Bull Bars And Side Step Nerf Bars on Rogue

[geoblek]

I have seen some nice pics of bull bars and side step nerf bars on Rogues on this forum and would like to get these on my 2008 SL AWD.
Is this recommended? Is there any factory provision on the Rogue for fixing of bull bars? I've peered under the vehicle(both front and rear) but can't see where these bars could be attached. I hate to live my car in the hands of any artisan to improvise.
Please help.

[philipa_240sx]

Is there any factory provision on the Rogue for fixing of bull bars? I've peered under the vehicle(both front and rear) but can't see where these bars could be attached.

The Rogue does NOT have any factory attachment points for these.

IMHO, I wouldn't put them on my vehicle. Just not worth the possible damage involved in mounting them and they surely won't stand up to any salt/sand if you drive in snow belt areas.

[casperfun]

I think I am one of the VERY few in here with bullbars, I notice nobody is really a fan of these things in here but me.

I did have an incident where I was trying to turn around and look at my baby in the car seat once at a stop light and I accidently let go of the brake and the momentum made me tap the car in front of me. It was enough to push the bars back or upwards since there was enough give in it. I presume this was good at the time since I didn't SUPER tighten it to the max. Maybe that is a good idea to do that but in the end I tried to tighten it more so it won't push up easily.

The vehicle I hit was a slightly old mini-van with a normal wear and tear bumper. The other driver just asked if my baby was okay and we just went on our way. They were pretty nice about it even though it was a pretty hard tap or bump I felt.

Of course I scuffed up the bullbar and just repainted lower bar black.

Moreover, nobody has hit my front bumper in the parking lot anymore. I only installed this bullbar because somebody hit my front bumper and chipped the paint and broke my license plate cover. So I had a good reason back in the day.

As for the installation, it's really easy but you just have to trim the bottom plastic cover which is really not that hard. And you end up replacing some radiator bolt with a longer one that is used to anchor the attachments for the bullbar. I vaguely remember something like that and yah it doesn't sound good huh? LOL

But I don't see any problems in a mid-level city where you have a less chance of hitting something unlike a major busy metropolitan where there might be alot of traffic, cabs, buses, people all over the place where accidents can happen more often.

The only damage during mounting is the plastic underside cover and the reason I bought black is that I can easy paint them; and if they rust I can use some rust converter and it will be a black primer. Unlike chrome, I was going for a more understated look and not as showy. Which is why from afar if you're not really looking you can hardly notice the nerfbars or bullbar at times since my vehicle is kinda dark also.

So yah, mainly for parking lot protection and decorative purposes. Since the Rogue is one of the least modifiable vehicle visually. Yes you can tweak a little something here or there but other than that most Rogues out there could just be any other Rogue from the NIssan Website. Everybody's Rogue actually looks the same but a different color.

Especially in my area, now that the Rogue has been around for 3-4 years it has become more prevalent. I see one everyday and a few in my neighborhood. But at least my Rogue stands out more with the bullbar and the little tweaks here and there that makes it oh so slightly different!




ps- I actually removed the plasti-dip on the emblem and raised the bullbar a few millimenters since then.

[philipa_240sx]

Nice photos casperfun.

Like I said, I am not a fan of them. I just don't like the look or how they are installed. As you found out, the mounting is not really secure and the bar will bend quite easily if hit... that's good and bad depending on how you look at it.

[geoblek]

Thank you for the advice.
I think Casperfun's is one the few I saw under "Who has the nicest Rogue...." Isn't it? I still love it but Casperfun's mention of replacing a radiator bolt is what makes me rethink if I really want to do this.
The original idea is for parking protection and against minor bumps like Casperfun had - and not forgetting "Who doesn't want his Rogue to be unique?"
Still considering going for it, unless there's evidence this could affect safety or performance of the Rogue

[casperfun]

One last thought on it bending up or what not. When I initially installed it I had the right size rachet to tighten the bolt but I really had nothing on the other side to hold it still so I had to use a socket size slightly larger to tighten the nuts. As you can imagine, trying to tighten these nuts and bolts while on your back with one tool not really the right size was a PITA. Which is why I could not tighten it as best as I could of. Well I guess it was good for the slight bump at the stoplight.

Anyways, I finally got the right size wrench set to hold the other end and tighten it right RECENTLY after so long.

Seriously, you wouldn't be able to budge this thing without moving the whole car too or at least it feels that way. Perhaps a body builder who really wanted to move it could but other than that it is rock solid.

As for a 15-30 mph hour hit damaging the body frame, probably or most likely. Heck I could agree with that.

But that is why we have insurance. Personally I never really had a major head on collision in the DECADES of driving. But even when we are careful, stuff happens like the Rogue in here recently that had its right side tire well smashed in.

Everybody needs to weight their risk to their rewards. This what makes me happy so I take the risk.

Personally I dont think it affects my safety, but perhaps a lower MPG?

Go with what makes you happy.

[philipa_240sx]

As for a 15-30 mph hour hit damaging the body frame, probably or most likely. Heck I could agree with that.

A collision at any decent speed (>10mph) is going to do damage regardless whether the bull bar is installed.

I would be more concerned if they were made out of heavy gauge tubing like some of the true off-road stuff. That could seriously impact the crash structures built into the car.

BTW, I had an '87 Pathfinder with fog lights located right under the front bumper and flush with the front. It was involved in a minor front end collision. If it wasn't for the fog light brackets, I could have gotten away unscathed. Unfortunately, the brackets bent and punctured the AC condenser coil so it cost a few hundred in repairs. These are the issues you run into with accessory components like these.