Are Aftermarket Skid Plates Worth It? Installing ASFIR 4x4 Skid Plates on my Gladiator

I've never run aftermarket skid plates on my rigs before. But with us traveling and wheeling a lot more now I thought it would be a good idea to reinforce the factory skids and add a much needed engine and transmission skid plate under my Gladiator and my wife's Wrangler from ASFIR 4x4. #asfir4x4 #asfir #asfir_offroad
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[@tacoma_jon]

Matt. I have to say. I’m impressed that you’ve wheeled that thing like that without skids this whole time. Those skids look good. 🤙🏽

[@stephenswearengin8003]

Looks really straight forward and easy. If you start with a good product it makes things easier

[@MountainMan677]

I was actually looking for skid plates. Now I know which one I'm getting and that's super easy installation and affordable. Thanks Matt!

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

Glad I could help

[@richmumm7288]

Thanks Matt, funny on the timing. Look forward to seeing the video of you testing them. Great job! 👍

[@DB-yj3qc]

Thanks for the great video on installing, I pulled the trigger on the set after few watches of your video.

[@shager350z]

I have had them for about 2 years and there awesome!

[@tangerinethe]

Do you have a final review video? I couldn't find one :)

[@Good-luck-Jonathan]

I just ordered the Artec. Asfir is a pretty good for the budget but after doing extensive researching, the Artec was the best one for me.

[@croaker4747]

You are very lucky to have made it this long without good plates. It doesn’t take a whole lot to ruin your day on the trail. I have 1/4” aluminum all the way down except for the transfer case which is 1/4” Stainless steel.

[@off-roadingexplained8417]

Don't forget to mention it won't rust when it's scratched!

[@danielsteinberg7698]

You will be happy with your ASFIR skids. I put them on my JK in 2010. They hold up well. They are an Israeli company so the stuff is mabe to last.

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

We’ve been loving them for over a year now.

[@vitaplur426]

Aluminum has a coefficient of friction of 0.6 while steel is 0.2 (approximately as these numbers depend on the material sliding over as well). In other words it takes 3X less available tire traction to slide a steel skid plate over a rock than an aluminum one. Extra points for UHMW as used on 4400 cars as much slicker than steel but requires backing material. But this is main argument for steel even though heavy as the weight is low CG at least

[@scottsnyder8691]

Wow that's crazy, had no idea. Well I suppose that's important if you're trying to slide on your belly over something. I'm hoping to just provide some additional impact protection for the most part. And of course aluminum and steel have their pros and cons.

[@DB-yj3qc]

Known points my biggest concern is something ripping transmission lines off or punching hole in or oil pan, fuel tank T-case.

[@turboleggy]

Steel is more slippery then Aluminum. So it would be easier for tires to move with a given amount of force.

[@Djkommode]

The engine skid is a must have.

[@kenlchambers]

Love them. Super high quality.

[@troybilt6752]

Glad I went with the Next Venture Lab skids and the UHMW after watching this video.

[@Tinker3504]

Just installed this. I’m thinking I may pull the original trans skid crossmember that limits downtravel. Other manufacturers with the same thickness and same mounting points pull that crossmember. I see you did what I did, which is put it back on per the ASFIR instructions. But… I don’t think it’s needed. One man’s opinion 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@KTMcaptain]

I have a mountain off road front skid and it has saved my exhaust.

[@TwoFeatherChannel]

Wayalife never uses them because he doesn't like that they collect things like sand and rocks but he also has 200 Jeeps to choose from if one goes down from rock damage

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

Yeah we will see how that goes. I was originally thinking about just the engine skid but for the price the whole set just made sense.

[@TwoFeatherChannel]

@@OzarkOverlandAdventures I can only afford 1 Jeep, so added protection would be the best choice. only concern I see would be mud build up but it can be cleaned or easily removed for cleaning

[@ingelri2]

How about a post-Moab review? Thinking about putting these on our Wrangler. Thanks!

[@Bikepro4x]

Matt how are those holding up after 2 years? Anything you wish was different?

[@ryanstewart116]

Thank you for confirming to me that skid plates are stupid if you're just driving to work

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

Depends on how sketchy your drive to work is. 😂

[@bootmender]

You make that look easy, but I am sure it would be better with 4 hands? LOL 👍❤️🤔👍❤️👏👏❤️

[@ChasingDreamsLivingLife]

Matt, Can you do a follow up video or comment sometime about how these have held up?

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

They are doing great!! We love them and have beat on them pretty hard.

