Refreshing your 06 wrx front bumper with a clear look
If you're staring at a damaged or faded 06 wrx front bumper, you already know how much it may kill the whole vibe of your vehicle. There is some thing uniquely painful about creating a Hawkeye Subaru that looks amazing through the rear sectors but has a front end that will looks like it's been through a gravel storm. Regardless of whether you simply picked up a project vehicle that needs a few love or you've finally decided to fix that parking lot mishap from three years ago, getting the front end right is definitely the single greatest thing you can do for the car's curb appeal.
The 2006-2007 generation, affectionately known as the Hawkeye, is arguably one particular of the nearly all aggressive-looking Imprezas ever made. But because these cars sit fairly low from the factory—and even reduce if you're upon coilovers—the 06 wrx front bumper usually takes the brunt of everything the street throws at this. From steep driveways to those tangible parking blocks that will seem to leap out at you, that plastic will take a beating.
Why the Hawkeye bumper is usually so iconic
Subaru really hit their stride with the design in 2006. The three-piece billet grille setup integrated straight into the bumper has been a massive reduction from the earlier "Blobeye" and "Bugeye" designs. It gave the car the wider, more modern stance that still holds up today. When the bumper is clean and the particular lines are directly, the car appears fast even whenever it's sitting within a driveway.
However, because that design is usually so specific, finding a replacement can sometimes feel like a chore. You can't just slap a bumper from an apr or 05 upon there and call it a day time; the headlights plus hood lines are totally different. If you're looking for a fresh 06 wrx front bumper , you're most likely weighing the options among going with the genuine OEM part or rolling the particular dice on an aftermarket version.
OEM vs. Aftermarket replacement: The eternal battle
Let's chat about the hippo in the area: the price tag. If you go to a Subaru dealership and ask to get a brand-new, unpainted 06 wrx front bumper , you're probably going in order to walk out along with a lighter pocket and a little bit of label shock. A positive is that will the fitment will be guaranteed. Every clip, every screw hole, and every entire body line will range up perfectly.
On the flip side, aftermarket replacement bumpers are course of action more affordable. You can find them all more than the internet for the fraction of the price. The capture? Fitment could be an overall gamble. A number of them suit great with a little bit of heat plus persuasion, while other people will leave a person with gaps large enough to stay a finger through. If you're on a budget, an aftermarket bumper is fine, yet you need to be prepared to spend a little extra period massaging it into place.
Another thing to consider is the material. Many OEM bumpers are made from a flexible thermoplastic-polymer that can get a slight bump without having shattering. Some less expensive aftermarket options use fiberglass or a more rigid plastic material that might split the first period you scrape the driveway. If your car is daily powered, stick to the flexible stuff.
The "Pop Clip" nightmare
In the event that you've ever proved helpful on a Subaru, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The 06 wrx front bumper is held upon by what feels such as a thousand plastic pop clips. Right now, those clips are most likely brittle, filled along with dirt, and prepared to snap the 2nd you look at them.
Whenever you're planning to remove or replace your bumper, do your enormous favor and purchase a bag of universal Subaru-style clips in advance. You're going to split at least five of them, and absolutely nothing is more irritating than having your shiny new bumper ready to move but having to leave it dangling because you're lacking the clips regarding the fender liners.
Adding a front lip for that completed look
Most enthusiasts agree that an 06 wrx front bumper looks a bit naked without a front lip. The V-Limited style lip may be the go-to for the reason—it's subtle, it follows the lines of the car perfectly, and it makes the particular front end appear significantly lower without actually sacrificing as well much ground clearance.
The particular beauty of incorporating a lip is that it can also hide some minor scuffs on the very bottom part of the bumper. If your bumper is mostly fine yet has some "curb rash" along the bottom edge, a polyurethane lips is a cheap method to cover that will up and improve the look at the same time. Plus, it's way cheaper to replace the $60 plastic lip than it is to repaint an entire bumper.
In order to paint or not to paint?
If you do buy a new 06 wrx front bumper , it's going to arrive in a raw, dark plastic finish. Unless of course you're going for a very specific "drift missile" aesthetic, you're going in order to want to get it painted.
Color matching can end up being tricky, especially with iconic Subaru colours like World Rally Blue (WRB) or Crystal Grey Metal. Paint fades more than time due to sun exposure, so a brand-new bumper painted exactly in order to the factory colour code might actually look too shiny compared to your 18-year-old fenders. If you would like it to look perfect, a good body shop will certainly blend the color into the cover and fenders, but that obviously costs more.
If you're doing a budget build, many people have had excellent success with color-matched spray cans plus a lot of patience with apparent coating and polishing. It's not heading to be "show car" quality, but from five feet away, it'll look a whole lot better than a cracked bumper or a raw black one particular.
The STI bumper swap
A common query that pops up is whether the STI bumper is different from the WRX one. For the particular 2006 model year, they are really the same component number for that primary bumper skin. The particular difference comes straight down to the accessories. The STI emerged with those iconic fog light addresses and a little additional "winglet" or even splitters on the sides.
If you want to give your WRX that STI look, you don't need a whole new 06 wrx front bumper ; you just require to track down the fog light deletes and the side splitters. It's an easy way in order to change the personality of the vehicle without doing a full tear-down. Just keep in thoughts that in case you eliminate your fog lamps to put upon covers, you'll have got some unused wiring harnesses tucked back again there—make certain to zip-tie them taken care of therefore they don't fatigue the road.
Finding an used bumper
When you're lucky, a person might find a good used 06 wrx front bumper in your car's original color on Facebook Marketplace or at a local pick-n-pull. This is the holy grail of repairs. Obtaining a factory-painted bumper means you don't have to get worried about color matching or the price of a paint booth.
However, Hawkeye components are becoming harder to find in good condition. Most of the ones within junkyards are generally there because of front-end collisions, which often means the bumper is bread toasted. If you find 1, check the installation tabs carefully. The tabs where the bumper meets the fender are well known for tearing. In the event that those are ripped, the bumper can never sit flush, and you'll be stuck with that will annoying "saggy bumper" look.
Final thoughts on the recharge
Refreshing your 06 wrx front bumper is one of those projects that feels daunting until you in fact get under the car. Once a person get the headlights cleared out and the ones pesky pop clips removed, it's quite a straightforward job.
Whether you stay OEM, go aftermarket, or just put in a lip to hide some outdated battle scars, getting care of the front end changes the way you feel about the car every time you walk as much as it. These Hawkeyes are legendary to get a reason, and they deserve to appear the part. Don't let a beat-up bumper hold back the look of your own Subaru—get it changed, get it painted, plus get back away on the road.