yeah, it surprises me how people seem to think that its not essential and take it off for fmic's... ive crashed a starlet before and i know for a fact that the crash bar does stop alot of extra damage. i'll defo be getting a crash bar friendly fmic. car wise... leave it mate... unless you want to break it for parts, its worth it if you intend to strip it, but if your like me and dont have time, just leave it.