Fab Four Front Bumper

[1stindoor]

Just got the front bumper replaced to match the back. This thing is a beast! Probably three or four times the weight of the OEM painted bumper. Big shout out to CARID whose price was unbeatable.

 

[CanuckRam1313]

Looks great!

How does the front sit and handle now that you have this behemoth of a front bumper on now?

The rebound and dampening must be taking an impact, no?

Alignment required afterward?

 

[1stindoor]

Good questions. Unable to know for sure at this point. I can definitely feel the weight difference in the front end, but as it's a 2500 with a pretty beefy suspension it's not enough to make the front end drop any. I'm still getting used to the difference in the "feel," and the distance I need to give to the stuff in front of me. It sticks out probably a good 10-12 inches further than the OEM bumper. The sensors are working flawlessly though. I couldn't detect any issue with the alignment. I rotate the tires every oil change so I'll have them take a good look at the next rotation.

About the only thing I definitely need to do is realign the 3" cube fog lights that are in there. The stock lights wouldn't work and Fab Fours recommends a 3" cube. I bought these off of Amazon:
Amazon.com: Auxbeam 3 Inch 96W Amber White LED Light Pods, XP-Ultra Series 6 Modes Dual Color Fog Light Cube Spot Flood Combo Strobe Lights Emergency Driving Offroad Flashing Ditch Lights for Trucks Jeep, Pair

I chose those for the flexibility between white and amber or both. I rarely use foglights as it is, but I tested them in my driveway on Monday night and I get a very clear look at the trees in my neighbors yard lol. I'll take it to a deserted street at night and focus them down and straight.

Edited to add...I also plan to check to see if wonderful gas mileage is affected any by the additional weight (between both the back and front bumpers). And I'll need to trim the fender liners/wheel well liners(?) (...whatever they're called) a bit so it's a better "look" behind the bumper.

 

[diymirage]

I like it

I got my cube lights set up as ditch light, or whatever you want to call it, shining off to the side more then forward

Helps me spot wildlife before it crosses


Let me ask you, most guys i see only put on front fabricated bumpers, what made you do the read first ?

 

[1stindoor]

I did the rear first because my neighbor backed into me and put a pretty sizeable dent in the rearr bumper, plus bent the bracket and dented the left rear quarter panel behind the bumper itself. A stock OEM bumper was going to run about $900 according to the collision place, so I just ordered one that was heavier and looked like a good match to my truck's color and paid the difference out of pocket.

Of course, then the "feng shui" of the truck was off...and I needed a comparable front bumper. I looked at several that I liked and decided on that one.

 

[1stindoor]

Someone smarter than me might be able to explain it. But on the highway my MPG seemed about the same, maybe. .5-1mpg less, but towing the boat this morning it looks like I got better gas mileage than u previously did towing. By my estimation, I added about 60-75 lbs to the front end and probably only 20 or so to the rear.

 

[1stindoor]

So here's what I learned today (because the wife was in the truck and the radio was low)...terrible road noise on the highway above 60mph due to the wheel well liner flapping. I'll be trimming that back today when I get home. Probably explains the mpg difference too.