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Hard rock skid plates - heavy heavy

B-man

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I’m looking for any opinions here. I put on the rock hard 4x4 steel skid plate system a couple years ago, it is great for protection. It they weigh close to 300 lbs. I drive easy-moderate trails 2-3 times a year. My concern is that the weight of these, for 99.5% of my driving, is hurting MPG and stressing the engine etc. am I thinking right about this? Im considering swapping out for lighter skid plates.
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wizardfitz

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Why would 300 lbs stress the engine? That’s like my and groceries in my wife’s Jeep.
 

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If you don’t really need them and care about fuel economy, then yes. Take a look at them. See where they’ve got scratches and dents. That’s where you need protection. If they don’t have any, we’ll...

Ive got Artec aluminum skids. I think they added 10-15 lbs net weight when you take into consideration what they weigh vs what the OEM steel plates that they replace weighed.
 

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Adding weight is a performance issue for sure. Look at the concept Stitch and what happened when weight was removed.
 

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You are way overthinking this. It’s a Jeep, you made the investment, and they might come in handy at some point.
 

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If you don’t rock crawl you likely don’t need the skids, pick a better line and you’ll likely never need them. They are mostly just a conversation starter and probably retains heat underneath.

FYI I don’t have skids.
 

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There are a lot of Aluminum options available and I have found some that can be under 100 lbs for the belly skid system, removing weight is the biggest thing you can do to your rig to make it perform better, every pound adds up.
 

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Just buy a cheap good used gas mileage car and leave the jeep as is.
 
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Appreciate the replies. I got the hard rock skid plates because they fit with the hard rock rock rails, the LOD rock rails I originally had wouldn’t fit with these. That was a couple years ago. There weren’t many options available back then. I’ll check a few out to see if I can find something that will fit, be lighter, and
 

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I have LOD sliders and the Artec underbelly. There was only one bolt that they shared. I had the LOD slider mount cut and rewelded 1/4" lower to accommodate the skid.
 

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If you don’t really need them and care about fuel economy, then yes. Take a look at them. See where they’ve got scratches and dents. That’s where you need protection. If they don’t have any, we’ll...

Ive got Artec aluminum skids. I think they added 10-15 lbs net weight when you take into consideration what they weigh vs what the OEM steel plates that they replace weighed.
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Did you use the Artec with the RH sliders?
 

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I’m looking for any opinions here. I put on the rock hard 4x4 steel skid plate system a couple years ago, it is great for protection. It they weigh close to 300 lbs. I drive easy-moderate trails 2-3 times a year. My concern is that the weight of these, for 99.5% of my driving, is hurting MPG and stressing the engine etc. am I thinking right about this? Im considering swapping out for lighter skid plates.
300 lbs does NOT stress the engine unless its 300 lbs on a 10,000 lb trailer then it might be the staw that breaks the camels back.

So want to go lighter? You can buy a lighter, they will weigh about 30 lbs lighter may be?

Go ALum as long as you don't mind getting hung up on the rocks. Unless it's the actual 7068-T6511 grade then it compares to many steel grades. Of course, the weight savings are not much as its heavier then 7075.

In other words my friend, there is no FREE LUNCH!

Ohh one more reason to stick with steel and NOT AL, CoG, the center of gravity. Were it a PERFECT world rock crawler would LOWER their Jeeps not lift them. Off-camber is one of the biggest enemies in the rocks.

You get beyond 3.5" of lift and CoG starts to win.

That said I lifted my Jeep 3.5 in and got right at 6 in of clearance...its not how high you lift your Jeep, its HOW you lift it high.
 

Chocolate Thunder

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Necro bump (that's what happens when you search)

Did you use the Artec with the RH sliders?
Yes. Artec belly plates, RockHard LCA sliders, RockHard FAD armor, Skid Row exhaust loop armor, MC front/rear diff armor. All of those are compatible together.
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