after looking at the installation instructions, 4 hours seemed to be pretty long to me. when I place my new order for my replacement, I may end up installing them myself as it seemed pretty straight forward and not worth 4 hours of labor to have them do it. I could buy a good nutsert tool, and still have a lot left. I also have some ideas around trying the solve for the metal on metal noise when twisting off-road that I have.
Do you plan on doing any rock crawling or more of a weekend/overlanding rig? I'm curious to see how well these hold up. I haven't seen very many people with the Quadratec Modular skids so I don't think there are a lot of review on them yet so I've been hesitant to order. Everyone says aluminium doesn't slide as easily over rocks but I haven't seen the aftermath of aluminium skids on rocks.Check out quadratec, they have a modular aluminum skid plate system. That’s what I have, very happy. I wanted lite weight and didn’t see the need to replace the gas tank skid. Nice directions. Check out the price too.
I'm am sure these are great and much better than factory, but not quite the same as the full underbelly systems others have that smooth the entire belly, or most of it. If I was doing less with sharp large rocks off-road I would for sure look into these. if I was still in the midwest with most trails being in the woods and mud these would bea top choice. but here, I have already seen the benefit of the smooth belly and the ability for steel to glide over things instead of catch. has made running no lift and factory 33s last much longer for me for sure.Check out quadratec, they have a modular aluminum skid plate system. That’s what I have, very happy. I wanted lite weight and didn’t see the need to replace the gas tank skid. Nice directions. Check out the price too.
Is that the trans xmember? Is the skid plate actually spaced below/off that - it looks like a gap?Check out quadratec, they have a modular aluminum skid plate system. That’s what I have, very happy. I wanted lite weight and didn’t see the need to replace the gas tank skid. Nice directions. Check out the price too.
Litebrite has a good video of her and boyfriend installing the Metalcloak system on her “stepchild” rig.. looks really easy to install.. and planning on doing it when I get my new JL
You should check out Savvy Offroad. They have been Al for the bumpers for the TJs since around 2009 and skids since 2010. Their testing is the Hammer trails so I have no doubt that a well designed and manufactured skid will survive even the harshest environments. I don't know how I would compare these to Savvy's but to simply dismiss Al as being inferior in sharp, large rocks means that person hasn't been watching the industry evolve as much over the last 10 years.
I don't doubt the strength of Al. My comment on sharp rocks are due the inherent nature of aluminum in that environment. Steel is much harder, this is glides over the rocks better, vs al. That would deform or let the rock dig in causing more friction. Also I was clear I prefer the full belly system over the setup here. Rockhard, Artec, and metalcloak are full systems that go frame rail to frame rail. Less area underneath to potentially get hung up on a ledge or rock. As I said, I have no doubt that these are probably great products, but the design is very different than the other full belly types that are available.
I understand and saw earlier that even Savvy sells the Artec skids for the JK so I doubt that they are going to create something for the JL. I like the MC as well (as well as almost all of the rest of their products) and if the weight difference isn't much, will probably consider them as well. There is nothing wrong with steel at all but I'll choose the lighter, especially if they are strong enough to handle what I do without compromise. I just think that if the al skids were that prone to gouging and problems, you wouldn't be seeing them by such prominent companies running trails such as they do.
