If it's a trail only rig I say go for it

But if you're still driving on the road... well I wouldn't feel safe in your passenger seat

 

That green JK is the River Raider Rockster. There's a lot of info on this site about it. I haven't seen any pics showing a cable or hook so I don't know if there's a winch mounted or not. It has a GM V8 in it so I wonder how much room they have to work with. I crawled under my Jeep last night and you are correct about the moving the radiator looking straight forward. You need to get to work and get all the details ironed out for the rest of us.

I don't mean this in a bad way at all but it makes me chuckle about people not feeling safe riding in it after a mod like this. I can see where you're coming from but I grew up driving IH Scout's with lap belts, no crumple zones, awful non-power drum brakes, no power steering, most of them sprung-over with steel dashboards and the windshield 18" in front of your face. My other commuter car is a 1971 160HP VW Beetle that weighs 1,900 pounds and the crumple zone is the gas tank / my legs in the front. My YJ had 40" tires, 12" lift and a 383 V8. That was a death trap everywhere except the mud, but it was a blast to drive. You can completely remove the bumpers and air bags and the JK is still going to be 1000X safer than any of those running down the road if you get in an accident. I'm sure there are people that would look at a Jeep with 35" tires and a stubby bumper and think it's a death trap becuase not only is it an "SUV" but you've reduced your braking capacity and rasied your CG 5". We all make compromises. Would I jump in and do this to something my wife/daughters drive everyday? Probably not.

 

after seeing the picture I can see why you would want to do this, it does look good. as for the poster that said hopefully you will hit a prius if you crash, that's pretty sick lol. big law suit if they find out that you have altered a safety device that could have saved someones loved one. yes crumple zones are relatively new and lots of people grew up without such, but hey lots of people grew up without computers should we cut out them too? really in the end its probably not going to affect you in a crash but the energy that is transferred to the other object will also be multiplied, but in the end its all your decision just don't hit me or my family

 

Crumple zones aren't going to do a dam thing when a "legal" stubby bumper that most of us run slams into the side of some car. Especially at the height that most of our bumpers sit at. That car is going to be trashed."just don't hit me and my family" - I don't think your any safer now.

 

I say go fo it!!

 

Ok Paul stubby bumper, lifted with crumple zone and the extra 8" of bumper the forces acting on the frame rails are going to be at about a 45 degree angle of the ground and opposite of the direction of travel. so in your scenario the jeep hits someone broadside (t boned), stubby bumper does decrease the surface area of the force, so more PSI on the impact zone of there car is true but the difference in the force of impact on the crumple zone is the same. so you hit this mid size car at about the top of the door middle of the car for arguments sake your crumple zone absorbs in a manner as described above which drives the stubby up into into the grill thus keeping the jeep on all four tires and out of the car it hits danger zone which is the window/roof area, why is this the danger zone you ask well its weak and the force of the crash will drive the passenger of the cars head toward the window. yes the crumple zone absorbed some of the shock we'll say 15-20%, and yes the passenger in the car hits his head on the window probably breaking it but the jeep is still on the ground and everyone probably lives. same situation no crumple zone tires 8" closer to the front the jeep hits and the solid frame is driven up into the air the jeep bounces off the door pillar on on side turns slightly and continues up into the air into the cars window were the passenger's head hits the bumper of the jeep because it no longed on the ground its in the car or on top of it killing the passenger. Yea ok worst case but still very real scenario, no matter how you look at it the crumple zone still absorbs shock and allows the jeep to stay on the ground instead of skipping up and over the car.

 

Ok, after reading that six times I think I understand what you mean.. We can paint a hypothetical picture for every possible crash at every angle and it will turn out different every time. Sometimes I'll flip, sometimes they'll flip, sometimes they'll bounce off my tires, rub off some scuff marks and we'll all drive away (JP). I'll give GEICO a call tomorrow and see what they say being my insurer. What they say will determine whether this goes or not. Till then I will continue driving safely and not T-boning people!

 

That sounds like a great Idea, drive safe on the road and save the body damage for the trails your right about the crash scenarios the results could go on and on. I guess its just my engineering degree that makes me a little hesitant about removing safety equipment especially energy absorption, but all and all I hope I am wrong and its just another stupid government regulation. I say lifted or stock, stubby bumper of regular one and yes even crumple zone or none, drive safe jeepers and remember distracted driving is deadly driving LOL! So keep the texting and Road Head to a minimum, OK maybe just the texting!!

 

HAHA yea, just the texting!!

 

with the bumpers removed you loose a lot of protection. in a crash air bags sensors are tuned to the needed force of having a bumper to crunch before they will react. not sure you would have the needed clearence between the steering box and the radiator and such to even fit the winch. I don't think their is a state that would allow any car on the road that does not have some form of a front and rear bumper.

a different approach might be to have the winch mounted just infront of the motor and behind the radiator. would need a little welding and a little longer line but would keep it safe and clean.
plus if you cut it shorter how you going to fit the Hemi in.