New xB owner here, coming out of a 9 and a half year relationship with a white 1985 Jeep Cherokee that was purchased new by my father and driven by everyone else in my family, thus netting it 250,000 miles and still on it's original engine.
Unfortunately the old Jeep is a gas hog and has been slowly aquiring more problems and my new job requires a reliable, long distance vehicle and the Scion xB fit the bill perfectly.

And what's the first thing I do on the first outting with my entire family in the car? I back into a curb.

Now, in my Jeep there would've been a lurch as I drove up onto it but that happens often enough that it would've been no big deal. Sadly, I head a loud 'pop pop' and quickly drive forward only to discover the left rear bumper has a fresh set of scratches in the bottom corner with the front edge of the plastic bumper jutting out an inch from where it used to sit flesh with the metal body.

A visit from a peice of sandpaper and a philips screwdriver later and the bumper is flush (The screw holes on the bumper and retaining tab are broken, but the screw holds them in place well enough) and the bumper corner just looks like it's dirty (The bumper plasic is black so it blends with the Thundercloud Metalic paint well enough).

I've gotten used to driving over curbs when they got in my way of my high-ground-clearence Jeep, so hopefully I'll adjust quickly enough to avoid the embaressment of a 'removed' bumper.

 

Ouch -- dont feel too bad - I have to replace the front bumper lip because of
concrete parking block damage New one all painted and ready to pop on
Hopefully this weekend

See Ya

Ray

 

yea i dont have a high standard for the look of my front and rear lips... lets face it they are gonna take a beating no matter how careful you are... it only take a split second of poor judgement to rough em up... luckily most of the damage i did to em is towards the underside... i dont even want to think about how they are going to look after i drop my box on goldlines... after i put my rims on i would get closer then 2 feet to curbs...

 

Not all is lost!! Rat Rodders to the rescue! LOL Get Pimpin Curb Feelers at
http://www.shrunkenheads.com/Product...rb_Feelers.htm

 

I think the xB would look good without the lower lips and side rails. I don't own one yet, but wonder if it is possible to remove the lower plastic without damaging the paint. It looks like the wheel well liners would need trimming to make it work.

 

yes it is possible to remove the f/r lips and side skirts... tho more would have to be trimmed than wheel well liners... thers some plastic "splash" gard or somthing under the front that attatches to front lower lip... w/out lip.. it flaps in breeze and makes noises... and breaks away at highway speeds.... some here have had that happen w/o thinking about that piece...

 

Does anyone have a photo of an XB without the lips and side rails? If so please post.

 

if you take off the front lip the bottom part of the radiator will be exposed... you need something there, its the finishing touch to the car... it serves multiple purposes... if you want to take it off just for looks take a look at some aftermarket lip kits... otherwise you will have to do some fabrication to make a lipless box looked finished...

 

Sounds like it would be easier to leave the lips, and skirts in place.

 

My only aim would be to give a little more ground clearence so it won't hit a standard sized curb. I'm betting this will ruin the look and/or it's gas millage somehow.

I'll just have to adjust

 

yea youll get used to it... its a small car so dont worry bout hangin on the line or hangin out the back, i usualy park next to large suvs so i dont have to pull up as far and they will still stick out further then my box...

 

What's weird is that it's only 11 inches shorter in length than my old Jeep and is almost exactly the same height and width.