Skid Plate Options - What to do?

[MR 325]

I have the ejnight skidplate on my S50 E30. I wouldn't want to drive it without it.

OEM seems too expensive for what appears to be less protection. Looks like it's about $285.

[willybustaE30]

being on the topic of skidplates & oil pans, have any of yall had any cooling problems after you took out a pan? ( i am right now) smashed mine, got that taken care of.
now i have a cooling issue, ive replaced everything cept the water pump. its bout 30,000 miles old along with the belt. (do u think its time?) can the fins get bent or something on impact? this was a raised manhole. i hit it bout 25mph and on impact it slowed me down to 15mph. i hit hard!!
new radiator,hoses,thermostat,fan clutch,coolant,water wetter. not gettin any luck.
just tryin to get the temp back to where it was before the pan incident. it was a lil over the first line(1/4) on the temp gauge, now its @ 1/2 mark. any suggestions?
i will be needing a skid plate too. thanks

[markseven]

ejnight

• vented, helps with the 24V finned pan
• very good quality
• hardware included
• bolt-on
• lighter than peerless'

peerless

• more robust
• very good quality
• can be used as a jack point

I have ejnights and have yet to even put a scratch on it (I'm on H&R Race). I probably don't need a skid plate, however, I don't want to find out the hardway that I do...

[whiltebeitel]

being on the topic of skidplates & oil pans, have any of yall had any cooling problems after you took out a pan? ( i am right now) smashed mine, got that taken care of.
now i have a cooling issue, ive replaced everything cept the water pump. its bout 30,000 miles old along with the belt. (do u think its time?) can the fins get bent or something on impact? this was a raised manhole. i hit it bout 25mph and on impact it slowed me down to 15mph. i hit hard!!
new radiator,hoses,thermostat,fan clutch,coolant,water wetter. not gettin any luck.
just tryin to get the temp back to where it was before the pan incident. it was a lil over the first line(1/4) on the temp gauge, now its @ 1/2 mark. any suggestions?
i will be needing a skid plate too. thanks

The oil pan and cooling system are completely separate, you've got another isolated issue that doesn't have anything to do with a pan swap, unles you crushed something pulling the engine up a few inches.

If I still had my ghettoriffic pan with JB Weld over the hole, I would be up to test to the ejnight skidpalte against a cinderblock. Cinder blocks are fairly weak when stuck, so if it didn't bend on a solid chunk of rock, it should RAPE that cinderblock. But I hate swapping pans, and I have a nice clean one on, so I'm not gonna risk it.

[E30SPDFRK]

ya'll are pussies

[E30QC]

par-don?

[PeaveyBassist]

ya'll are pussies

this

[E30SPDFRK]

peerless

• more robust
• very good quality
• can be used as a jack point

If you can fit a jack under your skidplate, you most definitely have no need for one.



How hard is it to swerve, people? If you are remotely a good driver, you should be looking down the road and would have plenty of time to go around or slow down for anything in your way.

[whiltebeitel]

Easy to say, not as easy in the dark, when you're a bit tired, traffic, etc.

[dinanm3atl]

Man this thread is fun... roflmao

[mikeedler]

the orig. BMW plate won't work well for a lowered car-- it hangs WAY too low.
the EJnight plate looks exactly like what is on my vert-- worked great so far-- but I think if there is a really big blunt impact it will push into the pan and still kill it.
that peerless looks to me to be top notch!

I have yet to kill and e30 pan and have had some really low ones-- but a bit of protection isnt a bad idea when things "go bad" my vert is the first to have a skid plate- and it was on there when i bought it- i am sure it is coming off before i sell the car too!

[markseven]

the orig. BMW plate won't work well for a lowered car-- it hangs WAY too low.
the EJnight plate looks exactly like what is on my vert-- worked great so far-- but I think if there is a really big blunt impact it will push into the pan and still kill it.
that peerless looks to me to be top notch!

I have yet to kill and e30 pan and have had some really low ones-- but a bit of protection isnt a bad idea when things "go bad" my vert is the first to have a skid plate- and it was on there when i bought it- i am sure it is coming off before i sell the car too!

I'm sure the Peeless unit will sustain just about anything, but it transfers that energy to the frame rails, correct?

[namsayin]

I'm sure the Peeless unit will sustain just about anything, but it transfers that energy to the frame rails, correct?

im not sure how this compares to ejnights because his plate has energy transfered to the core support which is very thin already.

although i had ejnights plate when my car had an m20 on it. little less than an inch of ground clearance under the skidplate. When i would change lanes i would hit the reflective road markers on the freeway at 60-70 and nothing more than a scratch would show up on the plate. good shit. refer to sig pic.

edit: another few pics to show you clearance

tennis ball vs. skid plate height








so i think if the skid plate worked for me without any trouble i think it will work for most others. however i think i may try peerless' plate for when the s54 gets swapped in.

[whiltebeitel]

Question: In the event of a really, really nasty encounter, would you rather tweak your lower core support and possibly replace an oil pan, or would you rather save the pan and bend your framerails?

[namsayin]

Question: In the event of a really, really nasty encounter, would you rather tweak your lower core support and possibly replace an oil pan, or would you rather save the pan and bend your framerails?

i understand what you mean, but for how often i drive my car the chances of that are very unlikely. But how much would it really take actually bend the frame rails? and how much does it take to bend the core support?