Piaa 520's

[Diablo3305]

has anyone mounted a set of 520's without a brush guard or safari bar? I just got a pair on ebay, and I don't have my brush guards yet and it doesn't look like i will be able to afford them this summer... anyone have any ideas. I was thinking rigging up some kind of L bracket behind the bumper that i could mount them too... anyone ever do this?

 

[mattadams]

I've seen some people that just simply drilled holes in the bumper and mounted them...

 

[Diablo3305]

hmmm thats kind of ghetto....i may just have to get a safari bar or something...

 

[mattadams]

well, I didn't say I'd do it, just that its possible . Peter Weber has the 520 SMR's mounted on his 98 (I think its a 98) on a safari bar and they look great .

 

[Diablo3305]

do you know where i could find a picture of his truck..whats his user name?

 

[Stephen S]

I just mounted a set of PIAA 520 SMRs on a Westin Safari bar over the weekend, but it wasn't on an Explorer. I put them on my girlfriend's RAV4. I think the setup looks really nice and it was easy to do. You can pick up the Safari bar from www.oreillyauto.com with the mounting kit included for $130. That's the cheapest I found while looking for the one for my girlfriend. I say get one!

 

[Diablo3305]

thanks.. i might just go that route.. See i love the way the brush guard looks on the explorer, especially the westin and manik ones that curve with the lights... the only thing is I don't go off roading or anything, my truck is mainly a street truck, so considering the $200 price difference in the bars, i might be better off with the safari bar... How strong are those, will they offer protection if you hit into something or if say a shopping cart rolls into your car?

 

[mattadams]

I could've sworn I saw some better pictures before, but now I can't seem to track them down. Here's the only picture I could find of Peter Weber's front end.
Dead Link Removed

 

[Diablo3305]

hmmm thats hard to see...where exactly are they mounted, on the bumper or on the safari bar?

 

[mattadams]

they are mounted on the safari. I wired them up for him so I know .

 

[Diablo3305]

interesting... you can't even see the safari bar...hmm looks nice though....

 

[Stephen S]

I was actually surprised at the strength of the safari bar. I used it as a hand hold to climb from under the truck and also sat on it to note its deflection. There was some, but it's rigidly mounted tubular steel and did not feel weak. I don't think it'll help you much in a head on collision with anything, but it's not just a flimsy "just for looks" thing. It will offer shopping cart protection.

I'm also like you. I really like the look of a brushguard on an Explorer, but have been scared away by their prices too. But if all you are using it for is to mount lights, then the Safari Bar is a cheaper, does the job, and looks nice.

I also found this shot of an Explorer with a safara bar: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=21573

You may also want to check out this thread: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=21227

 

[Diablo3305]

yea.. like i said its a $200 difference.... and all id really be using it for is looks and to hold my lights. Hey matt, those lights look kinda high on that explorer you showed my pictures of, were they mounted on the safari bar mounting posts or somewhere else on the bar?

 

[Peter Weber]

Here's a pic of my truck with the 520SMR's mounted on the grill guard. It's a WAAG. The grill guard is basically the brushguard without the headlight guards. I've seen it somewhere (truckparts.com ??) for $179. Since I live only 15 miles from the factory, I picked mine up there with a little discount.

The guard has predrilled holes to mount two lights and they are mounted there.

The picture that Matt linked to was also taken at Moab after I stuck my front end into a bank at the bottom of a hill. Whithout the guard I probably would have taken out the airdam and/or even set off the airbags.

 

[Diablo3305]

where is the picture?

 

[Peter Weber]

Duh, here's the link:

Dead Link Removed

Also, I think if I would have had the Westin Safari Bar, the lights would have been wiped out.

 

[Diablo3305]

woh is that the bar you had on in the pictures? where did you get that... how much? thats not bad looking. it doesn't stick out as far as the safari bar does...

 

[Peter Weber]

Diablo

Read my 1st post on the subject a few messages back.

 

[Stephen S]

I agree with Diablo. That guard looks great.

 

[Peter Weber]

Waag just brought it out this spring. I agree that it looks pretty good. That's why I got it.