Instead of the usual birf party, maybe there should be a bellypan party. Make a weekend out of it. ???;p
ding ding ding!!
Overkill Armor Protection 101 - Belly Skid Plate
- Thread starter Ebag333
- Start date
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ding ding ding!!
- Thread starter
- #22
Instead of the usual birf party, maybe there should be a bellypan party. Make a weekend out of it. ???;p
I'm game.
- Thread starter
- #24
The way you wheel, it might work better if your entire body was made out of 4 gauge steel.
You're not that far away from me though. If you want one, let me know, and it can be arranged.
- Thread starter
- #27
I don't disagree. Force = Mass X Acceleration. We know the mass, we can guess at the acceleration, and that equals one heck of a large amount of force. Much more than lifting up the truck with a jack.
I don't think that this is going to bend much if at all however. It is better supported than other options on the market (except for perhaps Slee's new one, I'm not sure how that one is mounted up yet). It's also a thicker material than most other options.
I really like the IPOR. I disagree however that it buys you any ground clearance that matters. The T-Case hangs way lower than the cross member, and you're measuring your extra clearance in quarter inches.
In 99.9999999% of all situations, if that extra clearance was going to make the difference, you were likely hosed anyway.
Since my skid plate is tucked up so tightly against the t-case (maybe even too close), it has at least as much if not more clearance as the IPOR does under the t-case.
As I said before, if I didn't go my own route and if Slee's new one wasn't available, IPOR's would have been my choice easily. IPOR's plate is a great product, just a bit too pricey for me, and didn't quite fit my needs/wants.
The way you wheel, it might work better if your entire body was made out of 4 gauge steel.
You're not that far away from me though. If you want one, let me know, and it can be arranged.
My body is way too far gone to save, not even worth it anymore!
PM me a $$. I may be able to talk the
into it after the 4Runner sells!
i just wonder with heat build up under form tran,cat.
- Thread starter
- #30
My body is way too far gone to save, not even worth it anymore!
That's why you cut it all away and rebuild it from 4 gauge steel! Really kill your aerodynamics by making it one giant box!
PM me a $$. I may be able to talk the
I'd actually never intended it for resale (or to do more) but the guy who did mine said he'd like to do at least one more (to fix all the little flaws in mine)....
Cat's aren't an issue unless you've relocated them (and I'm not sure where you'd relocate them to in that area anyway). They are outside the frame rail, so not covered at all.
There will be more heat buildup from the tranny and t-case, but so far I haven't noticed any issues. I haven't gone farther than about 40 minutes (almost entirely freeway), and I could easily lay my hand on the skid plate. It was warm to the touch, but not uncomfortable.
I think that there is plenty of air getting through there. Remember a lot of folks with IFS put up skid plates that block off far more air flow to the tranny than my plate does, and they don't seem to have any issues.
If you feel it's an issue, slots could easily be added in the front half to allow more air flow through. That would of course weaken that area, but it's not likely to get a lot of hard hits to begin with.
Your replacing a box piece of steel with a flat plate. Of course you gaining ground clearance. You just wrapped a piece of steel around that box cross member. You lost a lot of ground clearance doing that. Measure your clearance. You will see it is low. I will measure mine.Ebag333;3681235I said:really like the IPOR. I disagree however that it buys you any ground clearance that matters. The T-Case hangs way lower than the cross member, and you're measuring your extra clearance in quarter inches.
In 99.9999999% of all situations, if that extra clearance was going to make the difference, you were likely hosed anyway.
Since my skid plate is tucked up so tightly against the t-case (maybe even too close), it has at least as much if not more clearance as the IPOR does under the t-case.
As I said before, if I didn't go my own route and if Slee's new one wasn't available, IPOR's would have been my choice easily. IPOR's plate is a great product, just a bit too pricey for me, and didn't quite fit my needs/wants.
- Thread starter
- #32
Measure from where?
At my *VERY* lowest point the plate is a hair less than 2 and a half inches under the frame rail. I could cut and angle the back up (after the lowest point of the t-case). I would probably do this in version 1.1 (though no reason I couldn't do it on this plate).
Your lowest point isn't any higher though if you do that. Maybe 1/10th of an inch.
Now the IPOR *DOES* have more clearance, since it doesn't cover as large of an area. But if you came down hard at an angle, you could also go right past your plate and hit the t-case. It's always going to be a clearance VS coverage issue.
Yeah, if anyone is interested in having me assist them in fabbing up a skid plate shoot me a PM and we can talk about the details. And if there is anyone that would like to simply purchase one of these fine pieces of steel we can discus cost. I enjoy working with metal and perfecting my welding/fabbing skills.
On this version we'll call it 1.0 there were a couple of issues that I would have handled a bit differently had it been on my rig or had I been able to messure once and cut longer the second time
. I think that version 1.2 will be much more symetrical as well as coming out quite a bit cleaner. Not that there is actually anything wrong with 1.0 just a couple of minor things that I'd improve on the second time around.
We have recently started the Jefferson State Cruisers and I left an open invitation to our members that if they want to pay for materials I would love to assist them in whatever fabrication they are looking to make happen. We can be found in the TLCA Forum/Clubhouse or by clicking on the link in my signature line.
Enough advertising, please feel free to post up with any questions or PM me.
On this version we'll call it 1.0 there were a couple of issues that I would have handled a bit differently had it been on my rig or had I been able to messure once and cut longer the second time
. I think that version 1.2 will be much more symetrical as well as coming out quite a bit cleaner. Not that there is actually anything wrong with 1.0 just a couple of minor things that I'd improve on the second time around.We have recently started the Jefferson State Cruisers and I left an open invitation to our members that if they want to pay for materials I would love to assist them in whatever fabrication they are looking to make happen. We can be found in the TLCA Forum/Clubhouse or by clicking on the link in my signature line.
Enough advertising, please feel free to post up with any questions or PM me.
Did you have any other build pix?
- Thread starter
- #35
I don't, and that reminds me, I need to get some dimensions....
i think it looks awesome! don't be discouraged by some web wheelers on here. I'm with you in that you build it, try it out and make adjustments as necessary. If it bends, you fix it. If it doesn't bend, you keep trying to bend it!
Creeper fo' sure needs one of those!
Creeper fo' sure needs one of those!
If he bends that 4 guage steel I'll eat my hat...or something else equally unpleasant.
- Thread starter
- #38
one more question though....
Is the T-case actually touching the plate? If it is, do you feel/hear any buzzing or vibrations?
Is the T-case actually touching the plate? If it is, do you feel/hear any buzzing or vibrations?
- Thread starter
- #40
It was before we cut a hole in it. And yes, it did vibrate/buzz at times.
The hole is slightly too small. In certain instances the plate can rub against the "lip" (that surrounds the drain hole) and is making a cut into it (steel being stronger than aluminum).
I'm not terribly worried about it as it's not damaging anything vital, but I will be trimming the hole a bit larger to move it further away from that spot.
I do not hear/feel any buzzing or vibrations currently, I suspect that the only time it touches is when the engine is starting.