a tad odd since they are not advertising to competitors.
i like my nut hugger bumper it's high tight n light. has options that work and are not more than what they need be. and it wern't no 900$.
Aluminum vs Steel Bumpers
- Thread starter Jacket4256
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i like my nut hugger bumper it's high tight n light. has options that work and are not more than what they need be. and it wern't no 900$.
JM_TJ
TJ Enthusiast
Just read through this thread (was a welcome distraction while sorting the dust mites on my GFs couch). Despite all the drama, it was very educational for someone like me who’s just gotten into the TJ world and doesn’t have a clue. Thanks to everyone who put the effort into contributing. Also, thanks to the mods for not shutting the thread and allowing a heated but healthy discussion to take shape.
FWIW: As a business owner, that response from GR is BS. If you manufacturer any product, especially one where one of the key features of is the material it’s made from, to not disclose the material or to use advertise the incorrect one is misleading and borderline fraudulent. It’s like someone selling jewellery and not disclosing the metal they use. As a business, 100% transparency with consumers is crucial. This is just an opinion as a customer and a business owner. I don’t know the first thing about bumpers lol.
FWIW: As a business owner, that response from GR is BS. If you manufacturer any product, especially one where one of the key features of is the material it’s made from, to not disclose the material or to use advertise the incorrect one is misleading and borderline fraudulent. It’s like someone selling jewellery and not disclosing the metal they use. As a business, 100% transparency with consumers is crucial. This is just an opinion as a customer and a business owner. I don’t know the first thing about bumpers lol.
JM_TJ
TJ Enthusiast
One more thing, as someone who likes to buy things from small American and British businesses (dual citizenship right here), I generally don’t expect a whole lot of customer service from these companies. They are, generally, running on a shoe string and don’t have the budget to invest in support roles like the larger corporates do. They’ve got to compete with the economies of scale somehow. I just think it’s important to manage expectations, if I’m purchasing something from a reputable small business I don’t care when I get it. I know they’re working hard and will get it to me when they can. If it’s someone like Amazon, Summit, or Morris I expect more.
Just my two cents. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and middle class. It’s important to support them the best we can. I get that we always don’t have the time to be patient but that’s when I bit the bullet and buy from one of the corporates I mentioned.
Just my two cents. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and middle class. It’s important to support them the best we can. I get that we always don’t have the time to be patient but that’s when I bit the bullet and buy from one of the corporates I mentioned.
UKTJ
TJ Addict
I don't disagree with anything you say there, but to their credit they did reply to my enquiry on a Saturday evening which is pretty good. I think what will be really interesting is to see if that bullet on their website saying the bumper is made of 6061-T6 is still there in a week.
I am sure Summit and Morris will be delighted to be categorised as being the same scale of business as Amazon
I’m really disappointed with that answer from GR. That’s some BS.
No kidding
Wow, my respect for GenRight just took a huge nose dive. Un-fucking-believeable.
Yep, that’s what I was trying to tell @MX952 earlier. Any time I have tried to talk to them on the phone they seem more interested in being salesman than they do actually answering my questions.
Which goes back to why I like dealing with Blaine. He will tell you what you need and what you don’t, nothing more, nothing less. No sales pitch or marketing bullshit like so many others.
Idk. He does an outstanding job of "selling" the a-hole image, even though he's really not and is a genuinely nice, caring, helpful person...oops, did I let the cat out of the bag?
I‘ve always appreciated his phrase “everything you need and nothing you don’t”.
You left out humble and lovable.Idk. He does an outstanding job of "selling" the a-hole image, even though he's really not and is a genuinely nice, caring, helpful person...oops, did I let the cat out of the bag?
ejay
TJ Addict
See what I mean about my selection being partially based on location? If I bought one and got an answer like that it'd be a short trip to bring it back where I got it, dump it on the reception desk, and go full Karen.I hope this does not reignite anything untoward, but as promised I am sharing the reply I received from GenRight...
"Hi [UKTJ],
Thanks for the email.
Funny people are debating the grade of aluminum.
We purposely don’t disclose what we really use to throw off our competitors.
In reality all the public needs to know is that it is aluminum.
Everyone needs to stop trying to puff their chest and relax. We know what we are doing."
I have just sent the following back to GenRight...
"Hi [GenRight]
Thanks for your reply, especially such a quick one over the weekend, very impressive!
I think the issue may be that it is not actually correct to say that you don't disclose the grade of aluminium, in fact it is the first point made under the features section talking about the stubby bumper, where your website says "Super lightweight 6061-T6 Aluminium". I guess from what you say this shouldn't be listed on the website, but I think it is this statement that is causing the confusion / debate.
I take it from your email that the bumper is not made from 6061-T6 and I understand that from a commercial point of view you may well not want to disclose what specific type of aluminium you use. I also completely get that you are far more expert than I am in the properties of various forms of aluminium, but from what I do know different grades of aluminium can have very different properties and give significantly different levels of performance, particularly in extreme conditions. To some customers knowing what aluminium is used to make a bumper may be a material consideration in their purchase decision.
Again, many thanks for such a speedy reply, it is much appreciated.
Kind regards,"
No idea if I will get a further reply, in fariness I did not ask any further questions, but if I do I will share it. It will also be interesting to see if the bullet point in the features section about the bumper is removed or not.
I'll be the odd man out here and say "GenRight was right". Trade secrets are as old as mankind. I don't blame them in the slightest.
ejay
TJ Addict
I agree. I also agree that if they say it's one kind of aluminum on their website and it is not...then when someone tried to confirm and got an answer like that, there's an issue.
Years ago when I was looking for a new bumper my goals were to find the lightest stubby bumper, there weren’t many choices for aluminum and none claimed to be 6061-T6, GR included. Some of their ads still only call out “aluminum” and no mention of tempered alloys.
It won't change. Like I said previous, this isn't the first discussion about aluminum and its use for bumpers and how you can tell what isn't being used by the way it is bent and formed. In previous threads, phone calls were made to GR and the answer was not 6061 T6.
That's the same slogan as the Nissan Xterra lol. Oddly enough was my previous vehicle and the reason I got into off roading, great car.
This was an informative read with my Sunday morning coffee and I appreciate the insight into Genright vs Savvy . The information from Blaine on the properties of different aluminums was awesome, as a design engineer its interesting to see this aspect being discussed. I wonder how the GenRight bumper would have faired with reinforced corners like the savvy bumper had.
The fucked up part about all of this is there are two very different design philosophies in play that are not well understood. One is where you have a concept based on how you want something to look and that controls the material selection.
The other is you pick a material and that controls the design so you don't get to have it always the way you want it to look since all materials can't be formed or bent in some ways. How a material selection can be bent determines the look of the final product.
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