Went to Syracuse, New York last week and picked up a skid plate from TheSkidPlateGuy.
The deal went very smooth, he was replying almost instantly on FB messenger before I even went to go see him.
He mentioned the The Great NY State Fair was also going on as he was very close to the fairgrounds.
Took the family with me and made a day trip out of it.
On to the install:
There are no extra pieces for the hardware included so do not loose them.
Forgot to take a pic of all the hardware but it also comes with parts list and TheSkidPlateGuy will email you a PDF with instructions.
comes with:
2x small washers - this is for the front bracket
2x 13mm nuts - to mount the front bracket
4x big washers - for bolting the skid plate
4x 17 mm bolts - for bolting the skid plate
2x long "nutserts" - this is for the front bracket (this one is actually a bolt insert)
2x short nutserts" - this is for the rear bolt
I call them nutserts, there may be a correct term for it.
tools needed:
ramps or jack and jackstands (i used ramps)
13 mm deep socket
17 mm socket
i used extensions with the 13 mm to reach up for the front brackets.
Front nutserts:
forgot to take a pic of the rear nutserts but it's just a flat threaded piece.
brackets:
this is where the passenger side long nutsert will go. just slide in the long side in to the hole. slide it in towards the front of the car.
driver side long nutsert:
passenger side bracket installed. use the small washer here. the included instructions wants you to tape the washer on the bracket. this is for ease of installation so you can thread the nut while holding the bracket. i did not use any tape. i just jammed my finger between the bracket and washer and pushed the nutsert on an angle. this helped me thread the nut without the nutsert moving up.
driverside bracket installed. same strategy as the passenger side. you can pull the wheel well liner away a little bit to make room.
ran in to a potential issue. the driver side bracket is very close to the cold side charge pipe. it looks like they are touching on the pic but they are not.
solution:
this is where the passenger side rear nutsert will be going:
driver side rear:
nutsert installed. slide the flat piece thru the hole slowly. i used a magnetic bit holder so I don't loose it in the subframe.
the other side:
with the help of your magnet of choice, thread the 17mm bolt a few turns. do not forget to put the big washer thru. there's no washer in the pic. guess what, i had to redo it. was able to thread it back without the magnet. repeat on the other side.
now that your mounting points are done, get your skid plate, the rear mounting points are slotted and open at the end, slide the skid plate to the rear mounting points.
at this point, i'm lying on my back, my feet towards the rear of the car, get the remaining bolts and washers and start threading the skid plate to the front brackets. the front holes are elongated so there is a bit of adjustment left to right. after threading in 1 side, go to the other side. I had to slightly pull the bracket towards the middle of the car to get the bolt in.
tighten the four bolts and you are set. the instructions has torque numbers to use when tightening the bolts. i just did them gudentite.
if you need to work under the car, just loosen the rear bolts, do not undo them all the way.
remove the front bolts all the way and slide the plate out.
regarding the cold side pipe touching the bracket, not sure if it will be an actual issue down the road, especially if you have an aftermarket hard pipe.
I will try to switch the brackets to see if they are side specific. this was not indicated on the instructions and the brackets look identical, just flipped.
worst case, i can slot the hole on the bracket to slide it back or notch the bracket a little where it is touching.
haven't driven the car yet, the plate is very strong, while lying underneath the car i grabbed each side of the plate and pulled myself up and there was no flexing.
let me know if you have any questions.
The deal went very smooth, he was replying almost instantly on FB messenger before I even went to go see him.
He mentioned the The Great NY State Fair was also going on as he was very close to the fairgrounds.
Took the family with me and made a day trip out of it.
On to the install:
There are no extra pieces for the hardware included so do not loose them.
Forgot to take a pic of all the hardware but it also comes with parts list and TheSkidPlateGuy will email you a PDF with instructions.
comes with:
2x small washers - this is for the front bracket
2x 13mm nuts - to mount the front bracket
4x big washers - for bolting the skid plate
4x 17 mm bolts - for bolting the skid plate
2x long "nutserts" - this is for the front bracket (this one is actually a bolt insert)
2x short nutserts" - this is for the rear bolt
I call them nutserts, there may be a correct term for it.
tools needed:
ramps or jack and jackstands (i used ramps)
13 mm deep socket
17 mm socket
i used extensions with the 13 mm to reach up for the front brackets.
Front nutserts:
forgot to take a pic of the rear nutserts but it's just a flat threaded piece.
brackets:
this is where the passenger side long nutsert will go. just slide in the long side in to the hole. slide it in towards the front of the car.
driver side long nutsert:
passenger side bracket installed. use the small washer here. the included instructions wants you to tape the washer on the bracket. this is for ease of installation so you can thread the nut while holding the bracket. i did not use any tape. i just jammed my finger between the bracket and washer and pushed the nutsert on an angle. this helped me thread the nut without the nutsert moving up.
driverside bracket installed. same strategy as the passenger side. you can pull the wheel well liner away a little bit to make room.
ran in to a potential issue. the driver side bracket is very close to the cold side charge pipe. it looks like they are touching on the pic but they are not.
solution:
this is where the passenger side rear nutsert will be going:
driver side rear:
nutsert installed. slide the flat piece thru the hole slowly. i used a magnetic bit holder so I don't loose it in the subframe.
the other side:
with the help of your magnet of choice, thread the 17mm bolt a few turns. do not forget to put the big washer thru. there's no washer in the pic. guess what, i had to redo it. was able to thread it back without the magnet. repeat on the other side.
now that your mounting points are done, get your skid plate, the rear mounting points are slotted and open at the end, slide the skid plate to the rear mounting points.
at this point, i'm lying on my back, my feet towards the rear of the car, get the remaining bolts and washers and start threading the skid plate to the front brackets. the front holes are elongated so there is a bit of adjustment left to right. after threading in 1 side, go to the other side. I had to slightly pull the bracket towards the middle of the car to get the bolt in.
tighten the four bolts and you are set. the instructions has torque numbers to use when tightening the bolts. i just did them gudentite.
if you need to work under the car, just loosen the rear bolts, do not undo them all the way.
remove the front bolts all the way and slide the plate out.
regarding the cold side pipe touching the bracket, not sure if it will be an actual issue down the road, especially if you have an aftermarket hard pipe.
I will try to switch the brackets to see if they are side specific. this was not indicated on the instructions and the brackets look identical, just flipped.
worst case, i can slot the hole on the bracket to slide it back or notch the bracket a little where it is touching.
haven't driven the car yet, the plate is very strong, while lying underneath the car i grabbed each side of the plate and pulled myself up and there was no flexing.
let me know if you have any questions.