Impact Absorbers...

[Rich_NYS]

I dont know how to make molds or anything like that...and mine would be useless as a template...lol

You still have the issue of the plate that holds the absorber...mine is fine (a little bent, but it would be usable), but I'd think most who need new absorbers, probably have damaged plates..or none at all.

But, yeah, Im sure they could be produced for alot less than $600

It's just cardboard cut to shape and taped together, after it sets you can use a rasp to further shape it. You could make a template off someone else's....could probably even get someone here to trace theirs on paper and mail it to you.

Make the damn thing and post pics! -lol

[Lwanmtr]

Yeah, if someone who had their's exposed and wanted to make tracings and measurements, I'd experiment in making one.

edit...their impact absorber exposed (figured I need to clarify that...lol)

[81dmc]

Yeah, if someone who had their's exposed and wanted to make tracings and measurements, I'd experiment in making one.

edit...their impact absorber exposed (figured I need to clarify that...lol)

I can take measurements from my car which has the fascia off. Once a rough square one is made, you can just sand to fit.

[Lwanmtr]

Cool. Just need to find out what the best foam or whatever to use that will be as close or better than what the absorbers use. Looked around last night, but since I dont know what I'm looking for I couldnt find anything..hehe.

[DMCVegas]

Here's a pretty good example:

Not trying to troll, but that kind of urethane foam just seems like a terrible idea. The reason being that it isn't reusable. If it gets bumped one time, it's gonna get crushed and need replacement. That's more of a sculpting foam, rather than an impact absorbing one. Because what if you're in a parking lot, and someone hits your car and takes off. The elastomeric fascias will just pop back into place, and you wouldn't know that anything happened. But the frame and crash protection is now gone, and if you do get into any other sort of collision, you're gonna have damage.

The stock Impact Absorbers just look like huge upholstery foam from seat cushions that were molded into shape. If you're missing them or need to rebuild them, why not consider buying some high-density seat foam, cut sculpt, and trim to fit it. Then paint and seal it?

[Lwanmtr]

That was my thought too....Maybe next time i go to home depot I'll see what they got. I havent been able to see a new one, so Im not sure what the squishy-hardness ratio otta be...hehe

[DMCVegas]

Since they're really only low-speed bumpers, perhaps another choice might actually be Impaxx foam. It's the same extruded polystyrene foam that GM uses for their bumpers. And again, you could just buy blocks of it, and split and file it until it fits.

http://www.rollbarpadding.com/products/cat-14

[Rich_NYS]

I'll take a closer look at my rear unit that I have off, I'm pretty sure it's very similar to polyurethane foam.

[DMCVegas]

Polyurethane, yes, but it's a flexible type. Again, like a seat cushion. Rob Grady has even spoke about this of how it acts like a sponge where for a couple days after a wash the car will still drip water from the bumpers.

The type of foam used in that video is not a flexible type and is resistant to water (which is why the OEM impact absorbers are coated). That's an expanding foam which remains ridged, and is used in heavier densities for sculpting.

http://www.shopmaninc.com/foam.html

The polystyrene *is* an alternative if someone was up to the challenge, though admittedly taking a perfect OEM foam impact absorber and creating a mold out of it to cast more impact absorbers would probably be simpler. Especially if you were to construct a jig that suspends a bracket inside of it, below the final surface level, and you just poured the flexible, impact grade polyurethane mixture in.

But I ain't gonna lie: After the cost of the chemicals, let alone molding the pieces, $600 from DMCH seems like a reasonable price.

[Lwanmtr]

According to that site 5 cubic feet (which should make more than 1 absorber) is only $264. Unless there's something else.

If a mold were made you wouldnt need to suspend a bracket, since you'd have the parts that form the holes in the absorber to hold a bracket up, you'd only have to make sure the bracket stays put and isnt forced out of the mold.