by "TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
Published 03/15/2017 at 22:31
by "TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
Published 03/15/2017 at 22:31
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STARS: 0
The scraping, oh god the scraping. I feel so bad for my car’s underside every time it snows.
"smobgirl" (smobgirl)
03/15/2017 at 22:37, STARS: 0
I’ve been thinking about that too. The ice chunks...I’m cringing just thinking about it.
"facw" (facw)
03/15/2017 at 22:38, STARS: 0
I could use one just because parking lot entrances tend to be far too steep down here in Texas (I assume they think everyone drives a pickup). So much scraping...
"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
03/15/2017 at 22:40, STARS: 0
My entire drive home was over a pile of icy snow that was just barely too tall to fit under my car. I feel like I am now in a permanent state of cringe.
"AfromanGTO" (afromangto)
03/15/2017 at 22:50, STARS: 1
I’m glad the GTOs have one from the factory. I don’t want to bust an oil pan, and have to lift the engine or drop the cradle to fix it.
As you can see they are scrapped quite often, and I don’t see why people permanently remove them.
"Scary__goongala!" (corymagee)
03/15/2017 at 23:42, STARS: 0
A nice aluminum undertray is something I’ve wanted for my car but can’t justify the price. Will probably have to bite the bullet eventually since the plastic ones are near impossible to find in good shape.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
03/15/2017 at 23:45, STARS: 1
As someone who learned the hard way, here’s some friendly advice... Sorry in advance for rambling!
If you’ve got a stock plastic-y undertray under your engine, chances are it covers the lower sides of your engine as well, going up along the wheel wells. While it offers some protection, it’s main focus is to smooth airflow. A job that it does pretty well.
Most aftermarket “skid plates” are undeserving of the name, as they actually provide very little protection over the stock plastic piece, and just add weight. If it bolts to the bumper like the stock piece, it’s actually worse if you hit any big rocks, bad bumps etc. Instead of the plastic cover getting dented or breaking off, the bumper itself can be torn off because it’s now the weakest link, compared to the aftermarket metal skid plate.
Furthermore, a lot of “skid plates” JUST cover the underside. They don’t go up the sides like your stock plastic undertray, which is a big deal. At highway speeds, stability will be negatively affected substantially. If you ever track it and get to 100ish, there’s a night and day difference that is downright terrifying. It feels like the front end of your car is floating.
Tl:Dr - most aftermarket skid plates are nothing more than blingy air smoothers, and they don’t even do that well. If you want real protection look into getting a custom plate of steel or aluminum fabbed up to run the length of your car. This is the route I’m going, and it’s only slightly more expensive than the aftermarket options but provides infinitely better protection, and if combined with aero will improve overall lap times (or just cool factor) by a significant amount
"TheD0k_2many toys 2little time" (thed0ck)
03/16/2017 at 00:20, STARS: 0
I need one for summer car. Its too low
"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
03/16/2017 at 11:16, STARS: 0
No underbody aero on my Mini. I have been around rally long enough to know what a good plate is vs a bad plate and I doubt my little 115hp Mini is going to be setting very good lap times if I ever get it to a track. The Rennline plate in my image is very high quality and protects what I would need it to for a road car.