Skid plate options?

So far I've found that Rallitek and Primitive racing sell skid plates for our cars, anyone have any experience with them?

I have a Rallitek one, it's really nice! not mounted right now because i need new spacers because i melted them.... (had to cut the hardware off when i removed it a few months back)

I've heard some pretty loud bangs off of it before, chunks of ice, rocks, etc... has some nice scrapes down the length, a few dings, but it still looks good, and doesn't have any signs of failing, or being... bad?

I have a primitive skid plate and I can tell you that shipping on the rallitek for me was like 80 dollars to ship and the primitive was like 15. I don't know for sure but I think the rallitek has a little more protection on sides then the primitive one. It definitely gives me more confidence in winter with ice chunks. If I was to buy again I would not have paid extra for the oil filter hole it's basically useless.

I have a Primitive one as well. I just installed it. Primitive was really easy to deal with and as mentioned above, his shipping was really inexpensive. The piece itself is nice and the installation was easy. I liked the design of the Rallitek one, but I had some customer service issues with them, so....

I have the primitive engine and rear dif skid plates. They are pretty well made. Design isn't amazing and it doesn't have the side protection of the Rallitek. My only real complaint is how low the stock hardware hangs down on front, makes the mounting bolts the lowest point on the front of the car. Mine got pretty banged up and eventually tore out one of the threaded mounts on the car. I ended up replacing them with really long carriage bolts that go all the way through the lower radiator support beam. The rear dif plate is pretty slick. super heavy duty and a good jack point for the rear of the car.

On the primitive skid plate, do you need to remove it in order to do an oil change??

I have the thicker primitive with filter and drain holes on the OBXT. Should have bought the thinner unit without the drain holes. I have been taking it off each OCI. It's a mess if you dont, least I was not pleased the first time I tried and didn't experement how to make it better... Agreed it's not the most sophisticated unit out there but effective. Still need to put the diff guard on. Waiting for a need to for the most part.

Thanks for the input guys! I plan to buy a EL header soon so I'm hoping a skid plate will stop water splashes and snow from cracking the header!

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d140/taporsnap_25/0C8A0F80-0B3E-4551-84B8-0C9CE0E5DE04_zpsodvdbfeg.jpg

 

Here's the downside of the primitive there's a big gap under the airbox. I put a piece of card board under so you can see the gap better.

 

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d140/taporsnap_25/F9CCD439-53ED-4D26-B28C-FEE8FFAD843D_zpsczaj1icn.jpg

I picked up a drain valve with hose attachment to replace the oil drain plug. cleaned up oil changes considerably.

Was reading back on the Primitive options and there is a "stinger tail" option as well for the GT/XT that extends back for more protection of the AT transmission.

 

I'm considering a valve with hose nipple to make OC cleaner affair.

 

Additional wings would be a nice addition to it and I'm going to get that done once I get the car tune settled in. Not sure if I'll look into the stinger panel as this thing is already over kill for what I'm doing with the car.

I know the primitive plate can be bolted over the factory plastic skid plate mine was just completely gone so I have the gap

I have a primitive skid plate in front, no holes so I remove it for oil changes, no big deal. On the occasions where its been used/made contact, the paint on the bottom of my oil pan is scuffed up a bit so I might add a spacer on the rear bolt.

 

I also hacked up my OEM under tray and fixed the sides of them to the primitive plate to give the extra coverage.

Im suprised he hasn't made a version with the extra side protection.. I shall send an email soon!

 

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

I have rallitek and like it. Very solid.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

stop sign

stop sign

 

I think that's my favorite diy

Have a Primitive skid plate. 3/8" (thicker) without any holes. It's a very high quality and well-made piece, and I was a bit surprised by its weight/solid feel. Have to remove it for every oil change, but it's just an extra step - hardly a PITA. Side coverage isn't great, but I haven't had issues with anything coming up that small gap, so for all intents and purposes, it works just as needed. It's also incredibly satisfying to hear crap bouncing off when you're driving on a dirt/unpaved road. Also, very excellent customer service, which was a big deciding factor, actually.

I'm not sure if they are still making them, but a lot of people liked the GTSpec version. This would be good for about everything except rally offroad stuff. Here's a good write up on it....

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2535391&postcount=9

Unfortunately, they don't anymore, unless you're lucky enough to stumble across some rare NOS, which I wasn't. I searched high and low for a GTSpec since it appeared to have better side coverage (but can't vouch for its durability) - I must've emailed 30 vendors to no avail before I went with Primitive.

I looked into the GTSpec as well and they needed at least 50 people to do another run of the skid plates.

Theirs is like $400 before shipping..

Why not go custom. I spent 50 bucks and have a great product with more coverage. If I wanted to get side protection I could get a few pieces welded up.

 

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/hobbit13/null_zps2ccbf874.jpg

Whoa, how did you fab that? Or.. who fabricated it for you? That looks awesome.

Got a piece of alum that was 36"x36". Got the company that picked it up for me to bend it 10* at 9" from the front. Had to make a template and cut it to fit. It tucks nicely behind the bumper (big problem with most plates is that they don't protect the rad supports etc).

 

This way my bumper is better supported and I know I'm fully protected underneath. It has gotten a good workout since it has been installed. It's been a snowy and cold winter up in northern ontario. Nice to hear a solid thud and know that it's my skid plate not my oil pan.