Skid Plates UHM or Aluminum

Time for some Skid plates.... UHM 3/8 or 1/2 or Aluminum.. Most of you know how I ride.. Jerrzr has had a Aluminum plate about 4 years now, his still in in good shape.. Your thoughts?????

I have 3/8 UHMV, works fine, wont dent and slides over rocks. But if Jerry has aluminum and its lasted on his ride, then its durable as hell. I think either would be fine, UHMV is cheaper. 299.00 shipped on ebay.

I have aluminum products aluminum skids with side protection
for 2 years , no problems at all...
and there priced right too...

ChrisC wrote:

I have aluminum products aluminum skids with side protection
for 2 years , no problems at all...
and there priced right too...

Same as me!

Aluminum is best in the rough stuff, ive read about people busting motors and trannys using the other, they give and the part still takes the impact.

I have the 3/8'' thick UHMW skids and a arm guards. The UHMW material will slide over rocks, logs and dirt drop-offs a lot better than aluminum. This material is also a lot more
forgiving than aluminum! I've seen first hand an aluminum a arm guard pushed back into
the cv, tearing the boot. I've hit rocks with the UHMW a arm guards and they flex right
back without causing any damage to the cv. This is just

UHMV for me works great, slids instead of sticks on the rocks.

I have the TUSK 3/8 uhmw ones and they seem to be holding up real good.

I have the 3/8 in. (TUSK) brand, its all good.

I am running Fiber Skins on my XP. They are really light and are holding up really well.
They are a composite material.
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the uhmw does exactly what was said they flex, thats how if you hit something real hard, cases break, other than that they work great. Do a search on broken cases running them and read the stories yourself. Aluminum wont allow that to happen, as with anything there are trade offs, none will do everything best, but i will stick with the one that protects best myself, i got enough power to get over the logs

Fiber skins look neat, wish i would have known about them. I dont think you could go wrong with any type. Looks like alot of people on here are running UHMV including me, with no reported problems. JERZR has alluminum with no problem..enough said there. Whatever your wallet will let you buy will probably work, just get something and get back on the mountain.

I have had the EMP aluminum skids and A-Arm Guards for over 2 years. No CV tears, no bent A-Arms, no under carriage problems.

Take a look at mine
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I dont think the alluminum transfers energy to vital parts as easily as the uhmw. Eventhough my plates may be scratched gouged and dented in places,(as with gimpy's ) it is good because it leaves a history of impacts and shows me as far as the impact went...With UHMW, it always looks new and you caint tell anything by it. And another reason to why I like the aluminum is that it DOESN'T slide good! I use my plates alot to creep off big rock drop offs and I do so as slowly as I can especially in very slick conditions - the aluminium grabs giving me more control. (places like going down the hard part of 9 to 12)... Remember that I'm splitting hairs, I like the UHMW but ,if I had it, I would feel better with 1/2"uhmw...IBut I will always stick with aluminum and 1/4" is all you need of it -it saves on ground clearance

This problem is easy, just buy whatever you want, I did

gimpy wrote:

I have had the EMP aluminum skids and A-Arm Guards for over 2 years. No CV tears, no bent A-Arms, no under carriage problems.

Take a look at mine
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What do you expect the skids are on the BOTTOM it looks like you need them for the sides . You must stay on 4 wheels to use them properly .l

I agree with JerRZR, the aluminum does seem to take the impacts better. The rigidity of the aluminum allows it to transfer the impact and displace the energy of a wider area as upposed to giving to directly what's behind it. Better to destroy the aluminum guard than to bend the a-arms. My EMPs are beat all to hell and the A-Arms still look good. Be prepared for cleaning all the leaves and mud out that get trapped in those things. Its a damn headache pressure washing that crap out. Im sure the plastic ones work very well though. Too much thinking and not enough drinking here!

Plus , i think the aluminum product skids are priced right.
some of the fiber skids are expensive....

I made my own out of a aluminum 4x8 sheet. They did bend up towards stuff, but still working good. I will let you know soon how much of a pain they are to reinstall. Took mine off to take to dealer and seems to have a good cup forming in the center. I did find that the shitty SuperATV rock sliders bent my frame rails though. I think those things are made from tin cans!

Thanks for info... I will get something very soon...

2 years ago a talked to Rick only at EMP, told him that I am a member of southernsxsriders and got a good deal on the total package versus buying seperate.

As far as dents. Look under the pic at where the battery sits. That big dent was where I tried to jump up on a ledge with a high pointed rock. Got stuck on it for a while. I don't think anything but aluminum would have survived that one.

Thanks again for replies, I went with the TUSK, it covers a-arm areas ,everything underneath, sides and extends past the gas tank. Wasn't hard to install either...

stacrzr wrote:

Thanks again for replies, I went with the TUSK, it covers a-arm areas ,everything underneath, sides and extends past the gas tank. Wasn't hard to install either...

Congrats, you'll be happy with the UHMW skids!!!