel spending will go up in the long run.
Are ARB Bullbars Made in Australia?
There are plenty of bullbar manufacturers on the market, but if you're looking for an Aussie-made option, ARB bullbars are an excellent choice. Their bullbars are designed and manufactured within the country’s borders, specifically at a state-of-the-art factory in Melbourne.
They’re not the only ones, either.
Ironman bullbars are also proudly Australian-made, designed, manufactured, and tested at facilities across the country.
Bullbars and other protective accessories are easy to find, but only if you know where to look. With just a few clicks, you can use CarpartAU's Directory to help you find the dealers and other automotive businesses in your area. Alternatively, the Marketplace has plenty of deals on secondhand parts that you'll find interesting.
By Ray Hasbollah