Are fiberglass bumper that bad?
 

Hi guys,

I bought a fiberglass GP sports front bumper for my FD. While looking for a paint shop I was told that fiberglass front bumper is really not a good idea because they chip easily and they always need repairs.

Since a lot of you guys are riding their rx7 with aftermarket front bumpers which are generally made of fiberglass I would like to get your input. Are they as bad as I've been told?

Thanks.

I paint the bumpers on my car atleast once a month. The paint cracks on them easily. They are pain in the ass to maintain but then if you want plastic or polyurethane there are very few options to go for.

My last FD had a super low fiberglass bumper on it. I drove it around for 3 years and only got one or two chips.


I think it mainly depends on how you drive and how poor your local roads are.


My current car has a full fiberglass wide arch kit on it and I do not expect any problems.



No sure where fzkhan7 is driving but if he is repainting every month they aren't roads I would take my 7 on.....

Tom

Depends on what you are doing with the car.

For instance in autocross it is not uncommon to hit a cone.

On stock FC poly bumper you may get cone material smeared onto the bumper and at worst may get deep scratches from grit stuck to the cone.

With a fiberglass FC bumper you will have the above mentioned as well as cracked paint and cracked bumper.

Part of this is material and part of this is design.
The Corvette has a fiberglass front end, but it is designed to hit things with minimal damage.

Aftermarket fiberglass bumpers are not designed to hit things with minimal damage. They are thinner, less supported/strong shapes, less supported by internal structure and then there is the mounting/install that is usually also not up to OEM standards.

The GP sports front end is very low because it incorporates a front spoiler and this is compounded by the worse approach angle from the forward position of the spoiler and it is also very fragile because of the incorporated lip spoiler (unsupported section of fiberglass hanging off of main fiberglass).
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...3bb7bc307b.jpg

I drive in Karachi, Pakistan.
The roads here are not very good, lots of pot holes and speed breakers. Can't avoid anyways the paint here is not expensive around $30 for each bumper.

Well there seems to be two extremes. Probably that roads where I live are between those of TomSmy and those in Karachi. :)

Just to clear, I have GP sports for FD not FC. But the lip is also integrated as you mentionned for the FC

The roads are by no means perfect where I live. Plenty of pot holes and heave from frost as well as lots of gravel left over from winter grading.

I am just very careful to avoid pot holes and slow down over bumps/cracks.

I think the main thing is to keep good distance from vehicles in front so that they are not throwing rocks at you causing chips. Then just blow by them at 150 from a few hundred metres back....... :bigthumb:

But I have the luxury of quiet mountain roads, I never put my car in traffic.

Tom