Best bash plates

[Motorace]

Hi All

Just wanted some options on what the best bash plates were.

bushskins VS ARB VS TJM. (any others?)

Also does anyone run the transmision plate?

[Shifty]

you wont get a straight answer with which bashplates are better as no two bumps/dents are alike. im sure all those bashplates are 4mm in thinkness so they should be all the same, i chose bushskinz because they looked nicer. havent had the chance to 'test' them yet

[aaron.miller]

I think bushskinz is the only one with a 4mm thickness, the others are 3mm.

I found a triton cad drawing of the bash plates online and are getting my neighbour at work who is a sheet metal fabricator to make a set for me, for substantially less than the commerical ones are. I'm getting 3mm mild steel and I'm hoping the brackets will last with out cracking.

Aaron

[Rosscomatic]

Ironman do a set that covers the engine and transmission:

http://www.ironman4x4.com/html/ubprotection.html

I'm looking to get these on my car in the new year hopefully.

[chriso of penrith]

I got bushskinz because of the good rep i read on the forum.
Good service and look good. All the plates and sliders bolted on easy with bolts supplied. All holes matched up and had good instructions.

[NFT5]

Hi All

Just wanted some options on what the best bash plates were.

bushskins VS ARB VS TJM. (any others?)

Also does anyone run the transmision plate?

Baysies
Prestige Offroad
Asfir
Avenger
Brown Davis
Macquarie 4x4
Ironman

plus there are some designs floating around that you can make up, or have made up yourself.

4mm is best. I had the Prestige Offroad ones and they took everything I could throw at them. You should upgrade the factory mounting points which are quite weak.

The transmission plate really isn't necessary unless you intend to bounce the belly on rock steps - and even then the chassis will take most of the scrapes.

[Motorace]

Baysies
Prestige Offroad
Asfir
Avenger
Brown Davis
Macquarie 4x4
Ironman

plus there are some designs floating around that you can make up, or have made up yourself.

4mm is best. I had the Prestige Offroad ones and they took everything I could throw at them. You should upgrade the factory mounting points which are quite weak.

The transmission plate really isn't necessary unless you intend to bounce the belly on rock steps - and even then the chassis will take most of the scrapes.

Thanks for the info! Do the factory mounts just need rewelding?

[old Jack]

Yes Motorace, the front brackets will crack and break so you can either wait until that happens, re-weld now, replace with custom HD brackets now or later.

If you search the PB PC sub forum for;
"Under body protection"
"bash plate brackets"
"ARB Bash plates"

these are 3 threads that cover the topic in detail.
Sorry I can not put up direct links at the moment (on laptop in Spain)

Keep in mind that a complete set of plates including the transmission are heavy; 3mm plates about 30kg and 4mm plates about 36-38kg.

In my opinion there is no "perfect" under-body protection plates yet!
All Australian made and most imported plates are mild steel or stainless steel and these will bend if hit hard enough, there are some alloy plates from overseas but they are 5-6mm and still weigh 20-25 kg and are $$$.
In a perfect world plates made from high tensile 2-2.5mm would be better as they would weigh less, flex with the chassis and take more punishment, problem is no one believes there is a market for them as they will be more expensive than mild steel plates.

I have slightly bent all 3 of my Bushskinz plates in sand and on rocks and these are the strongest/thickest available!
I would not go seriously off road without them and have paid for themselves many times over.

cheers, old Jack.

[Motorace]

Yes Motorace, the front brackets will crack and break so you can either wait until that happens, re-weld now, replace with custom HD brackets now or later.

If you search the PB PC sub forum for;
"Under body protection"
"bash plate brackets"
"ARB Bash plates"

these are 3 threads that cover the topic in detail.
Sorry I can not put up direct links at the moment (on laptop in Spain)

Keep in mind that a complete set of plates including the transmission are heavy; 3mm plates about 30kg and 4mm plates about 36-38kg.

In my opinion there is no "perfect" under-body protection plates yet!
All Australian made and most imported plates are mild steel or stainless steel and these will bend if hit hard enough, there are some alloy plates from overseas but they are 5-6mm and still weigh 20-25 kg and are $$$.
In a perfect world plates made from high tensile 2-2.5mm would be better as they would weigh less, flex with the chassis and take more punishment, problem is no one believes there is a market for them as they will be more expensive than mild steel plates.

I have slightly bent all 3 of my Bushskinz plates in sand and on rocks and these are the strongest/thickest available!
I would not go seriously off road without them and have paid for themselves many times over.

cheers, old Jack.

Thanks for the great info old Jack!

[Catchin Jack]

I have the bushskinz underbody protection and they are awesome, i've given them a hard time and impacted hard on them etc and they're still serving me well.

[MSF]

Another thumbs up for BushSkinz - I have all 4 on my Shorty. No problems - perfect fit