Looking to pick up a nismo front end. been looking through the vendor section and on the internet. anyone know the best place price and quality wise for one of these. also, whats the comparison of fiberglass and poly urethane? Thanks guys.

 

Fiberglass is a hard material, but it can crack easily if not taken care of properly. Poly urethane is more durable and is flexible, making it feel kind of almost like a "rubber" (for lack of a better term) material. However, even though it is more durable, it can still be damaged and is harder to repair, at least that is what I'm told... I don't know if anyone can confirm that.

If you're looking for a Nismo bumper, I would either hit up Strafe or Arch Industries. Both supply the Nismo bumper. However, Strafe supplies BOTH the fiberglass and poly urethane bumper where as Arch Industries only supplies the poly urethane.

 

You can check out Strafe or Arch in the vendor marketplace. Or if you want to save some money just wait for a used one to pop up, they are a dime a dozen.

Polyurethane is more flexible and upon any impact the paint will crack instead of the bumper itself. However it is harder to repair IF it gets damaged, as well as potentially more expensive to prep and paint. Fiberglass is brittle (as far as replicas go), cheap to fix, easy to work with. Pick whatever suits your needs the best.

 

Urethane is not harder to repair... if anything its easier. 3M and Fusor make amazing adhesives, and epoxies used to modify and repair urethane/ABS. Ive modified both fiberglass and urethane parts. Id rather deal with a 2 part epoxy then matting and resin. Plus when you grind plastic repair materials for bodywork, you get plastic dust, not horrible smelling and itchy particles accustomed to grinding/sanding fiberglass. Both are gonna get damaged if you hit something, urethane has elastic properties so it doesnt damage as bad. Moral of the story... dont run into sh't

Prep and paint should be the same most times cheaper with urethane, whether you get urethane or fiberlgass, adhesion promoter is a must for primer and paint to stick

For a front bumper Id go with urethane... skirts and rear are a better option to go with fiberglass.

I bought my NISMO replica on ebay and beefed up the bolting points on the backside and also shaved the marker lights.

 

Interesting, I stand corrected. Shops around here (MD) will try to charge an arm and a leg for any work involving polyurethane, so I just thought it was more work.

 

Appears you only have two choices from where to get the Nismo bumper, Arch or Strafe. If and when you do buy it make sure you get urethane it has a much longer life than fiberglass. Having it painted will run you close to if not $500 for the job done right! Good Luck!
Gary

 

Polyurathane is the way to go

 

Arch and Strafe both carry poly Nismo bumper for a good price

 

Another for poly. Completely worth it.

 

Urethane from strafe