- First Name
- EVBASE
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2024
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- 100
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- California
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- www.evbase.com
- Vehicles
- model y ,model 3 highland , cybertruck
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- Banned
- #16
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights! I genuinely appreciate your feedback. I want to say that once installed, it will work as intended without affecting the vehicle's range; we’ve had it installed on our truck for over a week without any issues.In states that require front plates, it's obvious the plate would have to moved in order to remain legal. It would block the airflow to the cooling system. Even the stock setup for states requiring front plates blocks some of the airflow but it's probably not very significant because air can still flow under the plate, into the air intake. Here, the plate would have to moved down to the bottom of the air intake, totally blocking the air in the center of the intake. Of course it would still work fine under most operating conditions, with not much hit to efficiency. But in hot weather it would make the cooling system work significantly harder and reduce its ability to handle extreme climate/usage conditions.
An issue I have is the manufacturers claims their bull bars are, " Crafted from high-strength die-cast aluminum alloy with an anodized, PTFE-coated, military-grade finish, this bull bar is built to withstand corrosion." However, from looking at the photos it's obvious the bars are formed on a tubing bender. And I don't know of any suitable tubing that is "die-cast aluminum alloy". That likely means only the mounting points are die-cast aluminum alloy and no mention is made of whether the tubing is aluminum or steel. If aluminum, it's going to be damaged very easily. If it's regular painted steel, it will show rust wherever the coating has been removed.
I've been off-roading a lot over the last 5 months, beating through a lot of brush and alder saplings, branches, etc, and there has been no damage (short of automatic removal of 3 of 4 of the little fairings that descend in front of each tire for aero reasons). But I can think of no situation I was in where I would have said, "Boy, I'm glad I've got those bull bars on there", if anything, they would have complicated the beating through brush and creating snag points that don't need to be there. This is one of the strengths of the Cybertruck off-road, it's very clean lines parts brush like nothing else I've ever used. And the branches and saplings have left no marks that don't easily polish out.
Yet the manufacturer claims, " The Grille Guard offers superior protection for your Cybertruck's front bumper against impacts, debris, rocks, and other off-road hazards." I just find that a little optimistic. If you hit a rock that would normally damage your Cybertrucks bumper, it's going to damage the bull bars.
I have nothing against the maker, but I do tire of what I consider to be unrealistic product claims. In my opinion, these bars are just "jewelry" for your truck that will likely add more potential issues than they solve. But if you think it looks cool, and you don't actually off-road much or you're not worried about snagging things and causing more damage, then go for it. Just don't go into it thinking these will make you more invincible.
As for the materials, we use Q235 steel for our round tubes, which is significantly stronger than aircraft aluminum. While we currently don’t have effective data on impact strength, we are planning collision tests soon to provide more information.
Regarding off-road capabilities, the Cybertruck itself is built to be robust, and our bull bars are designed to protect against rocks and debris, helping to minimize scratches. We are continuously optimizing our products and perform our own testing. I completely agree with your point that these accessories don’t make the vehicle invincible—they’re intended to enhance your experience rather than transform it.
Your opinion is invaluable to us, and I appreciate your constructive comments as we continue to improve!
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