Front bumper removal?

[Ludachris]

I'm wondering how many people remove the heavy front bumper for racing and TT classes? I'm very hesitant to do so but a lot of people running DSMs like mine do it for better cooling and weight savings, even on street cars (which I don't think is smart).

I'd like to know everyones' thoughts on doing this. Is it not worth the benefits when compared to the protection it offers?

[ker]

I'm wondering how many people remove the heavy front bumper for racing and TT classes? I'm very hesitant to do so but a lot of people running DSMs like mine do it for better cooling and weight savings, even on street cars (which I don't think is smart).

I'd like to know everyones' thoughts on doing this. Is it not worth the benefits when compared to the protection it offers?

is this going to be for track only?

[ianacole]

Are you talking about the entire bumper assembly and all the support underneath, or just the cover?

[svochuck]

All kinds of track cars replace the bumbers with fiberglass parts. I don't think it's a good idea from a cost point of view. a small hit can cost lots of money to fix if there are no bumpers.

[95sprtcpedrvr]

According to the CCR you cannot remove more than 30% of the bumper, that is for the metal part that is under your valance and support. What I am planning on doing is just to create holes to allow more air through, that is if I ever get close to finishing my car.

[Snymo]

In most modern front engine cars, the bumper cross beam is a structural piece that holds the subframe together. While it does weigh a ton, in general it is not worth it to remove it. In the SRT4 for example, it weighed in at almost 40lbs, but it provided all most all of the structural ridigity of the front subframe. Without a new piece to replace it, I would not recommend removing it.

Rick

[Ludachris]

Didn't think about that Rick, thanks.

[cullenwinter]

For my car the bumper support beam can be removed, but it's integral to the impact absorbtion design, so it would seem a very bad idea for a car that's still driven on the street. There are lightweight replacements out there too. I would think there would be a lot of aftermarket stuff out there for your car still.

[95sprtcpedrvr]

In the SRT4 for example, it weighed in at almost 40lbs
Rick

Holy crap, when I weighed the one off of my car it was 15lbs and the rear one was 2lbs under that.

[Weston]

I was plauged with cooling problems on my turbo Integra for a while... I found that engine bay venting is more valuable than increasing the amount of incoming air. Just chopping a hole in my front bumper cover to give the radiator more fresh air (without being obstructed by the FMIC) did help a little, but I still had a lot of heat building up under the hood with nowhere to escape, and that was the real problem. The giant hole at the bottom of the engine bay doesn't really help much, being that heat rises. I created drop-vent in my hood and it dramatically reduced engine bay temperatures, as well as promoted air flow through the openings in my front bumper cover. Air comes in, flows through the radiator, over the turbo & manifold, and out through the vent in the hood. The down-side is that rain ends up right on the turbo manifold, so I tape up the drop-vent when I'm not on the track. The effects on the duct tape also tell me that there's plenty of heat that wants to escape through there, even at low street-use temperatures. Some sort of a rain gutter under the vent, or even a heat shield on the manifold, would probably do a decent job of dealing with the water problem though...

[Snymo]

Holy crap, when I weighed the one off of my car it was 15lbs and the rear one was 2lbs under that.

SRT4 > 1st Gen Neon!!! :D

Seriously though, the SRT4 front bumper is a huge piece. The standear neon is just a 'C' shaped piece while the SRT4 continues around and re connects in the middle of the 'C' making it almost double the material and welding. We had to use a plasma cutter to take ours apart because no saw could get in there. I guess the chassis would torque a lot from the SRT4 engine and they wanted to support it.

Rick