Bumper brackets for your car

The bumper bracket is the part keeping a vehicle's collision protection at a certain distance from the bodywork. It consists of an angled and welded metal part. The bumper bracket is a malleable car part, as is the bumper itself. Its mounting is very simple. Keeping costs in check in case of accidents A bumper is no longer the heavy protection against all kinds of slight bumps as it used to be. For reasons of design and weight the bumper of a car nowadays is made of plastic and relatively fragile. Nevertheless it has an important function: absorbing slight bumps preventing damage to the chassis. In order to optimally perform this task, the brackets keep the bumper at a distance of approximately six inches from the bodywork, creating an extra buffer between bumper and bodywork. On occasion of a collision, the bumper bends first, then the brackets and ultimately the structural part of the car. This diminishes the costs of repair. If the collision was weak enough to only deform the bumper and brackets, these components can easily be replaced without the need of welding. Construction of a bumper bracket The bumper bracket consists of a metal component with holes with a standing piece of metal welded onto it. The holes take up the mounting bolts. On the other side the bracket has the necessary bearing element to support the bumper. Possibly these are screw holds as well. Other common constructions are rails or push-fit systems. How sturdy is a bumper bracket? In the 1970ies and 1980ies it was ruled in the USA, that a car should survive a collision of at least 5 km/h totally undamaged. This resulted in enormous bumpers equipped with very heavy brackets. Instead of the usual supporting metal plates, buffered systems with a reset function were installed. These very expensive and very heavy solutions are no longer used. Especially in the era of proximity warning these expensive and fuel-consuming constructions are not up-to-date. Now, a bumper sustains damage very quickly in a collision, especially as they now are also often painted in the colour of the bodywork. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that a collision at a speed of 8km/h will not cause damage to the frame, though this depends to a great deal on the car. Bumper bracket defects In addition to damage by collision, bumper brackets have a mighty enemy: rust. Although these components consist of metal protected against rust by a zinc layer, grit or use of years can gradually damage this protective layer. Corrosion starts its destructive work, eating the brackets. This becomes obvious when the bumper is suddenly slanted. Until it is that obvious, 10 years can pass. Meanwhile, the bumper bracket should regularly be checked on corrosion. Repairing a bumper bracket The only difficulty in repairing a bumper bracket is the damage-free disassembly of the bumper. In modern cars, special care and handling according to maintenance plan is required. In bumper area the collision sensors for the airbags can be found. If these are activated, the repair will be exponentially higher than the simple bracket replacement. In several cases it is easier to disassemble the bumper together with the brackets, and only then remove the brackets from the bumpers. This especially applies to systems with rails and push-fit systems. It is theoretically possible to weld a bumper bracket. The attractive prices of a spare part render these mostly unsatisfactory repair attempts unnecessary. Bumper bracket quality In the technical sense, a bumper bracket is a simple component. For family cars, prices start at ca.10 euro (£8) per part. Nevertheless, only OEM-quality car parts are constructed as intended by the car manufacturers on points of precision fit, workmanship, rust protection and carrying capacity. For this reason you exclusively obtain bumper brackets in our shop which meet those demands of the car manufacturer.