Kilby is in business - Who wants their skid plates?!

[VX KAT]

Possibly interested - need to make budget thus need better idea on price.

possibly interested depending on cost.

The group buy was $750 for the powdercoat ones, think it was $50 or $100 less for the raw steel version. They weigh 150 lbs total for your reference, so shipping will be steep, maybe figure $75?
So like Riff said, they're in the $800 ballpark. You can probably plan/budget for something in that neighborhood.

OK...I'll either be shot-down..or its good info... ?

With all due respect to the time and effort put in to
getting the Kilby under armour/armor made.....


...its OVERKILL.

The bolts are gonna get F'd up...destroyed...it retains heat..BIG TIME..
...and its WAY more than ya need.....for the VX capabilities.

Your LOW point...is the crux of the matter.... EXACTLY!


Having wheeled as a relative newbie for several years...
.....and beyond that, done trails that VX's are not s'posed to do...
........many of them!

..

Jo - I thought for sure the Kilby's were RETAINING HEAT->contributing to overheating. Talked w/my off-road mechanic guy He felt strongly they are not contributing in any way. I've had them on full time for 19 months without any temp issues whatsoever, and I've had many hot hot AZ days. So he feels since this is a new problem, they aren't retaining heat or causing my overheating.
It has to be something ELSE causing it. (Thus I'm getting a new aluminum radiator...just a few more weeks!)

Also, my transmission housing/center console and hump get so freakin' hot after like 2-4 hrs of driving, again, thought for sure it was caused by the skids retaining heat.....but after I posted about it, many other owners without skids said they had the same occur.....

Overkill? Maybe a bit, but MOST (but not all) VXs that go off road and do some of the extreme trails you've done...are LIFTED!!! Since I'm not lifted, and will never be...."my LOWPOINT is the crux of the matter"......Exactly! So......there's a place for some strong steel plates on my belly!

But really, it just depends on whatever the individuals' needs are.

Need I say more about extreme?...LOL

[Triathlete]

Do people really take these things on "extreme" trails?

I will one day get a skid plate fabbed that is somewhere between the trooper and kilby plates....cover everything vital but minimalist. Of course that will be sometime after that d44 does under the front end...so, don't hold your breath!

[Riff Raff]

Excellent discussion. Are the Kilby's overkill??? You, bet; too the max (it's frickin' armour plate for Christ's sake)!!! Heck, the Kilby's have the ability to support the entire weight of the VX on a boulder centered underneath the VX and acting like a teder-toder without causing damage to critical drivetrain components.

As "VX-KAT" and "VXorado" beautifully illustrated the heat issue is non-related, and the total peace of mind of having your entire undercarriage protected front-to-back is absolutely priceless, especially if you are non-lifted at OEM stock height. Further, having the Kilby's on your VX greatly enhance the "re-sale value" of your VX and will easily up the asking sale price by about a grand (due to the have's & and the have not theory).

For example, the Kilby's are like having an option on a vehicle eventhough that option may never be used during the ownership of the vehicle.

Suppose the following:

A. VX with or without A/C. Yes; we know that A/C is a "standard option" on the VX, but if it wasn't then you'd still like to have it eventhough you may not ever use it.

B. VX with or without Bumper Winch. Yes; the VX never came with an OEM factory Bumper Winch option, but if it did then we'd still want it eventhough we may not ever use it. Heck, how many times have you seen vintage 4x4 trucks on the street that had a factory WARN Bumper Winch and the cable-coils are still perfectly aligned because the Bumper Winch had never been used during the entire lifetime of the truck???

C. VX with or without Kilby's. Yes; the VX never came with full belly-pan skidplates as an OEM factory option, but if it did then we'd still want it eventhough we may not ever use it.

Does the likelyhood exist that the Kilby's will never be used to their full potential during the lifetime of the VX??? Yes. However; by damned, like A/C and the Front Bumper Winch example above, I still want the Kilby's because it is available as an option to the VX!!! Let's say you see two(2) identical same-colored VX's with exact same mileage on a Dealership Sales lot that the only differance being is that one VX has the Kilby's and the other VX does not. Chances are great that you'll purchase the VX that had the Kilby's, rather than the VX that did not. 'Nuff said.

[JoFotoz]

BTW Sue...thanks for posting those pics !!
.
.






I am now more convinced than ever that I need to get longer rear trailing arms.
The back tire in both shots looks like its trying to jump into the front seats....

jo

[Triathlete]

On other side, they could also de-value the VX in the buyers mind. Someone who would spend that kind of coin on a non factory mod would probably have done so for a reason...how hard was this VX really used?

[JoFotoz]

I am somewhat amazed, but very happy to hear
that some testing seems to show that the heat issue...

...is a non issue

I think Billy summed it up..something in-between the Trooper bare bones approach
( which does seem to work perfectly well when lifted) and the full Kilby sheathing would be the ideal set up.

And yes Sue, I think your standard ride height probably benefits from the full coverage ,
however other non lifted VX's ( Mr G !!) do gnarly trails without ...

In most cases,I would spend the money on a lift FIRST .

Of course a good spotter helps more than anything!

jo

[Ldub]

however other non lifted VX's ( Mr G !!) do gnarly trails without ...

In most cases,I would spend the money on a lift FIRST .

Of course a good spotter helps more than anything!

jo

That and the liberal application of many straps, & the cumulative piling of what must be by now, literally TONS of rocks...

[JoFotoz]

LMAO!!

That and the liberal application of many straps, & the cumulative piling of what must be by now, literally TONS of rocks...

..no kidding!!!



jo

[BigSwede]

People's tolerance for trail damage varies...some shrug and move on, others can't stand dings to their baby. For the latter crowd, these skids are recommended.

[mechafroggie]

I might be interested in these (with the powder-coating), depending on price and date available.

[vt_maverick]

Tom keep in mind that we replaced the OEM front skid plate and cross member so the Kilby's aren't a direct weight add - maybe more like 100-125 lbs.

[tom4bren]

Tom keep in mind that we replaced the OEM front skid plate and cross member so the Kilby's aren't a direct weight add - maybe more like 100-125 lbs.

ROFL - That crossmember & front skid combined weigh 7 lbs max. Yer still talkin 143 lbs of added weight.

Again, I'm not dissing Kilby or any of you that bought the skids. I think they're great. If it weren't for my diff drops, I woulda considered it. I've been hung up on a diff before & completely crushed my oil pan before (neither on the VX thank goodness).

However, I just can't wrap my mind around 150 lbs of skids & another 100 lbs of winch that'll never be used. Get them to use them ... not for show.

[VXorado]

After having a skid plate drop on my chest, I found a larger style floor jack makes the install/uninstall very easy if you get the jack centered on the plate.

Get them to use them ... not for show.

I'm tempted to take some pics of my skid plates... I could see some definite scrap-age in several places after my 2009 Moab trip. I really got the skid plate to protect the low hanging transfer case, its the last thing you need to smash across a rock while on a 4x4 trail.

[tom4bren]

After having a skid plate drop on my chest, I found a larger style floor jack makes the install/uninstall very easy if you get the jack centered on the plate.

That's how I smashed his finger.

I'm tempted to take some pics of my skid plates... I could see some definite scrap-age in several places after my 2009 Moab trip. I really got the skid plate to protect the low hanging transfer case, its the last thing you need to smash across a rock while on a 4x4 trail.

Don't want no pictures of your nether reagions

We're on the same page.

[VXorado]

We're on the same page.

...maybe the same page of different books