skid plates at Bav

[mutty]

Thats all good for him that he has it sold to BAV AUTO, but it still doesn't make it a great product. Its a decent product but far from a true skid plate.

Its more like a brush guard or aggregate plate. The problem is it has 2 fatal flaws,

1) It bolts to the core support edge, which is almost always bent and you can bend it with your bare hands. So how do you suspect that this can take any kind of real impact load. In addition, the entire front core support weights in at 3.5lbs. Not much there to support anything but a radiator.

2) Their is no support bar in front of the oil pan, therefore it has no impact support. Under a hard impact the plate will simply flex upwards and smack the oil pan, thus breaking it anyways. This in addition to the weak edge of the core support also bending upwards.

3) The design is further flawed in that the oil pan is offset from the center of the car, the skid plate is centered on the car, and to cover the oil pan, it has yet another unsupported kickout.

While I congratulate Mr Knight for his success in using his workplace as a place to produce, package, and ship the skidplate, they are made by his employer, and if it had not been for his employer, he would have no skid plates sell.

Have any of you seen any pictures of his plates that have seen any kind of significant abuse? (Other then some tumble weed scratches) I have not seen any pictures of his plates used and abused.

Can you jack up your E30 from the front of the car by the skid plate? No, of course not it will flex and shatter the oil pan, because it has NO support.

What actually happens when you hit something more then a tumble weed?

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89344

Jealousy is a bitch. It knows no boundaries.

[Tbolt]

@peerless: a little harsh and this is really no place to be airing out a fellows business. "HEY GUYS HE ONLY MADE THESE BECAUSE OF WHERE HE WORKS"
what does that even mean

@peerless haters: Relax, peerless was harsh but I think you guys would still be screaming BLASPHEMY even if he was sincere about his criticism. I respect the criticism and welcome it. I would hope that a discerning e30 driver would at least suggest a warning against a product if he was honestly concerned.

[Simon S]

Just ordered one. Thanks Eric !! :-D

The pain of removing funds from checking account was immediately negated by comfort of measure taken to protect my beloved/vulnerable oil pan.

The thought of being in the middle of nowhere with pools of oil on the ground is a horrifying one.

Congrats on the increased product exposure on Bav!

[Fidhle007]

Since there's a lot of people (myself included) simply calling Peerless a dick I feel it is time to provide some real evidence that he is a liar and simply bitter that someone else may have gotten a better deal.

Thats all good for him that he has it sold to BAV AUTO, but it still doesn't make it a great product. Its a decent product but far from a true skid plate.

Its more like a brush guard or aggregate plate. The problem is it has 2 fatal flaws,

1) It bolts to the core support edge, which is almost always bent and you can bend it with your bare hands. So how do you suspect that this can take any kind of real impact load. In addition, the entire front core support weights in at 3.5lbs. Not much there to support anything but a radiator.

Wrong. The front bolts go through the aft edge of the radiator support but they are 40mm rearward of the front edge of the plate, leaving a solid 30 - 35mm of plate in solid contact with radiator support. That front edge is also 12" wide so it will spread any impact load over the nearly the entire radiator support.

2) Their is no support bar in front of the oil pan, therefore it has no impact support. Under a hard impact the plate will simply flex upwards and smack the oil pan, thus breaking it anyways. This in addition to the weak edge of the core support also bending upwards.

Wrong again. The plate is essentially two sides of a triangle (a very obtuse one) and those of us that actually finished middle school geometry will know that one angle of a triangle can't change without something else changing to take its place. In other words: any load placed on the bottom of the skidplate will be distributed up to the radiator support and back to the subframe due to bend in front of the oilpan. The subframe is certainly solid and as I've just described the front support is no slouch either...

3) The design is further flawed in that the oil pan is offset from the center of the car, the skid plate is centered on the car, and to cover the oil pan, it has yet another unsupported kickout.

Again, triangles pwn you. The "unsupported kickout" occurs right over the bend in the plate, thereby supporting itself without having to weld anything to the car. It's not like it's made of tinfoil, it won't just fold in on itself...

Have any of you seen any pictures of his plates that have seen any kind of significant abuse? (Other then some tumble weed scratches) I have not seen any pictures of his plates used and abused.

Eat your heart out, Robert. That's my personal plate (custom fit for a 24v application unlike your universal crap) and it has had two years of heavy abuse. I have jacked my car up from this plate repeatedly and have hit it very hard many times. The only damage as you can see is to the powdercoat, the rest of the plate (along with my car and my $300 oilpan) are 100% fine even after locking up and putting two wheels in a ditch once or twice. Let's also factor that this plate was on a very low daily driver in some of the worst frost heave territory in the Northeast. NYC ain't got shit on us!

Can you jack up your E30 from the front of the car by the skid plate? No, of course not it will flex and shatter the oil pan, because it has NO support.

Wrong. Read above, I've already explained it all. I used my plate as a regular jackpoint when I needed the front wheels off the ground.

There, I think that about covers it.

Robert, if you want to send me a plate I can put it through the same conditions that my RaceSkids plate has been through but until then all I can do is provide you with information that completely negates all of your accusations.

Oh yeah, mine didn't have to be welded on at Midas either...

Cheers,
Brendan

[bimmer_E30]

this is going to be great for my car this summer.

i could drive it anywhere rightnow.

