Hey, I think it looks cool and has potential, but...
ONLY FOUR BOLTS HOLD IT ON. I WOULDN'T TRUST THAT FOR ANY RECOVERY SITUATION. At least the ARB has those bottom BIG bolts for added support.

Look for yourself.


Anyone testing this thing out?
Thoughts?



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kennedyusmc@earthlink.net
"Bring me the donut Mojo"

You wanna take a guess at how many bolts hold the poor excuse for a stock bumper on?

For winching(straight pull) situation, I believe the bumper will do great. However, notice that there are no snatch points on the bumper. Of course I wouldn't snatch with my ARB either, regardless of hardware holding it on. Thats what the tow hook is for. But then again, with a winch and snatch block, you shouldn't need to dynamically snatch yourself out of much.

Just my $.02 worth. I'm curious to hear from anyone that has used the product.

scoot



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"There appears to be a loose nut on the keyboard!"

i would assume you can use factory tie down loops at the bottom of the frame for that


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The BIG bolt on the ARB really isn't helping much since it goes through such a large hole.
As such it can move a great deal. The bolts that go into the frame are doing all the work.

The Calmini bumper does offer better approach angle by not bolting to the factory tie down hooks, and allows almost any brand of winch to be mounted.

We'll have a test on the Calmini bumper soon.

The stock bumper is not a poor excuse, it is a stock bumper, and is designed to crumple on impact. If not, the DOT would not allow the Xterra to be sold.

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Regards,
Ian

That's the first time I've seen that bumper. What's the price compared to the ARB?

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$629
http://www.purenissan.com/xterra.htm

Another point is that it's made especially for the Xterra, not a modified bumper like the ARB.

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Regards,
Ian

[This message has been edited by xoc (edited 05-22-2001).]

Any idea how heavy it is? How heavy is the ARB you all have?

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01 SE 4x4
Silver Ice

I would like to see them offer the bar with full brush guards. Protection for the corners. My .02

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Lance
Silver XE 3 packages

No shackle attachment points.

No place for lights.

Nice ArmorAll'd tires though.

The loops on the ARB are not shackle attachment points, they are for a Hi-Lift attachment. They are not designed to handle pulling loads (but they hold up well).

I'll take 2 cast iron tow hooks on the frame over the ARB any day.

Calmini will offer bolt on light tabs for their bumper.


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Regards,
Ian

perhaps, but those front 2 bolts are right into the frames crumple zone. same as the ARB, but the added bolt of the ARB i would think adds a little more stability than just the crumple zone bolts. dunno

personally, i am going to put another 1/2" carraige bolt through the ARB and frame behind the crumple zones if i can to keep it from flexing while winching.

i agree with you on the tow points. frame based ones are the way to go. but it doesn't have any jack points either. they would be wise to put the same jack points as the ARB, then people could use the ARB hi-lift adapter on the calmini, no need to reinvent the wheel.

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Synchro (aka Kirk)
2000 Alpine Green 4x4 Auto, ARB, Warn XD9000, 32" BFG MTs

I can't see how the winch is mounted in the picture, but what about ease of theft?

Atleast with the ARB, if someone wants to steal your winch, they have quite a bit of work ahead of them.

scoot

Not really, 2 minutes with a wrench and the whole ARB bumper comes off.

If someone wants your winch bad enough, they will get it regardless of what it's mounted on.

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Regards,
Ian

Not if you weld it a bit to the frame. Mine isn't going anywhere.



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Xterra4x4.com

Join the Xterra Offroad Webring

I said winch, but bumper.

There was a story of some guys in Corpus Christi that would cruise parking lots at night with a flat bed truck and a plasma cutter. They would cut the frame ahead of the bumper mounts and take the whole damn thing! They got about six before someone caught them and introduced them to Mr. Tire Iron.

scum.

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"There appears to be a loose nut on the keyboard!"

One thing to watch with the ARB and possible other repalcment bumpers is if another car hits you head on your frame WILL get bent. A mate with a 1993 Toyota P/U has an ARB winch bar fitted and a car hit him headon. Little damage to the body, ARB bumper and side rails, but the frame was twisted and the steering box was torn off the frame. The hit came from the RH corner and pushed the front spring shakel and frame end where the bar mounts about 2" to the left. The bar is only slightly bent!

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Ian-aka snork,rollover
wish I could get an X here!

Hate to bring up an old topic, but anyone have one of these yet? I'm pretty interested- just looking for some input/experience.
Is there a place for lights?

