Over the weekend I installed Opar's latest upgraded front grab handles. Same basic design with only very slight changes, but now they have a new fingered grip. Installation was a breeze, I suggest installing the top bolt first and leave it loose and then the lower bolt last. Before installing the lower bolt, run the bolt in without the grab bar in place and pay attention to the angle of the bolt. Then back the bolt out and install the lower bolt and tighten both and you're done in less than 5 minutes a side. I've installed many sets of these on Jeeps and have never had any installation issues following the above steps.
I hope this helps anyone that has had problems in the past or is thinking about purchasing a set. These can be bought on Amazon and the new grip design gives a positive grip and no chance of your hand sliding off!
Hmm... I, for one, don't like the look of that fingered grip as much as the straight grips and I'm glad I recently got mine just before the redesign. There's really no chance of slipping off the old grips unless you've been avidly digging for the last potato chip crumbs.
I'm surprised to hear of the visors hitting the new ones. That would mean that the geometry of the bends has changed since they supposedly didn't hit before redesign. (I don't have my visors installed, so I'm only going by hear-say.)
To me, this would be two negative changes for this new version.
They're easier than the Grabars, but that might be because this is the second time I'm doing it. However, I've got a 4 door and the bolts are too short for the rear handles. They send 60mm bolts and they need to be about 70. So I ordered some bolts on amazon.
Like many, I buy American -- and especially local -- when I feel it's fair. But at times when we Americans can't bend a piece of steel and drill a couple of accurate holes (yes, I'm oversimplifying) for well under $100, I'm happy to outsource that project for the $30 I paid.
I have a pair of Opar Wild Boars that I bought after the Grabars I bought were impossible to install. (and trust me, I tried everything).
The first set of Opars I got were slightly different sized. The driver side was a little smaller than the passenger side.
Opar's customer service was great tho. They sent me another pair and told me to keep the other set. The new set is better but not perfect. The bend in the handles is slightly off compared to each other.
So, I think the quality of the Grabars are definitely better. It just sucks that they can't make them so they're easier to install like the Opars.
Im a firm believer that you get what you pay for. The grab bars are top quality and look great. I understand to some, saving 50 bucks is a big deal but if you have the means, I recommend getting top quality first. I learned the hard way with the rugged ridge carrier. If I had bought teraflex it would have saved me headaches
Im a firm believer that you get what you pay for. The grab bars are top quality and look great. I understand to some, saving 50 bucks is a big deal but if you have the means, I recommend getting top quality first.
I ordered a set of these grab bars with the updated design this week, and just got them installed last night. Quality and finish on both bars looked good, and I really had nothing to complain about. Installation was a pretty quick process, and I'm really happy to have them in place now. These will be helpful for the friends and relatives who've complained about the height of my (stock) Rubicon when getting into the front seat haha.
I would just be careful because like I stated earlier, mine developed a crack at the bend and so did my buddies. After that you could hear the GraBars making a noise when you tried to pull up. I feel safer just using my grab handles over these, honestly.
I just installed my Opar "Wild Boar" grab bars last weekend. Took me about 15 minutes from getting out my tools to putting them away. They are solid steel and both visors fold down perfectly. I loosely snugged up the side bolt first, then snugged up the top bolt. Then tightened in the same order.
Personally, I think I like the look without the finger grips. I really don't see how anything under 500 pounds could crack these things. I think that is a manufacturing defect and I'm sure they would replace them. I'm more worried about my weight messing up the windshield alignment than I am messing up these handles. I can shake my whole Jeep with them and they don't budge.
is it going to prevent the sunvisor to come to fold down?
Are these safe incase of an accident or are the soft grab bar that wrap around the roll bar? Reason why i'm asking is someone died in long island 2 days ago that flipped his two door JK.
Hi. I have installed both the Wild Boar and the Grabars in my 2016 Jeep. Neither allows the front bars to be folded all the way down. Now I realizes tolerances can vary from one Jeep to the other but that would be quite a tolerance difference. So if the new Opar bars without the Wild Boar logo only provide finger grips, to me it doesn't seem like a big improvement. Make a set of grab bars that are guaranteed to clear the sun visor especially on the driver's side for under $60 or so and I'll buy them for sure. Thanks for reading.
sorry for the typo above in the first sentence, it should have read, "Neither allows the sun visor (not the front bars) to be folded all the way down."
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