Challenger Bumpers | Essential Guide

Bumpers on today’s Challengers aren’t like the bumpers you might find on the earlier ones of the 70s. They may not be as attention grabbing as the chrome bumpers from the good ole’ days, but they leave room to build a custom look.

To be fair, the ​real bumper is tucked behind a bumper cover. The bumper cover is typically painted to match the rest of the body toward the ground for a flush, smooth appearance; the same is true front to rear. Let’s cut to the chase. Making upgrades here is the same thing it’s been since the early 2000s when the tuner scene stole everyone’s hearts.

While shopping around for bumper covers, you may get an itchy feeling like it’s a sin to dress a Mopar up like a rice rocket. Relax though. The bumper covers for Challengers on today’s market keep things looking classy.

The covers available retain the original, aggressive tone of a Challenger while adding a bit extra. To be clear, odds are you will likely have to have the new bumper cover painted to match your Challenger’s paint after it shows up at your door. This makes for an additional cost, but it’s worth the extra money to preserve a seamless appearance.

Some people may not want to totally overhaul the front, or rear, of their Challenger. It’s simple to understand – the stock ones are gorgeous. But those seeking something unique are not out of luck. There are a bunch of accessories and add-ons for bumpers to give them a custom look.

The most notable add-on is an air dam. Air dams give your ride a subtle, but effective, change in appearance. Not only that, they offer some performance gains in the ways of air flow. Some of the air dams available are totally custom, but the big Dodge guys may be interested in putting a Hellcat style air dam on their Challenger.

What has to happen in order for someone to pull a bumper cover and install a new one? Well, the good news is the process is really pretty simple for both the front and the rear. You’ll need tools for pulling the plastic panels from the vehicle. Otherwise, a set of basic hand tools and replacement clips are all you’ll need.

Before pulling the panel, it’s a good idea to go ahead and disconnect wiring and lighting from the bumpers. Doing this while the bumper is on the car will make it way harder to tear the wiring while pulling the bumper away.

Access to the lighting and wiring may be tough considering working space is a bit limited in these areas. A good tip for the fog lights is you’ll want to turn the front tires toward the inner wheel well. You’ll likely figure this out as you work, but we figured we’d give you a heads up. If some wiring can’t be pulled from the cover while it’s still on the car, just be mindful of it as you pull the bumper away.

As long as the painting was done beforehand, you should be good to go with installing the new piece. Considering space is limited on the other side of the bumper cover you will want to install the wiring and lighting to the bumper before fastening it to the car. It’s good to have a helper’s eye in making sure the body lines match up before permanently installing the new bumper.

• Remove lighting and wiring wherever possible
• Remove plastic clips mounting the cover
• Pull bumper cover from car
• Remove remaining wiring
• Install wiring and lighting to new cover
• Mount the new cover to the car making sure body lines match perfectly

Installing accents is even easier than installing new bumper covers. In some cases, for custom pieces, drilling may be required underneath in order to properly secure the unit, but not to worry. No one’s going to see it. As far as other mods like retro kits that use double sided tape, all you’re going to need is a clean rag with rubbing alcohol and a couple of beers.

Retro kits are pretty common for Challengers. These systems take factory third gen Challengers and dress them up to resemble the first gen Challengers from the 70s. This type of upgrade is for someone who really appreciates chrome though. They aren’t actually bumper replacements, just accents that stick on top of the factory equipment.

Something like this is perfect for the guy looking to make big changes without cutting into their ride and pulling it apart. Installation is quick, they are cost effective and on something like an RT classic, they are the perfect choice.

Once the accents or new bumper is installed, your Challenger is going to stand out from the other hundreds you see every single day. It doesn’t break the bank to do and only takes a few hours to be done at most. We can appreciate the stock appearance of a Challenger, but we also appreciate the look of something familiar but different.