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Sometimes when I'm in the bathtub, my shadow chokes me!
www.hxoc.net

this is a repost of a post on the "Unofficial board"


"it only bolts into the crumple zone. it does not have the lower bolt to the lower brackets on the frame. and i know some people have said that these are not needed, but i can tell you that on off camber or strange pulls they are. mine have shifted and i am going to be forced to put a another grade 8 bolt through the frame down there to keep my ARB steady. I really think that if that part wasn;t needed both ARB and TJM would not have put it there. ARB and TJM have been making bumper for decades, this looks to be calmini's first production one. I have serious reservations about just bolting it into the crumple zones alone.

not to mention that there are no bars continueing on over the head lights. you can hit a deer, and still encur more damage than you would with a TJM or ARB bumper.

So for the same price as the Calmini bumper you can get bumpers from ARB or TJM that have decades more expereince in bumper building, decades more testing in places like the australian outback, moab and tellico bumpers to name a few, and better protection from deer and such not coming from the corner. not to mention that the calmini bumper has no hi-lift points. heck all they had to do was weld on the same exact points that the ARB has, and people would have been able to use the ARB hi-lift accessoris with no mod. this kind of attention to detail has me worried.

now then, their lift looks good to me, that i cannot argue with too much. they have years of expereince in that, and are known for quality parts in that realm. so on that note, i have no problems.

So until someone i know and trust on one of the Xterra boards installs one of these bumpers, and does an side pull or a pull when on the downward part of a berm, i am not conviced that calmini has nailed this one. I would be glad to be proved wrong."

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Synchro (aka Kirk)
2000 Alpine Green 4x4 Auto, ARB, Warn XD9000, 32" BFG MTs

true, but would he have encurred different damage more or less without the bumper? hard to say, no? I have been reading a few of the news article over the past few months from Australia about bull bars and pedestrian accidents. and would have this to say....YIKES!!!! They can turn a critical accident regarding human pulpy mass hitting bull bar into a bone laced slurpy. so those of us who have have them need to pay extra special attention. if i can dig up the links on these stories and studies, i will post them.

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Synchro (aka Kirk)
2000 Alpine Green 4x4 Auto, ARB, Warn XD9000, 32" BFG MTs

[This message has been edited by Synchro (edited 06-25-2001).]

Thanks for the info- Sounds like it wouldn't be the best choice. I do think it looks a little smoother than the ARB, but I was wondering about the lack of coverage over the headlights. ARB is just a little "blocky" to me.

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Sometimes when I'm in the bathtub, my shadow chokes me!
www.hxoc.net

For me, the ARB / TJM bumpers are out of the question. Because, I torched off my factory tie-down plates; they were far too close to my aftermarket forged tow-hooks.

So, the _only_ option in this instance is the Calmini bumper.

Looking under the Xterra, fundamentally I don't like the fact that the frame is down so low, and the bumper is vertically-offset from the frame. This sucks; I'm accustomed to a frame directly in-line with the bumper...

Hey.... maybe I could fit a taller Kenworth grille, install a bumper in-line with my frame, and go with a 6" lift/springover

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I will post my two cents in on this. I like the Calmini bumper for a couple of reasons, one of which is the lack of the brush guard. It really isn't something that is vital to life here in sunny Florida. I also like the choice of winches. As for someone stealing your winch, keep in mind on the ARB that the winch it uses (Warn XD 8 or 9000) is notorious for frying the thermal switches. If you weld that bumper on, getting to that switch to replace it is going to be an exercise in patience and you will probably invent a few new cuss words in the process. As far as light goes, I am sure shortly CalMini will find a way to resolve the light tab issue if they haven't already. If not, that's why man invented the drill, eh? It's not like you didn't have to drill some holes for the ARB. Something to think about.

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Gordon "The Warmonger" White

My thought exactly.. Calmini may be a great company but I would rather go with a company that has been doing this longer than just a few months.



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"Someone needs to say something to Carlton about his LONG-ASS signature." Philosopher

SWXC Member# 2
Carlton_McMillan@swxc.org

FYI, Calmini has been making bumpers for 15 years.

ARB on the other hand, has never built a bumper specifically for the Xterra.

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Regards,
Ian

AMEN!

We were such an afterthough for ARB! I have an ARB and it works but given the choice, I will support companies that support the XTERRA. I'm waiting for Calmini to develope their line (REAR BUMPER?!?!?). Skid row has shown great support too.



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