Making my own skidplate.....aka Belly Pan

[NYSpeedRacer]

I'm planning on making my own skid plate this week and was wondering if anyone can give me some measurements of their skid plate.....

I refuse to pay over $200 bucks for a piece of plastic....

A picture would be nice too...

[Frey7190]

skid plate?? post a pic... noob here sorry.. dont flame

[NYSpeedRacer]

It's that plastic piece that goes under your engine bay that protects the engine. You'll need to remove it to do an oil change. My car is lower and it got torn to shreds this winter....

[Frey7190]

Oh got it... I thought that was called the belly pan?? idk.. Now I know what its really called... skidplate lol Nice, let me know how that goes, mine has its days numbered it seems

[apatchin]

give me a couple minutes, ill get you some measurements and pics.

[NYSpeedRacer]

give me a couple minutes, ill get you some measurements and pics.

Awesome, I could probably head out to Home Depot or Lowe's tomorrow to see what I can accomplish.

[Quattro]

what you are talking about is a "bellypan" when I read skidplate I think of the license plate thing.

There was once a company who made replica belly pans in metal, supposedly more durable. You really dont need a belly pan, its great to have it...i am sure there are a few people who dont run them.

-randy

[apatchin]

doesnt look too bad. the only bitch i could see is trying to get clips and holes to line up and hold.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo269/apatchin/DSCN1431.jpg

don't know how you can make the piece
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo269/apatchin/DSCN1432.jpg

here is a little measurement breakdown. let me know if i can help you out any more.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo269/apatchin/skidplate-1.jpg

[Quattro]

you better get a +1 rep for that, good shit....

-randy

[NYSpeedRacer]

Thanks, I'll definitely let you know...

I'm going to make some rough sketches tomorrow and head to Home Depot to scout some costs out.

I'll definitely need some more measure measurements once I start my first one.

Can you give me the measurements of to the approximate location of the screw holes?

I'm thinking about keeping one straight piece of aluminum, instead of the plastic ones with bulges. So as of now...

Three Rear Bolts that will go on the rear of the plate and 4 more bolts that will line up with the front bumper. Perhaps a support of some sort that'll hold it up... Maybe even a small door for oil changes...

[jimmya4]

wow 200 dollars? not cool. mines torn up too and missing some of the lame half turn screws that hold it to the chassis

[MichiganAudiDvr]

I don't see how you are going to get the metal bellypan to work. It seems whenever the plastic one comes in and out it needs to flex a bit to fit in especially into the front corner of the wheel well where two or three plastic parts all come together. I am not sure you are going to be able to retain the flexibility necessary for proper install, but maintain a product that is stiff enough to resist damage, bending upon impact, crumpling - while at the same time creating a product that is light enough not to stress other plastic parts that it will contact.

But, if you can do it, all the more power to you. To me, it seems we have more of a problem with the little half turn connectors that hold the pan on, rather than the pan itself. I would work on developing a better way to hold the current pan on the car. I loose those little half turn connector things all the time, or the dealer just does not put all of them back in after they change my oil, which is possible, because they are lazy.

[NYSpeedRacer]

I'm planning on making something similar to the Panzer plate that Diesel Geek sells to the VW guys.... http://www.dieselgeek.com/servlet/Detail?no=358

[TheHeggi]

I dunno man, that's a lot of effort to avoid paying $200 for a new one. I agree $200 is a bit pricey for what it is, but how many hours and cost of test materials are you gonna spend for R&D on a new one? The stock one is light, does it's job of protecting, and has 3 NACA ducts for cooling while keeping it aerodynamic. If your stock one is trashed, imagine what it would do driving without one. What trashed your stock one? Snow? Mine is fine but I'm in CA, so maybe you see a lot of snow or gravel/dirt roads? If you do make one, just be sure to make it large enough to at least cover the wires amd sensors underneath. The one in the link you provided doesn't seem to cover much area, I'd be a little scared to not cover the whole underbelly, especially since you seem to get a lot of action down there.

[slimmj0k3r]

http://www.evolutionimport.com/category_s/36.htm

aluminum maybe?

[[email protected]]

There are a few challenges in making a plug and play aluminum bellypan that does the same job as the OEM plastic one.

- NACA ducts for ventilation and cooling
- attachment points since the metal pan will be much heavier than the plastic one
- bends in the metal since the factory pan is not flat

As I stated in another thread I am prototyping an aluminum one for production. The one we will be making will not include the splitter as shown below, it will be a replacement for the OEM plastic pan.

Here is the custom one I had made for myself which included an aluminum splitter. What you can't see well in the pics are the 11 bends in the metal to make it sit properly and look good

Details on the splitter are here: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=245656

http://www.podi.ca/winstontemp/bellypan/10302008024.jpg

http://www.podi.ca/winstontemp/splitter/IMG_2914.JPG

[cleaver]

I want one of Winston's! No need for the splitter, but my Avant may see some gravel action.

[SkRaT]

I'm just trying to figure out why you have that lip sticking out past the bumper... looks very unprofessional IMO.. other than that I think it's OUTSTANDING. Were those zeus fasteners holding it on?

[[email protected]]

As I stated.. It's called a splitter [rolleyes]

and I am using Dzus fasteners to hold it on

[TheHeggi]

I'm just trying to figure out why you have that lip sticking out past the bumper... looks very unprofessional IMO.. other than that I think it's OUTSTANDING. Were those zeus fasteners holding it on?

That my friend is called a splitter and IMO...is a genius incorporation of a splitter with a belly pan. I would defintely rock one, although I prefer a finish on the splitter, maybe CF or black, or color matched.

[slimmj0k3r]

As I stated.. It's called a splitter [rolleyes]

and I am using Dzus fasteners to hold it on

well we know that thing isnt coming off, loooks GOOD [up]

[SkRaT]

I guess I don't understand the want or need for the look of a "splitter"... It is only an opinion.. and I DID mean Dzus [:p] Used those on my one piece fiberglass front end on my 73 baja!