Please take the poll only if you are interested in buying a skid plate, and have 100$ (high to be on the safe side) cash to spend. After the Putz skid plate thread showed promise and with my own obligation to a friend to create a skid plate, I thought I might ask the MNSubaru community and see what kind of interest/demand/wants and desires there were for skid plates. Quick info: I work in a fully equipped production facility. I have lasers and brake presses/folders at my disposal. I can run them on the weekends on my own time. I also weld. I have basic Solidworks experience, can model these plates and produce a "run" of them, instead of creating one at a time on a need basis (this keeps costs down for you). I'm not intrested in making money off of you (the members) except to cover materials and consumables. Thoughts and questions: I have taken some measurements and looked at a 2002-2003 model, I own a turbo and a 93-2001 model. I hope to get my hands on the newer models this weekend. So I have an idea of what is nesescary and/or possible. What I need to know is what you are interested in. What I think is possible varies. Any turbo model 2002 +(with stock location turbo/exhaust routing) I believe I can make a plate that covers anywhere from the normal Rally armor area all the way to covering the last tranny mount. I think this will apply to never models The 93 -2001 model are different. To clear N/A headers I would have to come down lower and bend along both axis. Or, attach pieces to "drop" the connection pointsto accomodate single axis bends. turbo swaps should be the same as 2002+ but with 2 front holes instead of 3 Materials: My place of work does not typically stock aluminum and I have very little experience cutting it with the lasers. I can, however, cut Stainless like a mother****er and personally think this is the way to go. I'm currently thinking the 3/16ths stainles sheets will offer the best protection-to-weight ratio. and will probably make a first attempt out of this. With solid works I can estimate weights and with Pro-E I can do virtual stress tests, so I can and will post results of this. The only real issue is weight. I personally do see how 40 lbs of stainless makes a difference over 20lbs of aluminum. but thats me. Other things: think about things like "do i want an oil drain hole, does weight matter that much, how much coverage do I want. Or any of the things I'm sure I forgot.
primitive racing has good ones to look at for list of options, and 20 extra lbs isnt much to a car, but trying to line up holes every 3000 miles on your back it makes for added difficulty..
I'm willing to trade weight for protection. An oil filter/drain plug access is nice, but not a deal breaker. I would be willing to throw in on one of these as well.
here is a little tip i caught watching WRC teams service. Zip tie it up in place in a couple holes on each end and then bolt it up in the other holes and then pull the zips and slap some bolts in those holes.
I would be interested, also if you need any help modeling the part in Solidworks I could help. I use Solidworks all day long at work and I also have it on my home computer.
I am looking for plates for a 98 forester and my post-swap 01 RS. Drain plug access and filter access would definitely be a plus. More coverage the better. 20lbs extra for stainless steel over aluminum I don't care for, unless I'm missing some significant benefit of SS over alum in this application?
Spacers in the front for aftermarket headers and oil filter clearance for those using sandwich adapters and such. Lipped leading edge. Slotted holes/oval holes with flanged bolts and strong washers.
+1 to this. I had this done on my Primitive plate and it was 100% worth it. It has saved me many times I am sure. all it takes is one extra little bend on the front inch or so. My input after running a front plate for the past few years is that: 1.) if the car is daily driven or even slight off road use (rally-x, occasional ice race, mud, ect...) that 3/16th" aluminum is the perfect amount of protection. I have put mine through its paces, more than most people would (big rocks, downed trees, road debris, ect...) and it has a few dents however nothing that changes it shape enough to come close to anything vital above it. 2.) I would go with out any oil/filter holes in the plate. Having these holes weaken the plate (more in a way of allowing it bend around where the holes are) they also leave openings to have sticks, rocks, whatever to get into the engine bay. On the primitive design w/ the oil drain plug hole there is a chance that if I skid along something just right it could rip my drain plug out. which would be very not good. In my mind it is worth having to take out the 4 or 5 extra bolts to get at the oil stuff. 4 or 5 bolts isnt that bad, you can still do an oil change without jacking up the car (even lowered) and with practice it is breeze getting the plate back up. having said that I would be interested in possibly purchasing a new plate if the above was taken into consideration and that it would be available for my current configuration w/o the need of tons of spacers.
update: after some discussion with an engineer at work, if I go with stainless, I would only go 10g thick. due to durability, weight and cost. I'm thinking that my model might already be low enough to accomodate aftermarket headers, and slotted hole are definitely in the plan. undoubtedly what is your configuration? and would spacers welded onto the plate be enough, or a deeper plate is what you want?
I don't have one to look at. therefor no dice yet. You come visit me and I'll build you one. lol. a one-of might cost a bit more though.
agreed on the holes. always make the holes oversized in case things get bent. some teams even weld a little extra metal in front of the bolts to deflect things away from them. if i were to get one i would want one that could work on both turbo and non turbo applications. i think that can be done by adding a block for clearance for the turbo headers.
If access holes for the drain plug or oil filter were chamfered, it would be just as strong as no hole at all. For what it's worth.
2.0l GC. I am fiddling with spacers to try and get my NA skid plate to work. However at this point in time it is looking like I will need to put about 1.5" - 2" of spaces in the back to get enough clearance on the oil pan. I can clear the exhaust manifold just fine, its that the oil pan is a different shape and seems to hang down farther in the back than the NA one.
Having done this for a bunch of people a year ago (without access to a laser cutter though, that would have been sweet!): To clear idget's header, we needed to space the front of the plate down 1/2". We integrated a 1/8" 5052 Al lip into the space because we didn't want an edge down there to catch stuff. Bending 6061 T6 Aluminum is a bitch, so that's why we didn't do lips on the rest of the ones I did last year. I imagine it's a ton easier with the stainless, especially in 10g. You'll want a spacer between the rear mounting holes, about 3/8", or if the bolts are tightened up too much the plate will flex and rub against the oil pan. You can make a plate with good coverage out of about a 3'x2' section, unless you really want to extend the plate backwards, which, to get any good coverage of the transmission, would require a second bend. IMHO the transmission is up high enough that it's not much of an issue, but some people are going to insist. I personally wouldn't go for a steel plate, because of the stiffness that you're going to get from a thicker, hardened aluminum plate. But the fact is that most people would benefit just as much from a 1/8" 5052 (soft) Aluminum plate as anything, because most people aren't going to try and skip their cars off of watermelon sized rocks.
i saw an interesting oil drain idea on a rally car, they had a hose with a valve or petcock as they are sometimes called that was attached to their plate however they had a relocated oil filter.. just a thought. and i want a lip on mine in the front atleast, the back would be nice incase ya gotta back outta something too.
True, but they're still big places for stuff to stick into. Which is just the opposite of what a skidplate is there for in the first place.
Yup. Some people need the convenience though. People who go to Jiffy Lube might get charged extra, lol. I say make a few out of .125" 7075 T6 and lay up some aramid on the bottom. :naughty:
