Great idea for Exterior Drift Crash/Bash Bar

[wdkwang]

I was wondering why isn't anyone making bash bars that go over the bumper covers so that it'll protect the body/paint from taking damage from wall taps or crashes.

Something like this for the rear:


And creating something similar for the front in case of a failed wall tap

[godrifttoday]

Is that car a road race car?
Also, if u fail a wall attempt, the energy of the impact the bar i awesome would still go into your frame of your car.

[wdkwang]

No it's a pro drift car: The Story Behind the Bergenholtz Racing 2009 Mazda RX8 Formula D Pro Drift Car

If you fail a wall tap, the impact will be taken by the bash bar and be absorbed through the rest of the frame but it's better than bashing in your entire side/rear. Smashed quarter panel, trunk, taillights, wheels, suspension, list goes on.
It doesn't end there, once you tap too hard it's going to whip the front of your car to the wall and destroy that end too, which is why I think a exterior front bash bar is just as important.
The car could then be a real drift missile without all the damage

[godrifttoday]

"Spring loaded" ... That's the difference

[wdkwang]

Originally Posted by godrifttoday

"Spring loaded" ... That's the difference

This special custom spring loaded bash bar will do more to protect the bar than a regular bash bar but you can't deny the importance of have one when all the pro's use one. One example is a guy who crashed during a track day. His front bash bar was dented a little in the middle but his entire engine bay was untouched.

[cchondro]

now that Chelsea drives it, it gets the beating it deserves!

[fliprayzin240sx]

Not a bad idea but how many of us could actually afford something like this? How about you just not hit the wall? Alot of us daily our cars, last thing I need is something else to catch a cop's eye and reason to pull me over.

[wdkwang]

i understand not putting it on a daily but it's meant for the drift/track people. currently designed bash bars are $150-400. my idea would just be extending the bar out so it can mounted outside of the bumper covers.
i'm sure no one wants to hit a wall but shit happens all the time. pro's wreck their cars, even when they aren't wall tapping.

i was just testing the waters to see if there's enough interest from people for welders/fabricators to catch on and make these kind of bash bars, so it'll be cheaper than going to a guy for custom welding

[oni jake]

Originally Posted by wdkwang

No it's a pro drift car: The Story Behind the Bergenholtz Racing 2009 Mazda RX8 Formula D Pro Drift Car

If you fail a wall tap, the impact will be taken by the bash bar and be absorbed through the rest of the frame but it's better than bashing in your entire side/rear. Smashed quarter panel, trunk, taillights, wheels, suspension, list goes on.
It doesn't end there, once you tap too hard it's going to whip the front of your car to the wall and destroy that end too, which is why I think a exterior front bash bar is just as important.
The car could then be a real drift missile without all the damage

On the third page of that link there is a good picture of what's going on in the rear.



I went to FD in Seattle a year back and was blown away by being this car in person. Such an ingenious design to save the chassis from wall riding accidents. The idea behind all of this is to provide a way for force/energy to be diverted from the chassis. Some FD cars are built with a layered system, while others utilize shocks. There is tons of video of JTP's Mustang slamming against the wall at Long Beach and the ass end absorbs all of the would be damage. Search this.

Also, if you hit the ass end hard enough to sway the front of the car towards the wall, then you fucked up hard and most likely lifted. FD cars are built around what is needed to win, and more than likely, its not legal on the streets. Build your rear end to what you have available to you if you want something like this. It all comes down to budgeting your money.

[wdkwang]

ya i was reading the article on that shock design. made by the same guys that started the FWD wheelie bar. something exactly like this would be expensive and the price would only be justifiable on a real drift car that has $30k+ parts worth of stuff in it. my idea was simply having this minus the shock design so at the very least, the rest of the body and suspension can be saved.

you can see here ryan tuerck had a minor wall crash. the damage to the front doesn't look too bad but there's a much better chance of him being able to just bounce off the wall and keep going without his front left side getting smashed up a bit. i don't know what exactly happened to him at that event but that's a typical case of the suspension being wrecked and seeing the wheel caved in.

edit: watching the whole thing, you do see his suspension is messed up, and wheel is caved in with demon camber

[Johnny_K]

very cool.

[godrifttoday]

in order to do something like that u would need to remove your stock oil pan to work