Anyone interested in getting a bash/skid plate made?

[Arctra]

Hi guys.

As you may have seen from the pics I posted of my poor Tig's underside after a weekend offroading, I sustained some underside cosmetic damage due to a combination of poor clearance and poor driving. It has inspired me to consider getting a skid/bash plate as insurance for future offroad escapades.

I haven't managed to find any readily accessible good looking products yet (though I haven't really tried overly hard to), but reckon I'll probably end up getting one made.

To that end, is anyone else interested in such a product? What I'm thinking is that if there is enough interest, we could save on getting a few made at the same time. Let me know if you are interested.

[team_v]

Have you checked out the ABD-racingworks thread on Vortex?
I believe they are working on Safari mods for the Tiguan.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4618298&page=2

[jimbomort]

might be interested, depending on cost

[midlifecrisis]

Ball park on costs and any warranty complications?

[duncan]

Something like this -

http://www.dieselgeek.com/servlet/Categories?category=Panzer+Skid+Plates

Although they don't do one for the Tiguan.

It also might be worth considering one for the rear diff as well.

Heck what about a full Dakar style full under body guard

What warranty issues - an ali sump guard is going to be a lot better than the plastic piece of rubbish currently there. It'll just be bolt on.

[Arctra]

Something like this -

http://www.dieselgeek.com/servlet/Categories?category=Panzer+Skid+Plates

Although they don't do one for the Tiguan.

It also might be worth considering one for the rear diff as well.

Heck what about a full Dakar style full under body guard

What warranty issues - an ali sump guard is going to be a lot better than the plastic piece of rubbish currently there. It'll just be bolt on.

Oh yeah, that's the other question... Aluminium or Steel plate? I've heard differing opinions on this question. Steel is heavy, but it's stronger, less likely to bend as much as aluminium, and if it is bent or cracked can be welded easily. Aluminium is likely cheaper and lighter though, and can probably give enough support and protection to prevent shredding the sump. Opinions?

Looking at my pics of the underside, getting a rear diff guard as well would not be easy and given it's position I'm not sure it's entirely necessary. I think I'll stick with the front for now.

[Tigga1]

Would be interested depending on price and cosmetics...the latter probably just as important.
Thanks Arctra, great initiative!

[Achtung Tiggy]

Depending on the price I guess.

To turn the Tig into an off-road beast, IMO, the priority should be to improve the ground clearance. You may not even need a skid plate once you get higher springs.

[Arctra]

OK, so this is proving to be a bit of a challenge. From googling it doesn't appear there is anything on the market that is ready to fit the Tiguan.

I contacted DeiselGeek about the Panzer Plate which appears to fit most of the Golf MkV variants, so I was hoping it'd work on the Tiguan Trend & Fun that we get here in Aus. They got back to me quickly saying that they weren't sure as they hadn't seen a Tig to try it.

I contacted ARB and they don't do anything for the Tig and don't do custom plates either, and they had no suggestions for me.

I have one contact that was luke-warm on the idea of making one up who I will try and meet up with this weekend, but otherwise I'm stumped.

Does anyone have any suggestions/contacts that may be able to help?

[Arctra]

OK guys, just an update on this. I met with a guy that does quite a bit of VW fabricating this weekend and he took a look at what he could do.

There are 2 very solid mounting holes at the front, and about 4 at that back of the engine bay for a skid plate to be mounted. He's done a cardboard template and will go about cutting it out when he gets a chance. He'll be using some 6mm smooth aluminium plate which he reckons should be solid enough. Given the size of the plate, steel will be pretty heavy and he was reluctant to go that route. Cosmetically, you won't even be able to see the thing unless you get under the vehicle, but that means you will still need to take care to not damage the front lip of the bumper when offroad. That's fair enough - you always need to drive within the limits of the vehicle anyway. It should look very much like the Panzer Skid Plate from DieselGeek: http://www.dieselgeek.com/servlet/Ca...er+Skid+Plates

He is guestimating that it'll cost around $400 to make and install. Given that price point I think it is worth my while doing, so he's going to go ahead and make mine regardless. I mentioned that there were other members that are interested, to which he said he would be happy to make more up if the damnd was there. I'm not sure if they'll be any cheaper if he does more, so work on $400 as the estimated price point for the moment.

Given that info, can I ask for those of you in/around Sydney that said you were interested to confirm whether you are still interested at $400? For those of you outside of Sydney, it is a big piece of plate which will be awkward and expensive to ship IMO. Obviously you would not pay for the labour of fitting it though, so maybe you would be willing to pay for the shipping. Let me know.

PS: After taking the "noise insulation" plate off the front underside to see where to mount the plate, the guy noticed the flywheel is exposed without any protection (e.g. mesh) to stop small stones and stuff from getting in there. It is fairly protected by the plastic noise insulation plate, but not particularly well if you are going to go offroad. Just made it even clearer to me that a skid plate was necessary for my use.

[Achtung Tiggy]

I'm still not sure that I should get one for my Tig. The thing is I don't go off-roading every weekend. So when I do, I could just stick to the easy treks that do not require much ground clearance.

But I'd reallly like to take a look at yours after you get it installed. And from there I can decide if I want to go ahead.

[Transporter]

I'm still not sure that I should get one for my Tig. The thing is I don't go off-roading every weekend. So when I do, I could just stick to the easy treks that do not require much ground clearance.

But I'd reallly like to take a look at yours after you get it installed. And from there I can decide if I want to go ahead.

Hmm... around $400 is cheap insurance for me, knowing that once or twice a year trip will not cause me a headache when something pokes onto unprotected drivetrain. I will be definitaly looking for more undervehicle shielding incl. diff, fuel tank and CV boots (old Subaru Lseries had something like mudflaps attached to the steering rods protecting all cv boots /easy to make/)

Just my 2c.

[Achtung Tiggy]

Hmm... around $400 is cheap insurance for me, knowing that once or twice a year trip will not cause me a headache when something pokes onto unprotected drivetrain. I will be definitaly looking for more undervehicle shielding incl. diff, fuel tank and CV boots (old Subaru Lseries had something like mudflaps attached to the steering rods protecting all cv boots /easy to make/)

Just my 2c.

Good point there. I guess it boils down to how adventurous you are and how far you are willing to push the Tig.

[Transporter]

Good point there. I guess it boils down to how adventurous you are and how far you are willing to push the Tig.

Yeah, especially if it is not only you driving the car. For example in our family, we share the cars and my younger daughter doesn't always say where she is going. So since it is a small SUV and some one could think that it should have some off road capability and lucking the knowledge will put the rock through the engine sump or similar.

[clip]

Steel is heavy, but it's stronger, less likely to bend as much as aluminium, and if it is bent or cracked can be welded easily. Aluminium is likely cheaper and lighter though, and can probably give enough support and protection to prevent shredding the sump. Opinions?

For what it's worth, I'd go with aluminium. apart from being much lighter, it will give a little - much more than steel, which can actually be a good thing by not transfering the impact load to the mounting points which could potentially do damage to the vehicle's chassis (particularly over time with numerous 'bashings').