Car Front Bumper Guard – All You Need To Know

Looking for information about car front bumper guard? You have come to the right place.

Finding the right place to park your car can be tricky if you live in a city or area with tight traffic. 

In many cases, you may not be able to avoid the small bumps that occur as you try to fit your vehicle in a tight space. 

Even if the bump is light or slight, the impact, in most cases, is not. Your fender gets scratched or bent. This is where a car front bumper guard comes in.

A car bumper guard is an excellent way to protect your vehicle from any form of damage that may occur while driving or when your car is parked in the street. 

It helps ensure that your car bumper remains free of scuffs, especially when you park the vehicle in a tight parking spot or space.

You will find a wide variety of car front bumper guards in the market today. Each is designed to protect cars in different ways. 

This post looks at everything that has to do with a car front bumper guard. This will help you make an informed decision the next time you go shopping for a front bumper guard.

What is a Front Bumper Guard? 

The front bumper guard is a structure integrated or attached to the front of a motor vehicle. 

This could be foam pads or vertical metal bars that are easy to install or remove. 

The primary purpose of a car front bumper guard is to readily absorb impact in minor collisions, hence minimizing the costs of repair.

The first stiff metal bumpers were seen on automobiles in the 19^th century, and they only had a purely ornamental function. But over time, after numerous developments, significant improvements in materials, technologies, and a greater focus on profound functionality to protect vehicle components – and boost safety – changed bumpers.

Bumpers help reduce height mismatches between vehicles while protecting pedestrians from severe injury. Regulatory measures have now been enacted to minimize repair costs, and much more recently, the overall impact on pedestrians.

This is why most front bumper guards are now constructed with softer materials, such as crushable plastics and foams, to minimize the severity of impact on the lower body or legs.

History of Bumper Guard

The first bumpers that appeared on automobiles were nothing more than just rigid metal bars. George Albert Lyon is credited as the inventor of the first car bumper, which first appeared on automobiles in 1897. A Czech carmaker installed the first bumper.

However, bumper guards at the time merely served a cosmetic function and were not all that reliable due to their construction. 

Vehicle owners replaced the front spring hanger bolt with those long enough to attach metal bars. 

A bumper bracket was eventually created to simplify this vital accessory’s attachment.

But the first car bumper guard primarily designed to absorb impact appeared in 1901. This bumper guard was constructed with rubber.

By the mid-1910s, bumpers were becoming commonplace as automakers added them to nearly every manufactured vehicle. Bumper guards became even more common in the 1920s as several automobile designers made them more substantial and complex.

Chrome-plated bumper guards became elaborative, heavy, and more decorative until the late 1950s when automakers in the United States started establishing brand-specific designs and new bumper trends.

Lighter chrome-plated, blade-like bumper guards became the norm in the 1960s. Automakers began incorporating lighting, grilles, etc., resulting in the development of multi-piece constructions.

The current front bumper guard design practice on modern vehicles consists of a plastic cover over a reinforcement bar of aluminum, plastic, steel, or fiberglass composite. 

Bumper guards of the majority of automobiles today are also a combination of ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and PC (polycarbonate), known as PC/ABS.

Car Front Bumper Guard Regulations

It is now a legal requirement for vehicles to have a bumper guard in most jurisdictions. These regulations were implemented for 2 primary reasons:

1. To allow vehicles to sustain low-speed impacts without severe damage to their safety systems, and 
2. To protect pedestrians or other road users from severe injury.

However, these requirements are somewhat in conflict. For instance, car front bumper guards that effectively withstand impact and reduce repair costs often injure pedestrians more. But pedestrian-friendly front bumper guards give room for high repair costs as they do not effectively withstand heavy impact on collision.

Most vehicle bumper systems are designed to readily absorb the energy of low-speed collisions while protecting the automobile’s safety as well as other expensive components nearby. Nevertheless, front bumper guards on the market today are only designed to meet minimum regulatory requirements or standards.

Do Car Front Bumper Guards Work?

Collisions can be said to be part of life as they can happen without warning and at any time of day, even if you are a cautious driver. To prevent severe damage that is usually not covered by car insurance, most road users or vehicle owners opt for car front bumper guards, which help protect their automobiles. 

But do they work? To answer this question, a look at the pros and cons of front bumper guards will suffice. Let’s start with the pros of car front bumper guards:

• Front Bumper Guards Protect Vehicles

Parking in a cramped garage or crowded space or street can be a headache. The possibility of hitting another vehicle and damaging it is always high in such instances. You could even cause damage yourself if you are not too careful when maneuvering the crowded street or garage.

But a front bumper guard helps protect the front end of your automobile from damage that fender benders cause.

• They Foster Peace of Mind

Most people take years to save up and buy the car of their dreams. If this is you, you most likely will not want the vehicle to incur any form of damage, even for reasons beyond your control. But, life happens, and you may end up with a collision or two in the week or month.

