Focus skid plate questions

I need to put a skid plate on the focus and as focus owners know there really is nothing to mount to under there.
So I am wondering if there are any focus builders that my be able to give some suggestions on how they did theirs and possibly post some pictures.

kthanks!

Not all of us have seen the lower half of a Focus. can you post some pics? iam sure we can figure it out.

Eric Burmeister came up with something that won against a 6" post.

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Pete Remner
Cleveland, Ohio

1984 RX-7 (rallycross thing)
1978
Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver.

Pete used what amounts to the bed of a dump truck on the Rx-7.

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For the Focus I had a small part in, we did a hoop out of 1.5"DOM from the frame rais for the front, with a a bar on each side from the bend back to the frame rail to form a triangle. At the rear, I don't remember.

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BJosephD
Not all of us have seen the lower half of a Focus. can you post some pics? iam sure we can figure it out.

Yes, I will try to get the car on the lift today and get some pics.

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Pete
Eric Burmeister came up with something that won against a 6" post.

Thats the kind of skid plate i'm looking for.

I was also thinking of using a 1/2" high density plastic, i've heard some good things about it. tends to slide over rocks better and deflcts back into shape rather than bend and stay bent.

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ChrisKobi

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Pete
Eric Burmeister came up with something that won against a 6" post.

Thats the kind of skid plate i'm looking for.

I was also thinking of using a 1/2" high density plastic, i've heard some good things about it. tends to slide over rocks better and deflcts back into shape rather than bend and stay bent.

Truist me : aluminum slides over rocks just fine. The whole point of the SUMP GUARD is to protct the SUMP of the car so it doesnt bend up and screw up the oil pump pick up and or get punctured...

It has become a cock comparison deal and silly boys one-upping eachother.
1/4 aluminum works pretty gawddam good if it is supported..

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

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CALL +1 206 431-9696
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is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

The focus is similar to the VW Golfs on the nose end. 1-1/2" bend hoop going up to the frame rails works well.

-Jon

I used a 3/8" of 6061 aluminum. Indestructable.
Plastic might be okay in a pinch but that ease of bending means it'll move right up to the sump with ease. Sure it'll dampen the hit a bit, but eventually it will not be enough. I got to pull a oil pan off the Audi hill climb car in a snow storm at night by myself at a hill climb in 2005 while the driver ran back to town to grab a new one after our plastic skid plate proved to not be up to the task.

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Grant Hughes

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john vanlandingham

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ChrisKobi

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Pete
Eric Burmeister came up with something that won against a 6" post.

Thats the kind of skid plate i'm looking for.

I was also thinking of using a 1/2" high density plastic, i've heard some good things about it. tends to slide over rocks better and deflcts back into shape rather than bend and stay bent.

Truist me : aluminum slides over rocks just fine. The whole point of the SUMP GUARD is to protct the SUMP of the car so it doesnt bend up and screw up the oil pump pick up and or get punctured...

It has become a cock comparison deal and silly boys one-upping eachother.
1/4 aluminum works pretty gawddam good if it is supported..

Ha, well if thats the case it all comes down to pricing and budget! I have a feeling that the aluminun looses though, I think last time I priced it it was something like 3 times the cost of high density plastic. But who knows, still doing the research!

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Gravity Fed
Pete used what amounts to the bed of a dump truck on the Rx-7.

And I bent it. (It is - don't laugh - 3/16" steel plate, weighs about 60lb, but it was CHEAP)

I guess bending IT is better than bending the body, and certainly better than bending the oil cooler/radiator, which are the vulnerables.

Traffic signs seem to make decently tough skid plates, mounting is more key than anything else.

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Pete Remner
Cleveland, Ohio

1984 RX-7 (rallycross thing)
1978
Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2012 11:53AM by Pete.

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NoCoast
I used a 3/8" of 6061 aluminum. Indestructable.

I used the same on my laser. A bit costly but it saved it's price worth of parts a few times.

One time I hit a sharp rock that left a deep groove in it. Quite sure it would have destroyed at least the oil pan if I had a plastic skid plate.

Bending it into shape using a motorhome lift, a full size chevy van, an H beam and a torch was an interesting experience too!

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Francois

1 inch titanium. Minimum. Line it with Kevlar, if you can afford it.

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Welcome to the cult of JVL drink the koolaid or be banned.

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john vanlandingham

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ChrisKobi

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Pete
Eric Burmeister came up with something that won against a 6" post.

Thats the kind of skid plate i'm looking for.

I was also thinking of using a 1/2" high density plastic, i've heard some good things about it. tends to slide over rocks better and deflcts back into shape rather than bend and stay bent.

Truist me : aluminum slides over rocks just fine. The whole point of the SUMP GUARD is to protct the SUMP of the car so it doesnt bend up and screw up the oil pump pick up and or get punctured...

It has become a cock comparison deal and silly boys one-upping eachother.
1/4 aluminum works pretty gawddam good if it is supported..

What John said.

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ChrisKobi
Ha, well if thats the case it all comes down to pricing and budget! I have a feeling that the aluminun looses though, I think last time I priced it it was something like 3 times the cost of high density plastic.

Because engines are cheap, right? It's really easy to replace smashed oil pans and pickup tubes on your back in a muddy service area, right? It will cost you about $200 for some .25" 6061-T6 aluminum to make a nice skid plate with. Maybe a little extra to have them put a bend in it. I could build the whole thing for you for about $400. But hey, Ford Focus engines are cheaper than that, right?
(My god, I'm starting to sound like JV...)