Rock Sliders to do or not to do

[Pajaru]

First of let me say that I am not trying to do any businesses out of sales, what I hoping to achieve is a better understanding of the pros and cons on fitting rock sliders to my Pajero.

First of air bag compatibility. It seems most rock sliders are not. My understanding is that this places insurance at risk, in that insurance companies may not insure or refuse insurance on a truck that has these fitted. Not to mention air bags not deploying in a accident.

Aluminum side steps, I presume these can not take the same punishment as steel rock sliders, but I see that you can get air bag compatible ones.

• So are Aluminum side steps better than the factory side steps.

• Are there steel air bag compatible rock sliders available for the pajero.

and most importantly,

• how many members on this forum have non air bag compatible rock sliders/side steps fitted to their truck that has side air bags.

• Is it better to have the protection of steel rock sliders and worry about any other issues if you every need to.

[sharkcaver]

Airbags and sliders......lalalalalala, did someone say something (pulls head out of the sand)

If you go off road, you will be surprised just how easy oem or alloy steps bend.

I personally think they look much better lifted without any steps at all, but you loose the practicality of sill protection and a handy step to get into the vehicle with. You dont even need to hit anything. Gravel rash (which you should be fairly acquainted with over here) will strip the sills of paint very quick.

2 Paj's now I've owned with side airbags and I wouldn't be without steel steps on either.

Just my opinion, others may have a different take.

Back to putting my head in the sand....lalalalalala , did someone mention side airbags

[Ent]

Safety first means avoiding just about any after market accessory as without extensive crash testing you can never be sure what effect things will have.

Rocksliders are on the side so you very little crumple zone therefore you are still in for a hell of a large number of Gs regardless. Air bags work on many factors so hard to predict if they will fire earlier or later. Given many solid chassis vehicles have airbags with these chassis rails somewhat stronger than most rocksliders I personally think the difference might be minor but as said without testing just my assumption. The Pajero is a utility construction so might behave differently. But then so will what hits you. Modern crumple zone car versus old truck with bullbar. Much prefer been clobbered by the first but fate will govern that eventuality.

Off road my rock sliders have saved a small fortune in sill damage so a fan. Though I did think long and hard about the side impact effect.

[old Jack]

I am with Ent on this, the sensor for the side airbag is in the "B"pillar and it must detect the impact forces on the side of the car, whether it is a pole, tree trunk, a car or a concrete wall and anywhere between the front and rear wheels. There is already various different crush so I do not see aftermarket side steps effecting the deployment of the side airbags.

My factory side steps are looking a bit secondhand but they have had 4&1/2 years of off-roading and they have certainly saved the sills from damage. Only reason I have not fitted aftermarket sliders is weight, as I am trying to save on extra weight and preserve my payload.

cheers, OJ.

[stevemc181]

I was looking for an old post from OJ regarding the rock sliders and ADR's, found it here. Is this still relevant OJ? http://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/...00&postcount=6

Personally I can't see how the Bushskinz sliders would affect the deployment of airbags or in anyway be illegal? They bolt straight up to the factory mounting points and are worth their weight in gold when you come down hard while in Mountain goat country! The factory steps bend like a banana with very little effort, they should be called gravel deflectors!

[littleriver]

Roosystems is advertising ADR compliant side steps ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6pKEorPpKQ ... maybe worth a look ...
...

[old Jack]

I was looking for an old post from OJ regarding the rock sliders and ADR's, found it here. Is this still relevant OJ? http://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/...00&postcount=6

Personally I can't see how the Bushskinz sliders would affect the deployment of airbags or in anyway be illegal? They bolt straight up to the factory mounting points and are worth their weight in gold when you come down hard while in Mountain goat country! The factory steps bend like a banana with very little effort, they should be called gravel deflectors!

Yes Steve, I believe the post is still current as ADR 72.00 dates back to 2005 and has not been amended.

Regards, OJ.

[NFT5]

First of let me say that I am not trying to do any businesses out of sales, what I hoping to achieve is a better understanding of the pros and cons on fitting rock sliders to my Pajero.

First of air bag compatibility. It seems most rock sliders are not. My understanding is that this places insurance at risk, in that insurance companies may not insure or refuse insurance on a truck that has these fitted. Not to mention air bags not deploying in a accident.

Aluminum side steps, I presume these can not take the same punishment as steel rock sliders, but I see that you can get air bag compatible ones.

• So are Aluminum side steps better than the factory side steps.

• Are there steel air bag compatible rock sliders available for the pajero.

and most importantly,

• how many members on this forum have non air bag compatible rock sliders/side steps fitted to their truck that has side air bags.

• Is it better to have the protection of steel rock sliders and worry about any other issues if you every need to.

