the bumper is adjustable for no body lift, 1.5" body lift and 3" body lift. always has been, but the brackets have changed slightly.

when mounted with no body lift, there SHOULD be about a 1/4" gap between the bumper and plastic wraps under the headlights. with a 1-3/8" body lift, it should be close to no gap and with a 3" it should have 0-1/4" gap.

in all these positions, if the bolts are left loose, it should give between 1/8" and 1/4" play per side for positioning.

what i would do is tighten one bolt on one side, lift or lower the other side, tighten one bolt there. then loosen the first bolt and adjust that side. repeat until the bumper is as even as it can be across the front of the vehicle.

however, the bumper may not be PERFECT, and one side may quite possibly in a teensy number of cases come out slightly off. more than likely, it is because my friend Joe helped me drill a hole or 2 and got them off-center. Joe is a fabricator by trade, but apparently not all that good at heavier stuff and bigger drill bits. if this is the case, it's a Pain in the a.... but you can use a dremel or similar tool to widen the holes, OR an angle-head/chuck drill or drill attachment with a 9/16" bit to widen them all slightly and leave more room for adjsutment.

in fact, i think i am going to start using 9/16" holes for 1/2" bolts on the bumper brackets just to make damn sure i don't have these problems.

everything is made by hand. i have no computer-controlled anything. stuff can get a little wongo from time to time. i do my best, but i was using Joe's drill press, so i had to let him hit a couple holes.... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />

Dave,

Didn't mean to sound like I was ragging on the fit of the bumper, as far as i'm concerned the bumper is perfect, layout, hole locations, quality of work is all excellent

My comment was about how the rest of the KIA has held up over time, but it's nothing a BFH couldn't fix! And there is more than enough adjustment built into the mounts as is, to correct any minor problems, I'd say 3" over the length of the bumper. Which would translate to a 1 5/8" diffrence in stock bumper mounts, and If you have that much diffrence I think the fit of a bumper would be the least of your worries! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I also noted you can slightly adjust (5/8") the fit of the stock mounts in relation to the body by tightening or loosening either of the two frame/body mounts on either side and forward of the rad.

I did not know the bumper was adjustable for lift, that is good to know if I ever decide to do the body lift <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

I did not know either!

But now I do.......and my bumper is being worked on as we speak!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Dang Hydra you won't let anyone outdo you! You've got like every Sportage upgrade known to man! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

thanks for clearing that up, but the funny thing is, i have always run into the same thing- i have always thought my measurements were off or my symmetry was wrong, or that maybe it was just MY Sportage that was wongo, but i guess it's not just me.

however... what does this mean?



i don't think it means anything critical necessarily, so, don't worry about that, i just don't understand what you're saying.... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />

Take into account the play of the bolts at the mounts where they connect to the bumper, they are 12 1/4" from the center line, the tips of the bumper are 31 1/2" from the center line, and you get a 1 1/2" movement at each bumper tip, 3" total (one side fully up, one side fully down) The 1 5/8 is the adjustable diffrence between the mounts which are 24 1/2" apart! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" />

Meaning you can adjust the bumper 3" at the tips by just using the play in the bolts, keeping the hole sizes as they are, if you make the holes bigger you'd get a greater range of motion, But in my case I only need 1" so unless you got a really bent front end, there should be enough play in the bumper and mounts to accomadate any mounting problems! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

Painted the bumper black today, the silver and black just looked odd on a gold body, I'll post pics as soon as I find the cable for the camara.

And I found the cause of the stock mounts to be out of whack with the body, one of the front body mounts was deformed, was about 1/2" shorter than the other, so the frame is straight, the body just sat crooked, again a BFH and torque wrench fixed it.

I heard that Everet Bought the bumper.......So,



What does it look lok Everet?

Let us know---------Mine is next! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/oink.gif" alt="" />

Waiting for special license plate holder, then I'll have pictures.
I'm really impressed by the thought that went into constructing this bumper. It looks great and fit is good (my sport has been tweaked a little so I just oversized the holes a little <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/evil.gif" alt="" />)
My neighbor thinks it is really trick on how it looks so professional. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Hope to have everything together by Wed. night.

I'm sure that anyone that has one is quite happy with it.

This is something I should have purchased last year!!

Later,
Everet <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />