Coastal Offroad
What goes up, must come down. Having the proper underbody protection is essential for rough trails.
Coastal Offroad
The most important aspect of any off-road vehicle is reliability, which means having the ability to get out on the trails or backcountry roads and overcome tough conditions, the weather and unexpected terrain, and then retrace your path to return home safely. Driver skill and experience, of course, both count but it all comes down to trusting your 4x4 in a constant, demanding environment.
That’s when mods come into play. Some can be flashy that you can proudly brag to your buddies about while others are more discreet. Skid plates fall into the latter category. Are they bright with lots of bling? No. Will you attract attention on the trails with them? Probably not. But what they lack in aesthetics, they make up for with optimum protection of the vital components on the underside of your rig.
Coastal Offroad
The seamless design of a skid plate.
Most, if not all, 4x4s come with stock skid plates and provide a certain level of underbody protection. But should you find yourself running challenging, rocky conditions more frequently, upgrading from stock to a more durable, heavy-duty aftermarket skid plate is a wise choice - and their importance bears repeating as not all skid plates (including the one that came with your JK, for instance) are made equal.
For instance, there are a variety of designs with various weights, material, thickness and most importantly, protection. Remember, all it takes is one swift, unexpected hit on the trail that will stop you in your tracks, potentially leaving you stranded.
Coastal Offroad
The thickness of skid plates commonly range from 1/4″ aluminum and medium-duty 1/8″ steel to heavy-duty 3/16″ steel.
What Does a Skid Plate Protect?
Simply put, a heavy-duty skid plate provides seamless protection from the front of the vehicle to the bottom of the rear bumper, thus protecting the rad, front differential, engine oil pan, steering rack, transmission, transfer case and gas tank from branches, rocks or other debris. Damage to any one of these parts or systems will not only ruin your day on the trails, but you could be on the hook for a big expense at the end of it.
Do You Really Need Skid Plates?
All too often, off-road vehicles are heavily modified with a variety of expensive add-ons but they still have the thin factory skid plates. Although stock models are better than nothing, they usually consist of a front skid plate to protect the rad with a very thin plate under the front differential. These are sometimes referred to as “feeler” plates and the protection is sometimes quite limited. With more robust skid plates, not only does your vehicle have optimum protection but they support a large portion of your 4x4’s weight, such as when dropping down steep ledges or rough terrain.
Additionally, as any mod on a 4x4 can be expensive, it’s important to realize that the price of replacing under-body components far outweighs the cost of a new skid plate - never mind the effort and hassle of getting your vehicle off the trail and to your local shop in the event of serious damage.
Coastal Offroad
Upgrading from the stock skid plate is pertinent if you run tough, rocky terrain.
Additional Benefits
The benefits of heavy-duty underbody protection include having a smooth, uninterrupted underbody that allows the ability to slide over obstacles with less resistance, and they can even better manage deep, snowy conditions. Although it’s a given that they will add weight to your vehicle, they lower its centre of gravity, thus improving stability and handling - both on- and off-road. Plus, considering that air travels underneath the vehicle at highway speeds that slightly increases drag, skid plates can slightly reduce wind resistance, thus improving fuel economy.
Why Type of Skid Plate Should You Use?
There are a variety of options from many manufacturers and the key factors are strength, weight and cost. They commonly range in thickness from 1/4″ aluminum and medium-duty 1/8″ steel to heavy-duty 3/16″ steel, the latter being the ideal choice as it’s able to resist pretty much anything in its path.
Although the cost is much lower than aluminum, it’s important to realize that the trade-off is increased weight. Nevertheless, an ideal alternative is its ⅛” counterpart, which is less expensive and has weight savings of as much as 11 to 18 kg (25 to 40 lb) over 3/16″ steel. While it won’t provide quite as much protection, they are still a huge improvement over the stock skid plates and are ideal for moderate trails.
Coastal Offroad
A heavy-duty skid plate provides the ideal protection to the underbody when the trails go from smooth to rough.
If weight is a concern, a 1/4″ aluminum skid plate is another great choice. Although It will provide excellent protection at less than half the weight of 3/16″ steel, the other trade-off here is a higher cost and the fact that aluminum is softer than steel. As a result, it may dent easier when it comes to direct contact with hard obstacles.
Skid plate kits are widely available and it’s always best to speak with your local parts dealer or shop to find the right thickness and weight for your vehicle off-road needs.
Article courtesy of Vancouver, BC-based Coastal Offroad. The company offers a variety of skid plate and bumper kits for many manufacturers including a gas tank skid plate for the 3rd gen Toyota 4Runner (1996 to 2002), skid plate kits for the 4th generation 4Runner, 2007-2009 FJ Cruiser, and Lexus GX470, and a high clearance front bumper kit for the R50 Nissan Pathfinder. For more details about further skid plate and bumper kit options visit www.coastaloffroad.com