I think that the first thing anyone needs to do is just have a look at a set of sliders. Let's use the Bushskinz ones as an example since they are probably the most popular, at least for Gen 3 & 4.

They're made with a fairly solid section of square tube which is mounted with brackets to the sub-frame directly above, Wall thickness of the tube and the alignment of the brackets means that they're quite strong and able to comfortably resist low speed direct impacts and sliding over things that may otherwise cause damage to the sills.

They have an outer tube that forms the base for a step and while that tube is also reasonably heavy gauge it actually doesn't take first impact. That's the job of the square tube directly under the brackets.

Now consider that while the slider is well able to take impact forces of a few tonnes in low speed hits, the impact force of that Camry that is about to T-bone you at 60km/h is well over 70 tonnes. No rock slider will ever be able to take that kind of force, especially from the side. So, that rock slider is probably just going to tear off its mounts, contributing very little to impact absorption, just as the factory step would.

As far as I know there is no such thing as an "air bag compatible slider", which means that 100% of those people with sliders have a technically non-compatible system. I'd rather have my sliders than not have them though.

[mrbitchi]

I think that the first thing anyone needs to do is just have a look at a set of sliders. Let's use the Bushskinz ones as an example since they are probably the most popular, at least for Gen 3 & 4.

They're made with a fairly solid section of square tube which is mounted with brackets to the sub-frame directly above, Wall thickness of the tube and the alignment of the brackets means that they're quite strong and able to comfortably resist low speed direct impacts and sliding over things that may otherwise cause damage to the sills.

They have an outer tube that forms the base for a step and while that tube is also reasonably heavy gauge it actually doesn't take first impact. That's the job of the square tube directly under the brackets.

Now consider that while the slider is well able to take impact forces of a few tonnes in low speed hits, the impact force of that Camry that is about to T-bone you at 60km/h is well over 70 tonnes. No rock slider will ever be able to take that kind of force, especially from the side. So, that rock slider is probably just going to tear off its mounts, contributing very little to impact absorption, just as the factory step would.

As far as I know there is no such thing as an "air bag compatible slider", which means that 100% of those people with sliders have a technically non-compatible system. I'd rather have my sliders than not have them though.

ARB sliders are sold as Air Bag Compatable

[vladguan]

There are two side impact some sensors. One is located half way up the rear door near its leading edge and the other is just above the rear arch, after the rear door, in similar height to the other one. Both should not be affected by rock sliders.

[Alben]

At a guess, i would say that the mounting locations on the body of gen 3 and 4 pajeros would still be the weakest link and would break there or bend when sliders were installed in the case of a major accident.
I have just remade my steps by removing the pressed metal part of the factory steps and replacing it with 40x40mm rhs with the plastic step installed back over the top.
Looks factory from the top but shouldn't bend too easily if it gets caught on a rock or drop off.
I got the idea from someone else on the forum. I do like the look of the bushskinz though.
Cheers
Ben

[Pajaru]

@ littleriver
I took a look at the Roosystems rock silders and ther doesn't seem to be a Pajero one.



A article I was reading suggest that rock sliders add strength to the truck which can cause miss readings in the air bag sensors by amplifying the effects of hits to the rock sliders and causing the side airbag to deploy.

Would it be possible/legal to get a rock slider from a truck (Triton?) which is air bag compatible and adapt it to fit the Pajero.

Found this thread which helps to add to the subject

http://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=5311

[Ent]

I would hunt out a set that match the vehicle.

[serapax]

The 'illegal mod' factor

I really want to get Bushskinz rocksliders for the GLX-R with side airbags, but the lack of certified airbag compatibility worries me. I'm satisfied that there is little safety impact, but I'd hate to have an unrelated insurance claim refused on the basis of an illegal mod discovered by the assessor.

I'm disappointed in the soft plastic trim on my factory steps, and can see them getting destroyed even by sticks pretty quick. I may have to resign myself to just replacing them every few years.

Just a thought - I expect they don't do destructive testing for airbag compatibility, and would just use an ADR engineer's assessment? I wonder that if this is indeed the case, are there enough of us to make chipping-in cost effective means to have this done?

[vladguan]

Here is a thought. Most if not all air bag sensors work on sudden decelleration either via mechanical or electrical means. The sensors themselves do not have to be bumped. I cannot see how a rock slider will diminish the amount of G force/decelleration experienced by the sensor. It may in fact increase the affect and may trigger the airbags unnecessarily.

BTW, most if not all cars have side intrusion bars which are solid pieces of metal across the frames of the doors. These bars are usually located at the same or similar hieghts to the sensors. Unlike the front and rear of vehicles, the is no crumple zone on the sides. At best, the panels are designed to deform in a way to act like a crumple zone.

I don't think a rock slider will stop the following: