Are hoopless four wheel drive bull bars stylish or stupid?
Both.
But, when is stylish, stylish enough to justify form over function?
Never. This is the real world and no matter how many instagram photos you take of your 4WD, it’s not a show car.
If you’re going to run half a bull bar – which is what a hoopless bar is – which half should you choose? What if you had to choose between running the left or right side of a normal bull bar? You just wouldn’t, because that is ridiculous.
Downsides to Hoopless Bull Bars
- People will know you’re a poser.If they know you’re making choices purely on aesthetics, the next logical conclusion is that the mud tyres are for show, the winch is for show and that the Maxtrax on the roof have never been used. And, they’d probably be right.Kitting out a 4WD with all the fruit just so you can go to the shops, makes you a class A turkey and a class AA flaming galah.
- Oversized winch cradle.Because, that’s pretty much all it is. Just a stupidly oversized, over-priced winch cradle.
- No scrub bar mounting points.There’s no way to mount scrub bars to a hoopless bar, in a way that will provide enough strength for them to suit their purpose.
- They don’t protect against kangaroos.Roos don’t walk, they don’t even catch the bus. They jump.
Even with your 3” lift and 35” tyres that are just to look cool while driving on the bitumen, the hoopless bar still isn’t going to be high enough to take the brunt of the roo hit. The radiator will still get munted and you’ll be walking. And, you’ll probably deserve it.
If you’re still thinking about running a hoopless bar, you should just stick with a Tesla, or any other car that shows you prefer form over function. Leave the 4WDs to the big boys.
If you are going to go for hoopless, at least go for something like this bull bar (pictured above), which does have some minimal protection in the front
