Ed Poore Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 As some of you may know I recently "upgraded" to a 3.6TDV8 L322. Recently I noticed I've damaged (OK ripped off) most of one of the skid trays under the engine. A chap on the fullfatrr.com forum convinced Mantec to do a run of the stuff they made for the G4. Those were 8mm alloy and let's say dear... Slightly north of £1k for the three plates (engine, gearbox and tank). So I've decided to experiment a bit with a trailer fabricator we know and build up some. The question is how thick and what kind of coating would people recommend? It's probably going to be steel so I was thinking about 4mm and they can galvanise cheaply based on weight. But powder coating (or simply painting) might he easier to touch up. Note this isn't meant to be the most indestructible set of bash plates but rather something a bit more substantial than the (previously) existing plates. Particularly as I'm contemplating Morocco in the not too distant future. Of course if this all goes ahead will post a thread. Maybe if Chris and I come to a deal we could produce some more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulcan bomber Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 6mm with some well placed ribs and galved is what i'd go for. and make sure they drain/clean out easily. the mounting bolts want to be out the way as well if you can but at the same time easy to access with something angry... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 5 or 6mm, Galv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 You can get away with surprisingly thin & light if you're not intending on going "full retard" extreeeeeme off-road. Bash plate & steering guard on Mouse were ~3mm chequer plate ali on a ~25mm steel angle frame, waaaay lighter than 6-10mm armour and will stop all but the biggest hits, and even those they'll take a load of energy out & minimise the impact, usually enough that it's non-damaging even if it does leave a dent. Going up a grade or three, either in ali or steel plate, you can get 3-4mm plate that's as hard as 10+mm normal "soft" ali or mild steel. Just beware of trying to bend it to shape! Alternatively, just a few bits of steel tube welded together strategically can be strong & light & protect vital parts pretty well, optionally with a bit of ali rivetted over critical zones to deflect things. Bear in mind most underbody bits on your truck will be soft ali or plastic "acoustic baffles" rather than any real attempt at underbody protection, at best they're designed to keep road dirt & salt out as well as keep noise down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 I think I'll reiterate this is not intended to be a indestructible, challenge-spec bash plate for bouncing off rocks. Having taken the L322 off-road it doesn't get hung up nearly as much as a rigid axled Defender or similar as there's far less hanging down in the way (e.g. diffs). The purpose of these plates would be the occasional unseen stump or rock under water or in vegetation for example at low speeds (I don't drive fast off-road, for one thing "low" profile (255/55R19) tyres tend to not have as much give as a typical Defender tyre (thinking 265/75R16). I'm leaning more towards John's idea of going up a grade or three and cutting back the thickness, it's going to be used far more on the road (covered 28k this year already) so would rather not lug around excessive weight even if I do lose some durability. John - with regards to your comments about the plastic bits. I'm pretty sure their main purpose is salt and rather than noise, there's many layers of acoustic stuff beyond the kevlar(?) pans from what I remember of my last visit underneath. Also I think Chris @ CLH will have little trouble bending the steel! To put thinks in Chris' perspective their "little" hand press is rated to 175 tonnes and their big one is the size of an artic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Having taken the L322 off-road it doesn't get hung up nearly as much as a rigid axled Defender Careful, you'll have an angry mob on you if you say things like that! Dural (aluminium) or hardox (steel) are two names I know, although they're only trade names for a given grade of material and many suppliers will be able to supply something similar (or even tougher). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Careful, you'll have an angry mob on you if you say things like that! Not completely my words - when I went up on the forum Lakes trip last year the others in my group were astonished at how capable it was. I'm not sure if the clearance is greater than say the middle of a 110 but it's certainly higher than the bottom of the diff on a Defender. If you have a look underneath it's also all nicely tucked out of the way, even the exhausts are (normally) routed so that they curl up and point down behind the rear bumper thereby increasing departure angle. Of course nothing can be said for those (typically supercharged owners) who stick wheel barrow handles out the back... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Other than busting the tyres your Range Rover did fantastically well, was easily as capable as the Defenders in the group and probably a lot easier and more comfortable to drive on those conditions due to the suspension and ETC systems. With regard to a bash plate, is it worth recessing bolt heads to prevent them getting damaged perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 My front 'slam panel' was 4mm 5083 ally and I had to give it a fair whump to bend it. The Ver2 is the same 4mm ally grade but the flat part has a curved sheet of ally welded on in front so it looks a shallow 'D' section from the side. The gap is filled with spray foam. Greenstream said his 3mm 6082 grade took a lot of punishement as a belly pan. So I am thinking 3mm ally with some shape will do the job. 6mm anything seems a bit more than you need. I found with the bulldozers and tracked loaders that keeping it attached was more important than how thick it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Other than busting the tyres your Range Rover did fantastically well, was easily as capable as the Defenders in the group and probably a lot easier and more comfortable to drive on those conditions due to the suspension and ETC systems. With regard to a bash plate, is it worth recessing bolt heads to prevent them getting damaged perhaps? Yeah it was a slightly expensive trip having to replace two brand spanking new tyres (other one had started to deform when I got back to Surrey)... That's my main criticism of the Range Rover - I wish you could put some sensible tyres on it! Having said that I doubt anyone else had TV coupled to a 720W sound system and four heated seats and steering wheel. I would like to recess the bolt heads, I'll have a chat with Chris about how we can do it - whether they can just "dimple" the plate or if it's better to cut a hole and then weld a bracket behind it. My front 'slam panel' was 4mm 5083 ally and I had to give it a fair whump to bend it. The Ver2 is the same 4mm ally grade but the flat part has a curved sheet of ally welded on in front so it looks a shallow 'D' section from the side. The gap is filled with spray foam. Greenstream said his 3mm 6082 grade took a lot of punishement as a belly pan. So I am thinking 3mm ally with some shape will do the job. 6mm anything seems a bit more than you need. I found with the bulldozers and tracked loaders that keeping it attached was more important than how thick it was. That's useful info thanks. Nice to have some experience of what the thinner stuff can survive, I anticipate it to be slid on rather than bashed but it's nice to know what they can handle. I think I'll need to put together some options and send them through as I suspect they'll need to order in the material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boydie Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 If you have access to an advanced panel shop, go for 3mm thick Kevlar. Its easy to fabricate stronger than steel and way, way lighter, rust free and really is the way to go, as I said the restriction is having a fabrication shop with the right oven to correctly cure it. I had one made for my rally car and it was faultless and weighed lass than a kilo. The "tricks" are in the change of fabric directions of the various layers in building up the thickness ( these give it strength) and forming ribs in the right arrears and locations to give the flat Kevlar "bash plate" rigidity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 I would recommend 3 mm ally of the correct grade, with some shape and maybe certain sections "boxing in" where the most vulnerable components lay behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 3 MM HE 15 aluminium is what I used for my sump guard, with 1" steel box section in strategic places to brace it. You cant weld or bend he15, but it is stupid strong. That said, if you are planning to pay someone to do the work, 1k to spend at mantec seems like a no brainer to me. Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 I've got some 4mm magnesium alloy stuff that is mega hard for ally and super light. But I figured if my truck set on fire that not even driving into a canal would put it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I've got some 4mm magnesium alloy stuff that is mega hard for ally and super light. But I figured if my truck set on fire that not even driving into a canal would put it out Race cars seem to manage OK with magnesium alloy wheels, if your car is that much on fire I doubt the steering guard is going to be a major issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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