However, a front bumper guard for cars will make you feel much more at ease whenever you drive on busy streets or leave your automobile in a crowded parking lot. Nothing else about your vehicle gives you more peace of mind than knowing your car is safe from getting front-ended by a careless or inexperienced driver.

• Front Bumper Guards Save You Money

Car insurance typically covers plenty of damages that a collision causes. But you may still be forced to pay for some repairs.

If your car insurance does not cover cosmetic damage – such as scrapes or scratches in the paint job – you have to take up the cost of repairing your vehicle yourself.

A front bumper guard helps your automobile sustain minor damage, reducing the money you will spend fixing the car.

• They Discourage You from Tailgating

Tailgating will always be a bad idea. But even the best drivers are tempted to tailgate from time to time. It is dangerous as it usually leaves zero stopping distance between vehicles in motion. This can cause severe damage in case of a back-end collision.

Having a front bumper guard installed on your vehicle will force you not to give in to such weird temptations when driving behind another car. It will help you control your mind as you wouldn’t want to collide with the vehicle right in front of you.

Let’s take a look at the cons of front bumper guards:

• Some Front Bumper Guards Don’t Look So Good on Vehicles

Front bumper guards can make your automobile look more stylish. But many drivers do not like the idea of adding an unwieldy bar to their cars.

It doesn’t even matter that many front bumper guards are available in a wide range of colors, construction, etc. Unless the front bumper guard is customized for the vehicle from the factory, many of them on the market cannot match the aesthetics of highly stylized automobiles. But everything comes down to preferences.

• Front Bumper Guard Can Be Very Expensive

Finding a high-quality front bumper guard that costs less than $30 is pretty difficult. They are usually costly, though this depends significantly on the size of your car.

But if you compare the out-of-pocket damages incurred from collisions or accidents, investing in a front car bumper guard is worth it.

• They May Interfere with Other Safety Features

Today’s modern automobiles come with standard but innovative features like backup sensors, parking assists, etc. Some drivers find turning sensors on and off a hassle, and they prefer going without a bumper guard.

• A Car Front Bumper Guard May Cause More Damage

Most car front bumper guards protect vehicles during minor collisions. But they are mostly unable to provide equal absorption power to the other car. This means that the other vehicle will undergo more severe damages, and the driver may experience a personal injury.

Moreover, even though car front bumper guards protect your bumper, the damage they absorb from an impact can easily affect your vehicle’s chassis. You may end up with too much structural damage, making the car too dangerous to drive.

How to Buy the Best Car Front Bumper Guard

If you are in the market for a car front bumper guard, you need to know the following:

• The Type of Front Bumper Guard

Several types of car front bumper guards are on the market today. The common ones include:

• Stick-on bumper guard
• Truck-mounted bumper guard
• Hitch-mounted bumper guard
• License plate mounted bumper guard

Each bumper guard comes with varying levels of effectiveness. The model’s quality will also play a crucial role in its effectiveness. Your vehicle type should also guide you whenever you go shopping for a front bumper guard. Most license-plate mounted bumper guards appear to work much better for sedans and other small vehicles.

• Protection Area

Unless you are getting a customized front bumper guard, it is essential to determine precisely how much bumper area you should cover.

You may have to measure your car’s front bumper beforehand to obtain the correct length you want to work with. You should also bear in mind that a front bumper guard that is several inches longer can wrap around the corners of your front fender.

• Compatibility

Some bumper guards are specifically designed for some vehicles. A few have a universal fit and works for nearly every vehicle model. Therefore, you are at liberty to go with a custom-designed front bumper guard or a universal fit option.

• Material

You need to ensure that the car front bumper guard you choose for your vehicle is constructed from a highly durable material. This prevents you from changing it from time to time.

The best material used for front bumper guards is rubber, and the second-best material is compact foam. You should also ensure your choice of bumper guard is weather-resistant.

• Ease of Installation

The ease of installing your front car bumper guard is another factor you should consider. Some bumper guards are incredibly easy to install, while hitch-mounted and license-plate bumper guards require some effort to install.

• Legality

When you purchase a car front bumper guard, you should check how legal it is in your jurisdiction. This is crucial since it will be on your vehicle at all times.

Some jurisdictions are strict when adding accessories that are not OEM-approved to vehicles. Using some bumper guards may also affect your car insurance coverage.

This is why it is essential to check with the authorities to check the legality of the front bumper guard you want to buy.

Conclusion

Front bumper guards are increasingly designed to significantly mitigate injury to pedestrians when accidentally struck. 

This is why most front bumper guards are now constructed with softer materials, such as crushable plastics and foams, to minimize the severity of impact on the lower body or legs.

If you are in the market for a front bumper guard for your vehicle, go through the section that discusses this need at length. You should be able to make an informed decision about the type of car front bumper guard you need for your automobile.