The Diamond Standard Parts Management Center has issued an industry paper titled, "Equivalent Bumper System Crash Pulse Performance Through the Lens of Crashworthiness & Occupant Safety Experts," to address structural aftermarket parts use.

The study was conducted by MGA Research Corporation, which Diamond Standard says is "an accredited, recognized worldwide leading independent provider of automotive testing technologies." It compared the front absorber/reinforcement system of a 2006 Nissan Altima when both OEM parts and Diamond Standard alternative parts were installed. A series of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 214 fixed barrier tests were reportedly conducted to measure crash pulse management and vehicle occupant head trajectory.

Diamond Standard says the test results were reviewed and validated by George Neat, former chief of vehicle crashworthiness division, the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (DOT), and Dr. David Breed, who received the H. H. Bliss Award as one of the inventors of the airbag.

The tests were conducted at MGA's Burlington, Wisc., facility utilizing the FMVSS 214 sled protocol at a speed of 9.5 MPH just under the threshold of the no-fire airbag velocity range.

According to James Hackney, former director of crashworthiness, NHTSA, co-author of the “New Car Assessment – Five-Star Crash Rating – Vehicle Safety Performance Characteristics," and developer of many of the test protocols utilized by MGA, "properly manufactured aftermarket parts can provide, at least, equivalent performance to OEM service parts they replace.”  

The first set of sled tests were conducted without an anthropomorphic dummy, providing system benchmark data comparatives including load carry capabilities, crash pulse and deceleration markers. George Neat concluded, "The performance of the Diamond Standard Alternative absorber/rebar can be expected to be very similar to the performance of the OEM equipment in a crash scenario."

The second series of comparative testing inserted an anthropomorphic dummy in the test sled vehicle with the fixed barrier test repeated. The tests focused on and determined the affect of the bumper system components on dummy head trajectory, measuring the "x" position for forward movement and "z" position for vertical movement. 

Dr. David Breed concluded, "The Diamond Standard and the OEM bumpers are for all practical purposes identical in the region where the bumper determines crash pulse. It's unlikely that they would perform differently in real world crashes where an airbag deploys." 

"Diamond Standard patently believes and supports the industry goal of achieving a complete, safe repair that restores the collision management system of the vehicle to predamaged condition with equivalent parts that limit collateral damage and vehicle totals in lower speed events and protect occupant safety in higher speed collisions," said Geoff Crane, business development manager of Diamond Standard Parts, LLC. 

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