Passenger side front, odd bracket on frame.

[SoK66]

I just noted this big bracket bolted to the frame on the passenger front, back side of the wheel well. No matching one on driver side. Seems to have no purpose whatsoever. Anyone know what it’s for?

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[Great Offender]

Picture? I'm sure you added it but it didn't take.

 

[Camaroboi13]

I bet he’s referring to this one. We all have it. No clue what it’s for.

 

[SoK66]

Yes, that’s it. Seems to have no purpose.

 

[Benbean66]

I believe it's an extra bracket they added to increase crash safety. Supposedly it helps with keeping the front axle from crushing into the passenger footwell.

 

[fourfa]

^ yep. It’s not trivial to remove - IIRC theres a captured bolt that has to be cut out. But on the bright side, we haven’t seen tons of people getting it snagged in the rocks either. It might even do something good in a crash ? better things to worry about

 

[Broccoli]

I bet he’s referring to this one. We all have it. No clue what it’s for.

I don’t have it.

 

[Rusty PW]

There is already a couple of threads on it. It's something that Jeep started to add in the beginning of '23. It's to keep the right front tire from entering the passenger foot well. Has nothing to do will roll over.

 

[Zachanadandy]

It's a cheat to get improved performance in the very specific offset front crash test. The tire pushing back under the frame would lift the passenger side and cause the vehicle to roll. Guess what would happen on the drivers side if that's how the test was performed? If it was actually about safety they would have added it to both sides. Guess where the tires going after you lifted the Jeep? The bracket serves no purpose in the real world for most of us. If I hit something hard enough to push the front tire back under the frame, who cares if the Jeep also flops? Assuming the side airbags do their job I'd be no worse off than if it stayed upright.

 

[sharpsicle]

The bracket serves no purpose in the real world for most of us. If I hit something hard enough to push the front tire back under the frame, who cares if the Jeep also flops? Assuming the side airbags do their job I'd be no worse off than if it stayed upright.

That's not how safety works. You don't just assume things and then say that makes other safety things useless. And you seriously don't think there's more risk in a rollover crash? Yikes....

 

[SoK66]

Thanks for the responses all. Looks like something designed after the crash test results didn't go as planned.

 

[jac04]

Officially, it is called a "Tire Deflector Bracket":

 

[Zachanadandy]

That's not how safety works. You don't just assume things and then say that makes other safety things useless. And you seriously don't think there's more risk in a rollover crash? Yikes....

If it was actually improving safety, why isn't it on the drivers side too (because the offset crash test they were trying to improve the rating on)? Once you lift your vehicle this bracket won't deflect the tire from pushing back under the frame and causing the same rollover in they observed in testing prior to adding the bracket. My gladiator is lifted on 37s. This bracket won't do anything for me period.

 

[Minty JL]

If it was actually improving safety, why isn't it on the drivers side too (because the offset crash test they were trying to improve the rating on)? Once you lift your vehicle this bracket won't deflect the tire from pushing back under the frame and causing the same rollover in they observed in testing prior to adding the bracket. My gladiator is lifted on 37s. This bracket won't do anything for me period.

During a crash with dynamic load and resistance, the drives side has the front driveshaft feeding back to the transfer case to absorb the impact, there is nothing on the passenger side. So that was the birth of the "Tire Deflector Bracket"

I'm not an engineer on that level, but as far as common sense goes.....it checks the box

 

[sharpsicle]

If it was actually improving safety, why isn't it on the drivers side too (because the offset crash test they were trying to improve the rating on)? Once you lift your vehicle this bracket won't deflect the tire from pushing back under the frame and causing the same rollover in they observed in testing prior to adding the bracket. My gladiator is lifted on 37s. This bracket won't do anything for me period.

Once you lift your vehicle, a ton of things change. It's silly to say that because you can lift a truck that Jeep shouldn't have put a safety device on there to start with. It had a function, regardless of you modifying your vehicle to the point of it being useless, and that function was to improve safety. Clearly, it does improve safety. That's what the bracket is for, end of story.

I'm happy for you that you don't care about it. I'm also happy for you that you don't care if your Jeep rolls over in a crash or not. That doesn't mean others shouldn't care or that you should be telling people that safety features are worthless. That's irresponsible.

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