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Skid plate justification

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Three months ago I ordered front and back aluminum skid plates from eBay and they finally arrived. Installation was a simple unbolt the old and then bolt-in the new.

Why spend the money? During replacement I found this steel bolt from my front skid plate had taken the brunt of a hard hit from road debris. Had it hit an inch off in any direction I’ve no doubt the debris would have torn through the original fiberboard cover and damaged the components underneath. I’m so glad this bolt was where it hit.

The aluminum cover isn’t bulletproof, but the metal is sturdy and offers far better protection from road debris than the original fiberboard.

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Thanks for the post. Additional protection from road debris is certainly a good/valid reason for purchasing these aftermarket aluminum skid plates. I’ve been considering buying/installing one on my vehicle, but have held off for various reasons.

Question about the bent washer/bolt shown in your photo… When you removed it, was there any damage/tearing of the OEM fiberboard cover around the area where this particular bolt was attached? If not, then it’s hard to imagine any road debris causing this type of damage to only the washer/bolt, and not damaging/tearing anything else around it. This is especially true when we consider the direction of the bend in this washer. Obviously, the washer is bent outwards (towards the road). This type/direction of damage is not consistent with an object hitting the bolt/washer. Impact damage from road debris should have caused the washer to bend in the opposite direction (i.e. inwards and towards the vehicle).
 
How much did you pay for the plate?
What is your insurance deductible?

'nuff said.
How much is your time worth to wait for a tow truck and have to take your car to the shop and then wait who knows how long for parts with current parts shortages and have to deal with a rental car?

Or if the battery is damaged it can total the car and you’ll have to wait for a new one which currently is several months and you will be out a car in that time?

‘nuff said.
 
How much is your time worth to wait for a tow truck and have to take your car to the shop and then wait who knows how long for parts with current parts shortages and have to deal with a rental car?

30+ years of driving w/o skid plates (with one exception of a heavily modified track car).
40+K miles and ~4 years of driving TM3P w/o skid plates, still a-OK.

Human judgment and decision making have been found to systematically violate the axioms of logic, probability theory, and expected utility theory (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). These violations are known as cognitive biases.... One of the first biases interpreted as evidence against human rationality is the availability bias (Tversky & Kahneman, 1973): people overestimate the probability of events that come to mind easily. This bias violates the axioms of probability theory. It leads people to overestimate the frequency of extreme events.


Or if the battery is damaged it can total the car and you’ll have to wait for a new one which currently is several months and you will be out a car in that time?

I'm kinda ready for an upgrade.
You?
 
Is Tesla still using "fiberboard" for these areas on the newer models? I thought I saw somewhere that they switched to plastic but could be wrong. To me it seems inconceivable to use fiberboard as the sole barrier under the car and in the wheel wells but I'm sure they had their reasons (value engineering!).

I do like these aftermarket alternatives, aluminum is lightweight weight, resists corrosion, and 1/8" thick is going to stop most everything that comes in contact with it from penetrating all the way through. My only concern would be acoustics but it looks like most of the aftermarket ones have a foam layer on the inside for this purpose.
 
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I replaced my front and rear compressed felt underbody shields with the 2021+ OEM injected hard plastic. Not as good as aluminum I suppose but much better than the original felt. Bought them off eBay from someoen who just received the car and immediately upgraded to aluminum.
 
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Tesla is an Aluminum intensive company. They fully understand the inherent properties of that metal. For some reason they decided to use composite or more recently plastic for the underbody protection and aerodynamic properites of the underbody coverings.

Totally understand the decision by some to switch to aluminum for additonal protection. In the Jeep community they are replacing factory aluminum with steel plates for off road protection.

Those factory underbody panels are the results of extensive aerodynamic and cooling engineering. Be sure you do not comprimise one benefit for another.
 
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Thanks for the post. Additional protection from road debris is certainly a good/valid reason for purchasing these aftermarket aluminum skid plates. I’ve been considering buying/installing one on my vehicle, but have held off for various reasons.

Question about the bent washer/bolt shown in your photo… When you removed it, was there any damage/tearing of the OEM fiberboard cover around the area where this particular bolt was attached?
Yes, the fiberboard around the bolt was torn up. It looked like the debris hit it at an angle, going through the fiberboard but being stopped by the bolt instead of continuing through to the components underneath.
 
Yes, the fiberboard around the bolt was torn up. It looked like the debris hit it at an angle, going through the fiberboard but being stopped by the bolt instead of continuing through to the components underneath.
Thanks. Sounds like you were very fortunate the damage was not any worse. I think you made the right decision to upgrade the skid plate material, especially given the circumstance. Now, time to take that thing off-road and have some real fun!! ;)
 
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I found this steel bolt from my front skid plate had taken the brunt of a hard hit from road debris. Had it hit an inch off in any direction I’ve no doubt the debris would have torn through the original fiberboard cover and damaged the components underneath.

I'm having trouble visualizing the damage mechanism unless the screw was only partially fastened.
 
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Yep.. I put plates front and back on my M3 just before a 1500 miler.. I was 300 into the trip when the front plate to a large hit from something in the road at night.. left a big black smear over the plate.. that flimsy fiber board from 2019 would not have had a chance.. not at 80 mph. I'm guessing some treads from a truck tire or the like..
 
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Here was my justification. Even aluminum may not of stopped one of these but gives it a better chance. How much is a battery if something goes throught the panel and breaks the coolant line off the battery assembly? It has happened and yes there is a non approved fix but thats a different topic.
One of these rocks in this pic took out a wheel and flipped up and damaged the rocker panel, not only the plastic panel but the metal above it thats part of the quarter panel.
Yes, one still could of easily damaged my battery but luckily it didn't. Luck I guess.
A few hundred bucks was worth piece of mind for added protection In an area that I could do my best to improve.
And blue locktite them bolts!!!
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Here was my justification. Even aluminum may not of stopped one of these but gives it a better chance.

Aluminum would not stand a chance against a rock. Aluminum is not THAT much stronger than fiberglass or plastic. It's more likely to dent and tear than to crack and fall off, but neither material will provide much protection from an impact with a rock, or a steel plank on the road.
You need a steel plate for that.

For something softer (roadkill, smaller debris), I see no difference in protection between composite "fiberboard" and aluminum.
But if it makes someone "feel" better, then go for it.

One of these rocks in this pic took out a wheel and flipped up and damaged the rocker panel, not only the plastic panel but the metal above it thats part of the quarter panel.

Exactly.

A few hundred bucks was worth piece of mind for added protection In an area that I could do my best to improve.

So, is there a steel skid plate product out there yet?
For those who drive on rock infested roads?

a
 
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