L&P is the only one I am unsure about, but I do know that Josh has posted on here from SLR...

as for the skid you were bashing... it was being held on by 1 bolt for fitting purposes... it was a prototype

Just out of curiosity, why does the "warden" come with two different sized bolts (let alone one size metric and one size SAE)? Wouldn't be more prudent to have them all the same?

Somebody let those guys know, then, to NOT post up pictures of the prototypes. Only show finished products, or else they're open for critiscm on that sort of thing. Or, if they really want to show the fabrication process, be sure to have a final picture, fully powdercoated or painted, as well.

It just looks ameturish with the half-finished photos. And that brings on skeptiscm of the final product!!

edit:

On another note... Something just clicked in my mind... Someone that lives in Minneapolis is making fun of Canadians... Holy smokes, don't you know y'all are all the same.. You still say "a-boat"... That's like Sharam making fun of sheet heads...

My comments are based on my experience. I've also never said Skid Row is perfect or that if someone doesn't copy them they are idiots. I've managed to dent my Skid Row plates and have to use a floor jack to push them tight enough to get the bolts started. I'd like to see your plastic "skid" plate.

Ever work with sheet metal? It's simple to stiffen it you put a fold in it. Take a sheet of paper hold it from one end and it will flop over, fold the sides up and it won't flop limp. Steel acts the same way just with greater forces. It's not asking too much that a skid plate be designed to the same standards I had in my 6th grade shop class.

But, doing this will drive up the expensive of making the parts. Every cut and bend adds time which increases the price. Increasing the thickness of the materials will also increase the expense. Heavier duty shop equipment is needed to do the work in addition to the materials cost. Black Panther has kept the cost down by doing away with these complexities. I'm just pointing out the downside of their designs.

It's fine for the front where there really isn't anything tight behind it, but further aft you have an oil pan, transmission, transfer case and exhaust without much clearance. I would rather the skid be able to support the vehicle than have it flexing so the skid is resting against the delicate bits behind it.

I'm putting mine on today... I'll take plenty of pictures from different angles for you to see. And you'll see that you're wrong. The pictures on his site may not show it accurately... especially on the prototype shots. I'll post later today.

I invite anyone at ECXC to have a look under my truck... this will be the best way for any of you to form your opnions, as pictures often don't do the justice that is deserved. if you like them, great! if not, that's your opinion.

if you can't make it to ECXC, that's unfortunate... its gonna be a great time!

L&P did make it over here, but I think just to answer a few questions, I don't think they have more than 5 posts.........just to clear up the issue

Ah...you don't know his history.

He used to be a Texas boy (and then Tennessee, iirc)

Not to pick on post content or anything, but I think you may want to see some of these...















If you'd like a few more, let me know. I'm not the only person that wheels a Pathfinder.

You said "bits"

uh huh huh huh huh huh huh!

Welcome to the 2000s (go grab a beer...careful, now, 'cause if you read the rest of this, you might actually LEARN something):

Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethelene (UHMW)

While it's not as strong as steel, it IS plenty strong enough for skid plates (as been shown in real-world use). I put it on for testing, after reading about it in an offroading magazine; figured I'd give it a shot. That, and a buddy of mine got a couple of 4'x8' sheets of it for free from his work...

You shape it like you'd build something out of wood; so it's really quick and easy to build into whatever shape you need. Seeing as how most of my personal shop tools are for woodwork, this appealed to me... Took me all of about 15 minutes to measure, mark, and cut a full front skid... I don't have a metal brake, so I wouldn't have even been able to think about building a steel plate myself.

A lot of competition rigs in UROC use this material, because it drastically reduces the weight of their rigs, and it's very easy to replace, if damaged. And, since it's so slick, it helps to slide over rocks, instead of just coming to a dull thud.

Oh, I do... But he's a wanna-be canook, now. Isn't that what Min-ah-sooo-dah is...?

In other words--its a material similar or identical to a plastic cutting board...4 Wheeler used it to make a custom skid on their Trail Lex...cheaper than steel too...my only question with it would be how thick to you need to make it to get a decent strength ratio...if it has to be 2 inches thick then I wouild say it would be too unweildy(Spelling?) to use...but like at 3/16 or 1/4 I would imagine it would be quite handy...

