This begs the question of whether it's better to have a prettier rear end, like Venus', or a sturdier rear end, like mine.

Do you realize how afraid I am to answer that question?

Those "T-Bars" that you're referring to are called "Nerf Bars". They were originally used in racing to get around class rules that required some sort of a bumper.

Would a Nerf bar look cool on your car? Probably. But it's your car. Don't let me tell you not to do it based on my opinion of "Good Looks".

For track purposes they are great. For show cars they can look good. For street cars, I would not do it.

You park your Z and go into the store. While you're parked, some old lady backs into your beloved Z. Not hard, just a love tap. Had the stock bumper been on, it would have protected the body and paint. But she missed the Nerf bar and clobbered the paint and sheet metal. Screw Insurance! She clobbered your beloved Z!

... For street cars, I would not do it.

You park your Z and go into the store. While you're parked, some old lady backs into your beloved Z. Not hard, just a love tap. Had the stock bumper been on, it would have protected the body and paint. But she missed the Nerf bar and clobbered the paint and sheet metal. Screw Insurance! She clobbered your beloved Z!

Amen, brother... amen!

With no rear bumper at all on my Z and a fiberglass front, well a hit would be a disaster. Only thing I can say is it would be less of a nightmare than if the hit was to a 4 million dollar 250GTO which I modeled my car from...

I really have no way to justify leaving the rear smooth other than vanity. Living on a prayer.

This begs the question of whether it's better to have a prettier rear end, like Venus', or a sturdier rear end, like mine.

The boys are going to want us to do studies and want results of each hit...

I decided to go with something different. When I was at the Pull-a-Part, I found a Porsche 944 with front bumper in tact and pulled the bumperettes? or what ever they are. I always liked the look of the 300ZX rear bumper area.

If a Z gets hit from the rear, it's all over either way, so I might as well have it look the way I want before it gets hit. Right? So I also welded in new steel, license plate inset and LED loaded lenses. Should be cool, or at least different when I'm done.

Dave

Those "T-Bars" that you're referring to are called "Nerf Bars". They were originally used in racing to get around class rules that required some sort of a bumper.

Would a Nerf bar look cool on your car? Probably. But it's your car. Don't let me tell you not to do it based on my opinion of "Good Looks".

For track purposes they are great. For show cars they can look good. For street cars, I would not do it.

You park your Z and go into the store. While you're parked, some old lady backs into your beloved Z. Not hard, just a love tap. Had the stock bumper been on, it would have protected the body and paint. But she missed the Nerf bar and clobbered the paint and sheet metal. Screw Insurance! She clobbered your beloved Z!

I don't think the bumpers are in any way effective on a S30 anyway. A hit in any way will do big time damage to these cars. But we all should have known this going in. Built to drive not crash. BEW thanks for the info Venus.

Also, a nerf bar is any aftermarket bar on a vehicle these days. I had a bronco and the step bars were called nerf bars. A cool word for the advertisers.

Edited March 2, 201114 yr by 5thhorsemann

On the Cobras the small vertical bumpers are referred to as overriders.

http://www.snakebite.com.au/overriderssetof4-p-26.html?zenid=6f6157c3530a95d343e1b39836a00c08

Those aren't what the OP posted, however.

I always liked this style:

As promised back when this thread was started, here is my "minimalist" approach to the rear bumper topic. Agreed there is no more / no less protection (read NONE!) than the fully stock version. To me, having this piece in place reinforces the horizontal lines across the rear of the car. FWIW.

Jim

Lookin good!