[deutschman]

Thats all good for him that he has it sold to BAV AUTO, but it still doesn't make it a great product. Its a decent product but far from a true skid plate.

Its more like a brush guard or aggregate plate. The problem is it has 2 fatal flaws,

1) It bolts to the core support edge, which is almost always bent and you can bend it with your bare hands. So how do you suspect that this can take any kind of real impact load. In addition, the entire front core support weights in at 3.5lbs. Not much there to support anything but a radiator.

2) Their is no support bar in front of the oil pan, therefore it has no impact support. Under a hard impact the plate will simply flex upwards and smack the oil pan, thus breaking it anyways. This in addition to the weak edge of the core support also bending upwards.

3) The design is further flawed in that the oil pan is offset from the center of the car, the skid plate is centered on the car, and to cover the oil pan, it has yet another unsupported kickout.

While I congratulate Mr Knight for his success in using his workplace as a place to produce, package, and ship the skidplate, they are made by his employer, and if it had not been for his employer, he would have no skid plates sell.

Have any of you seen any pictures of his plates that have seen any kind of significant abuse? (Other then some tumble weed scratches) I have not seen any pictures of his plates used and abused.

Can you jack up your E30 from the front of the car by the skid plate? No, of course not it will flex and shatter the oil pan, because it has NO support.

What actually happens when you hit something more then a tumble weed?

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89344

wow that was kind of a dick move. these skid plates are made for dd cars not rally race cars. i still think they are grate. big ups for the design, effort, and sucses these skid plates have brought their creator! we should all support our fellow bmw drivers.

cheers!

[Fidhle007]

wow that was kind of a dick move. these skid plates are made for dd cars not rally race cars. i still think they are grate. big ups for the design, effort, and sucses these skid plates have brought their creator!

cheers!

I'd trust mine on a rally car though...

[mightywhitey]

Ill pick one of these up as soon as I get the motor in.

[peerless]

Thank You!

You are the first person who has stepped up to plate and actually showed me pictures and told me about exactly how this skid plate is designed and why it is more then just a aggregate plate.

Yes, what I said in this post was a dick move, classless, and tactless. But damn if I did not get a rise out of you and have you tell me exactly why the race skid plate is a good plate and why it is a worthy competitor.

You have told me more about this plate and its design then even EJKnight himself has ever been able to tell me. So for that, I thank you.

You my freind have gone a long way in defending the EJ plate AND explaining its structural merits.

Once again, great testimonial and it really shows your dedication to the product and its designer.

Sorry folks for the dick head comments earlier, but at least now, thanks to Brendan I have a new respect for the race skid plate. And I really realize just how much of a ass I made of myself in this post. My apologies once again.

C/Ya

Since there's a lot of people (myself included) simply calling Peerless a dick I feel it is time to provide some real evidence that he is a liar and simply bitter that someone else may have gotten a better deal.


Wrong. The front bolts go through the aft edge of the radiator support but they are 40mm rearward of the front edge of the plate, leaving a solid 30 - 35mm of plate in solid contact with radiator support. That front edge is also 12" wide so it will spread any impact load over the nearly the entire radiator support.


Wrong again. The plate is essentially two sides of a triangle (a very obtuse one) and those of us that actually finished middle school geometry will know that one angle of a triangle can't change without something else changing to take its place. In other words: any load placed on the bottom of the skidplate will be distributed up to the radiator support and back to the subframe due to bend in front of the oilpan. The subframe is certainly solid and as I've just described the front support is no slouch either...


Again, triangles pwn you. The "unsupported kickout" occurs right over the bend in the plate, thereby supporting itself without having to weld anything to the car. It's not like it's made of tinfoil, it won't just fold in on itself...





Eat your heart out, Robert. That's my personal plate (custom fit for a 24v application unlike your universal crap) and it has had two years of heavy abuse. I have jacked my car up from this plate repeatedly and have hit it very hard many times. The only damage as you can see is to the powdercoat, the rest of the plate (along with my car and my $300 oilpan) are 100% fine even after locking up and putting two wheels in a ditch once or twice. Let's also factor that this plate was on a very low daily driver in some of the worst frost heave territory in the Northeast. NYC ain't got shit on us!


Wrong. Read above, I've already explained it all. I used my plate as a regular jackpoint when I needed the front wheels off the ground.

There, I think that about covers it.

Robert, if you want to send me a plate I can put it through the same conditions that my RaceSkids plate has been through but until then all I can do is provide you with information that completely negates all of your accusations.

Oh yeah, mine didn't have to be welded on at Midas either...

Cheers,
Brendan

[accident]

congrats to ejknight, lol at peerless

[george graves]

Wtf?

[Danny]

sup

[Streichholzschächtelchen]

Lol group hug guys?

[Ray Smoodiver]

No group hug.

Does BMW know you're ripping off the pre-fl E30 skid plate design, Robert? I love how you keep saying "we designed this" and "we designed that." No, you didn't. BMW did - you're just ripping it off.

[GT BMW E30]

To much small talking. Congrats. I have been reading your threads on skid plate since you started. I need one now since I just bought the 15mm drop hat. Is there a new price? Also I need mine engraved with your name somehow. Lol. Please pm me.