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On several threads he promoted products that he sold. I did not even notice he owned/ worked at Black Panther until he responded to this thread. He was very quiet about it.

Dude. They're f*ing skid plates. It's a flat piece of steel, w/ a few bends so it can be mounted... There's not a whole lot that can go wrong with skid plates... What would it take to "prove" them in your eyes?

Bah. Nevermind. Doesn't matter. While I normally like to try to pick fights w/ you, this one [fight] is just borderline stupid.

I'll agree w/ you on the steel prices, though. 3/16" flat sttel plate is awfully expensive; the plate alone should cost nearly as much as what they're charging for the whole skid, if you had to buy it new. The only question I would have, is where are they getting their steel from, for that cheap.

Are you saying that they won't fit your Xterra because of the SAS setup?

Correct. The cross members that these plates use no longer exist on my Xterra so they would not work.

That and the SAS comes with its own skidplate

From what I know of the mods on Admin's truck your skids won't even fit, so what's this about free skids?

I've already got the skid row armor, so I'm not looking for a handout. But I will take the opportunity to slam your skids.

They are inadequately attached. The 3 bolts where the front 2 plates overlap are easy to strip and way undersized for the loads they will see. I wouldn't be surprised to have someone shear those and wedge the engine skid into the ground. One bolt in the middle of the transfer case skid is also too little. It will allow the corners to snag and fold when backing over things. You need to put at least a bolt in each corner of the plate. and preferably 2 more where it crosses the crossmember with the torsion bar adjusters. You need to cut out slots for the torsion bar adjusters. Many of us have to crank on those periodically to tweak the ride height. Pulling the skids to get at those bolts is a pain in the ass.

The flat plate designs are really inadequate and will flex too much. You should have a folded edge (like the Skid Row plates) to provide some longitudinal rigidity to the skids. A flat sheet of metal is too easy to bend. A sheet with a 90 degree fold is much harder to bend. It's real easy to bend sheet when you have a 5000lb truck pushing it into a rock. I realize it also increases the manufacturing cost. You really do get what you pay for.

The bend at the front of the engine skid is just asking to get crushed running over things. The front 2 plates should have a smooth transition to slide over things. The bends up to meet the crossmember are just asking to snag the vehicle.

Why even bother with 10 Gauge? It's 30% thinner than 1/4". Is the cost difference enough to matter. Or did you just have some laying around that you could pass off to someone who doesn't know any better.

If this is your idea of trail tested, they should be fine for splash shields.


Welcome to XOC

and just so you get the full idea of the decent on the second shot... here is my truck from a different angle... slightly below where the pathy was photo'd...

So these skids are suppose to protect you from muddy pits, water holes and steep trails?

Lets see some pics of them being used. Where are the pics of them protecting the vehicle from some rocks and not used (as Steve put it) as splash shields.

I wheel quite frequently with Jeeps, and many of them know their shit... especially when it comes to skids...

I had them look at the skids we recieved for the our Pathy, and the first thing that came out of their mouths was "this guy should make them for the CJ, YJ, and TJ... these are great skids!!"

I will have mine installed before ECXC next week...

I guess you didn't notice all the rock behind the truck... you may not be able to see them under the truck, but what is behind the truck is a good indication of what is below it too...

also, do a search on Green's Mountain... its a trail here in Ontario (you know where that is right?) and you will see that it is one of the most difficult trails you will come across... I know of several Pathy's that have been there... Don't tell us Pathy's don't wheel hard...

Well there you have it.

The Jeep guys like them. That is good enough for me. :rolleyes:

We need a sheep graemlin.

you saying Pathy's don't wheel compared to X's is the same thing mang!

So what you're saying is, if they made them just like Skid Rows, then they'd be good enough? Because you basically just described skid row's plates to a 'T', there...

I've got a PLASTIC front engine skid on my truck, that takes the same beatings my Skid Row transfer case skid... It has 0 folds, is completely flat (except how it bends on cross members, and weighs about 35 lbs... It does just fine. Everything doesn't have to be contorted into odd geometric shapes, to have enough strength to take a beating...

porsche... you coming to ECXC? I would love to see your skids!!

What about the point of the lack of proper mounting to the frame?

As an example. Do you really trust to just having one bolt hold on one side of your skidplate as show in this picture from their site?



edit. Not to mention all the other valid points that AeroSteve brought up.

You Carlton, are a CLASSIC example of a complete tool! In fact, the coward you are to delete any or all posts from members or users who purchased Black Panther Skids serves proof of how much a flake you truly are!

To add to the insult of your actions, I will personally rip off all XOC stickers on my truck today, drive over them and personally mail them back to your sorry ass to for you to re-distribute. Hopefully, by the time you get them... I'll have the Nissan Community rejoice by doing the same!

I'm not mad at you Carlton, in fact... I'll personally see that the many Nissan Truck owners who dislike you - now get even with you!

And since you probably edit, re-word, alter and change my post around and then ban me from XOC because of my right to comment on you and your admin abilities...



The smiley says it all my friend!

Take care Carlton!

I did not "delete any or all posts" from anyone in this thread save the troll that logged on just to bitch and the manufacture that was breaking the rule.

If people want to buy those things then more power to them. I don't care if they come here and post pics of them or testimony or their bra size.
Everyone else is free to say what ever they wish. I just will not have manufactures come on this board an use it as a tool to sell product.

I stated my opinion and concern about the skids and other responded.

If you ,with two posts and not much invested in this community, want to bitch about the way I do something then have at it.

There are a LOT of members on this site and likely MANY who don't register or participate because they see how people are treated here. Being a newly REGISTERED member or not having many posts doesn't mean squat.

There's also something to be said for respect and tact.

hmmm... does Jim Shrake not post on here?

what about SLR...

L&P?

Crapalini?

the list goes on...

I expect that their accounts be suspended too...

well put Pete!

Is the ice going to your head up there in Canada?

SLR and L&P do not post here.
The others are advertisers on the site.

If there is talk about the others you listed then it is by members and not the manufature and not edited.

In here guys.

I don't want you think I deleted your poignant comments that have yet to address much of anything.

Good god, people?? All this hostility over skid plates??

carlton does the best he can, and w/ his own personality. He's nowhere near the devil Ian was... It's sort of like South Park. Ian was devil, and Carlton is Saddam Hussein... Awe...come 'ere, bitch...

But seriously, are some of y'all really gonna' be this big of babies, over something as simple/basic as a skid plate? I can only imagine how ugly things would get if we started talking *gasp* suspension lifts...

(BTW, no, I wouldn't mount a skid plate with only 2 or 3 bolts; that's assinine. I completely agree w/ you on that one! I have min. 3 on all cross members. That way, I can lose one or two, and it'll still be there. I would go one further, though, and say I wish both skid row and all other manufacturer's, would either recess the bolts some. A pet peeve of mine is seeing a bolt head just sitting there, ripe for the breaking!)

Nice. :rolleyes: It's actually a high of 91 °F here today, but thanks for the thought, I'd rather see some ice this week.

Ok, this whole thing is just getting way out of hand. There are many valid points, concerns, etc, but it all comes down to why do things around here always seem to be handled so crudely? As I said, tact and respect go along way. Jumping on people, flaming newbs, etc seems to be the norm here, and it's really not necessary. Somewhere along the way a lot of you have forgotten what the whole purpose of this site is (or at least should be) and don't give others the respect and patience that you once had (or would have liked to have had) when you were here in the beginning.

A little off the topic at hand, but relevant.

On that note, I think I'm done with this thread.