[Hawk 39]

Does anyone have any thoughts on the relative advantages/disadvantages of aluminum 1/2 inch 3/8 inch or 3/8 in UHMW for skid plates and rock sliders. I can see where the UHMW is more resiliant and its low coefficient of friction may help get you over some spots but it's still plastic. I like it on my woodworking jigs for the above reasons. As for aluminum, I would think that thicker is better, but how thick is thick enough? UHMW seems to be more economical as well. Will it meet the requirements of events such as Rally on the Rocks that require skid plates for the most technical trails?

 

[tomanytoysnotnuftime]

Most aluminum skids would be around 1/8" thick, 3/8 or 1/2 would be way to thick and nobody is making them tht thick. If you are into rock crawling the UHMW is your golden ticket. It flexes instead of creasing, it slides instead or hanging up and it is cheaper to buy/make. I had a half inch skid plate that I made for myself and sold to a guy on here, if I were to do it again I would go with 3/8 next time.

 

[Hawk 39]

The thickest aluminum plates I have seen advertised is .25 inches and .5 for UHMW-PE. Everyone mentions the weight disadvantage of aluminum but no one actually compares the weight per square foot of say, .375 UHMW to .25 inch aluminum. Aluminum will deflect under high impact and, beyond a certain point, not return to its original shape but what is that point and how often do we encounter that degree of impact? I'm still torn.

 

[Hawk 39]

Has anyone out there ever had a skid plate fail whether aluminum or UHMW? I checked some of the properties of each and found that while aluminum is nearly 3x as dense as UHMW, its elastic modulus (Young's) is nearly 90x as great and its tensile strength is more than 5x greater. Are there any engineers out there that have run the numbers and determined if, and by how much, the additional strength of aluminum is overkill and not worth the weight penalty?

 

[aussie]

Skid plate

G'day,
I have 5mm thick aluminium plate under mine, I have had no problems with the hammering it gets chasing pigs

 

[pit dog]

I have HCR alum they are nice. But if I was buying I would go with the fiberskins