Skid Plate Upgrade

[rickeyf413]

I getting ready to start conquering some trails with my 2021 JL 2 door and I want to upgrade the basic skid plates that came with the Jeep. Any recommendations on brands to go with or to stay away from? Any additional components I should consider protecting?

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[Ratbert]

First decision: steel or aluminum. Check out Next Venture Motorsports if you go aluminum, but expect to pay $$$$$.

 

[Terrymo]

Lots of good choices out there and a few crappy ones. We went with a full set of Metalcloak belly skids, and Next Venture diff skids. Very satisfied with both brands.

Besides the increased cost of aluminum vs steel, there is usually a reason some skids seem very inexpensive compared to others made out of the same material.

 

[Kbinspections]

My suggestion would be to add skid plates before replacing existing skids. The OEM plates do the job. The engine and transmission seem very vulnerable. Have you invested in rock rails yet?

 

[c20040215]

I always recommend people take a look at Rough Country before they drop $2000 on the skid plates.

I know the gas tank piece would not fit 2 door, but transfer case and oil pan skid might.
https://www.roughcountry.com/product/configurable/jl-skid-plate-kit-10608c#2921=944

 

[TravelerTheJLU]

I bought the ASFIR oil pan and trans plate, because thats the most unprotected area. The skids are aluminum which I like because it cuts down on weight. They do not slide as easy as steel however, thats fine for probably 98% of trails. ASFIR is priced between $300 and $400 and they may have sales coming up. As for the other skids, I think the OE work well for the vast majority of trails so I wouldn't worry about them right away. I would get rock sliders that stick out past your doors though, FB Marketplace has them frequently for a good deal and I would suggest the Mopar heavy duty sliders or another similar type.

 

[Kbinspections]

I have the ASFIR too, very happy with it.

 

[jadmt]

Asfir4x4 is hard to beat for the money.made in Israel and very nice and priced low..super fast shipping like my zip is 59808 and I got them in 3 days from time of placing the order....I have engine/tranny and gas tank skid..also rear Rancho control arm skids...

 

[TravelerTheJLU]

Asfir4x4 is hard to beat for the money.made in Israel and very nice and priced low..super fast shipping like my zip is 59808 and I got them in 3 days from time of placing the order....

Second that I got one sent to me in about 3 days, turns out the wrong one got sent, and the replacement came the next day. They also called and asked if I wanted an open box to save some money, so I recommend them customer service is great. I have taken a number of hard hits and they have done well.

 

[yokramer]

If you havent yet start with LCA skids and shock skids, I went with Rustys LCA and Rancho Shock cause at the time they were the most cost effective.

Then go play at Uwharrie and see if you hit anything else. The 2 door break over angle is extremely good and works just fine out there until you start doing the Front Side of Daniel and Dickey Bell. Once you figure out if you need it or not then pick up the Undercloak if you want to save a bit of money or go full out with the Next Venture skids.

I ended up doing 90% of Uwharrie on a Stock Rubi and then the 3 Ds on 35s with only the LCA and Shock skids. I really recommend go and experience what you want to do before spending extra money on things you arent going to use. Also dont worry about weight so much especially with skids since they are the lowest weight which is where you want it.

 

[jellis4148]

I am not a fan of almost anything with the rough country name on it, but I did buy there skid plates, and they have done an excellent job. Took some pretty hard hits, and worked great. They have some gashes in them. I just spray some flat black rattle can on those areas to keep them from rusting. Been on the Jeep 5 years.

 

[TravelerTheJLU]

If you havent yet start with LCA skids and shock skids, I went with Rustys LCA and Rancho Shock cause at the time they were the most cost effective.

Then go play at Uwharrie and see if you hit anything else. The 2 door break over angle is extremely good and works just fine out there until you start doing the Front Side of Daniel and Dickey Bell. Once you figure out if you need it or not then pick up the Undercloak if you want to save a bit of money or go full out with the Next Venture skids.

I ended up doing 90% of Uwharrie on a Stock Rubi and then the 3 Ds on 35s with only the LCA and Shock skids. I really recommend go and experience what you want to do before spending extra money on things you arent going to use. Also dont worry about weight so much especially with skids since they are the lowest weight which is where you want it.

Uwharrie has a good variety of stuff to test on, Dutch John is also a pretty good area right now. One of the loose rocks on Dickey was the reason I had to get a oil pan skid, tire rolled off it and it got stuck behind the axle and hit the oil pan.

 

[yokramer]

Uwharrie has a good variety of stuff to test on, Dutch John is also a pretty good area right now. One of the loose rocks on Dickey was the reason I had to get a oil pan skid, tire rolled off it and it got stuck behind the axle and hit the oil pan.

Yea Uwharrie is a good time for sure, just wish there was more variety of wheeling in NC in general. Once you do URE twice a month for 8 years it gets repetitive. Brown Mountain was meh, NC 105 is a subaru road and Windrock is a helluva drive lol. Thats what ended up moving us out here to Colorado.

 

[rickeyf413]

My suggestion would be to add skid plates before replacing existing skids. The OEM plates do the job. The engine and transmission seem very vulnerable. Have you invested in rock rails yet?

Yes, I have already installed rock rails \ sliders

 

[Ratbert]

My suggestion would be to add skid plates before replacing existing skids. The OEM plates do the job. The engine and transmission seem very vulnerable. Have you invested in rock rails yet?

You'll lose clearance with skids designed to go over existing skids.

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