I am curious how it stands up in extreme cold... thinking of winter wheeling...

Carlton, that has to be the most asinine thing I've ever seen you post. Ever seen pics of an AZ Run? We have about 6-7 in the group that regularly hit the 4+ trails in IFS pathfinders right along with the SAS'd trucks. The 1st gen Pathy's have a far superior rear suspension compared to an Xterra, and are more capable right out of the box because of it. The front ends are a push. Approach angle is also better on a Pathfinder.

As for the mounting points, yes, I see the point on that. It would be very easy, however, to drill a few more holes and mount them just like the Skid Row plates are mounted.

As for rolling the edge, yes, that does add strength, but there are guys here running 3/16" sheet steel without a rolled edge as skids that have held up well under the full weight of the vehicle on rocks. There is some deformation, but it usually comes right back. Arizona has more rocks than Minnesota

I don't see that as a major issue, and I'm sure that's one of the things that keeps the price down on these.

XOC can be run how you see fit same as N4W can be run however my wife and I see fit. All I'll say there is remember back in the days when no one was making any parts for Nissans and how much we all wanted more players in the game to introduce competition and better pricing. We can be critical of designs and point out the weaknesses, but simply running them off isn't helping anyone.

I think thats the best point that can be made here...regardless of our point of view on this case we ALL want more manufacturors of aftermarket stuff for Nissans in general and Xterra's specificly...A free market will, like evolution weed out poor products quickly and allow quality, fairly priced products to thrive...there is no NEED to bash new products heedlessly before they have even been tested by the enduser...if something doesn't work THEN is the time to come back here or other boards and discuss what occured and why...Otherwise we are biting ourselves in the ass...

1/2" is what you need for a skid. That'll get you around 6,000 psi tensile strength, and a darn good impact resistant piece of plastic.

The only thing that suxs, is the stuff is very expensive; don't go this route if you're expecting to save $$... It costs about the same as 3/16" steel plate. But for ease of use (you can "weld" it with a torch, and can cut it with a circular saw), and light weight, it's worth it, IMO.

Hey porsche - Could you maybe start a new thread in P&A about these plastic skids (with pics)?

Since that's a totally different topic from the one that landed us here in the ALR, I think people might like to hear about them.

I agree with Desert Rat. I have done runs with several Arizona Pathfinder owners and they are just as capable if not more capable than the Xterra. The real winner in this debate is the Marketing dept at Nissan when they introduced the Xterra to the market and we all bought into it.

As mentioned earlier its a Skid Plate, it might not have the same design as others produced but im sure it will do a good job based on it purpose. I am also pretty sure that they would be all this is needed for the majority of Xterra owners out. Very few X owners hard core their trucks as rock crawlers like alot of the pathy owners I know. I have seen some SAS xterra as well as SAS Pathys and well all I can say there if you think your SAS Xterra is bad... Take a look at the Pirate Ship that Datz510 owns.

My Xterra is very capable and built to do the trails and obstacles of the Desert. Although it isnt this indestructable 4x4 trail killing machine that these marketing Gurus have got many of the Xterra Owners believing that their lil mall cruising, sway bar equipped, soccer mom wannabe stationwagons are. That said... rant over

By the way Didn't Gbizzle "a Moderator" start this thread just to let people know there was some new skid plates available for the Xterra, Just to be more inforamative and pro-active. Thats just kinda how GBizzle is.

In closing...
To ban someone from being on the board because they own a company that makes parts for our trucks is wrong. Marcel didnt start the thread he just spoke up when verbally attacked by others. I dont believe I have ever seen Black Panther trying to sell their products on the XOC. But I might have missed it, I can admit I am not perfect.

I think we down here in the United States call that "Freedom of Speech".

Oh now THAT hurt. Wheres the love?

But I will agree with others here.....probably not the most accurate statement that could have been made.

Here's my contribution. My old Pathy in action.

nice to see someone else has noticed this too!!

And thank you for your part in defending it.

Good luck on your next deployment.

XOC is the equivalent of high school popularity groups. Either you're in it or your out. If you're in it you can do no wrong, if your out you're SOL. Always has been, always will. Very unfortunate.