[@ChasingDreamsLivingLife]

@@OzarkOverlandAdventures Thanks Buddy.. this is going to be an upgrade in the near future for me.

[@timflaherty2731]

Hi Matt, I tried to enter the Ozark5 code, but it said code wasn't valid?

[@advpilot2833]

Matt how are they when it comes to oil changes? Looks like that small hole will make a mess.

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

We use these on all our Jeeps and it’s zero mess. amzn.to/3SzKdcy

[@advpilot2833]

That’s awesome Matt. Thanks for the tip. Never used one but I will now! I need to get a set of these skids ordered up.

[@larshamilton40]

no torque spec's? been looking into skid's, been on the fence between alum vs steel..i know the steel will be heavier, and sturdier, but the lightweight alum is appealing........ cheers

[@sheldonnuhfer1963]

Really enjoy your videos and have learned so much. If you had to do it over again would you go with steel instead of aluminum? I’m debating between the two.

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

No regrets on the aluminum.

[@Warpetrie]

I saw them advertising on Instagram a few months ago and was curious about them. Wonder how long they've been selling in the US?

[@shawnthomas6460]

Love their products. The price is great till you get to shipping.... I just couldn't pull the trigger.

[@rsaunders223]

Yeah $600 shipping is joke. At that point you might as well support an American brand that offers free shipping. Ends up being the same price.

[@scottsnyder8691]

Man those look great. I wonder why they didn't have those protections for the bolts on the one skid. Also, do you have diff cover protection already? Was wondering why you didn't get the package that included those.

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

Those bolts are the factory bolts. I'm just worried about my diffs. If I'm banging my diffs hard enough to need skid plates then I'm not driving very well.

[@scottsnyder8691]

@@OzarkOverlandAdventures Good point on the diff covers I suppose. I guess one could look for some special washers for those factory bolts then. That seems like that could be a good add-on for ASFIR. But great looking product, I've bookmarked their site. thx

[@normmuelleman2570]

Matt: met you at MORR in Spfd. Thanks for the vids and tips! I am going to pull the trigger on these skid plates so they are in place before Jeepstock in Sept. Any followup on how they worked?

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

They have been working very well. no regrets at all.

[@normmuelleman2570]

@@OzarkOverlandAdventures Just ordered my full set (including diff plates) about 5 minutes ago. Interesting company...based in Spain, manufactured in Israel. Hopefully they get here fairly quickly :)

[@vincentmamotos9937]

hey ozark, im looking to take advantage of a good sale they got going on right now but im scared about the whole "steel is much stronger than aluminum" should i worry about that when it comes to the ASFIR? how do they hold up if they get caught up on some sharp rock?

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

Ours are doing great!!! They have taken a beating for sure.

[@vincentmamotos9937]

​@OzarkOverlandAdventures thanks for the reply! Asfir currently has these at about $850 with free shipping after all the discounts. That's pretty hard to pass up right? Closest deal I can find is steel from Barnes 4x4 but it weights about 190# and its about $1k after shipping and taxes. It's pretty unheard of to get the aluminum cheaper. I'm thinking of cutting some UHMV myself and mounting it on the asfir for easy sliding. Thoughts?

[@camaroboi13]

@@vincentmamotos9937 wouldn’t be difficult to do. 850 is a great price for the whole thing. I’m heading on an off road trip next week and wanted to make sure I had these before I left, so I had to order before the sale started.

[@jp080offroading...2]

Love yalls stuff. Yall make it look so easy. And yall have inspired me to go further with my build and become a creator on social media. Thanks for all yall do. Hope to catch ya on the trail some day.

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

That is awesome!

[@scottsavoie7072]

You say you met them in the US? Did you order from their website? I’m trying to find out from them if you remove your original gas tank, skid plate on the Wrangler or not

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

Yes we met them at several of the Overlanding Expos and we did order from the website. You do not remove the factory skids.

[@jimsdimideas5383]

Just so you know,JK Jeep 2012 complete set of underbody protection is $1,150.00….. I may still get some….

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

Yeah the JKs have more skids than the JL/JTs do because of the evap canister and the muffler skid.

[@jimsdimideas5383]

@@OzarkOverlandAdventures thanks for looking into that.

[@mikesters3532]

How do you get to the oil pan drain plug?

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

That slot in the belly skid.

[@mikesters3532]

@@OzarkOverlandAdventures from everything I’ve seen, oil will run all over the top of the skid when draining. Many remove it for oil changes. I like the skid plate and it’s in consideration for my 2 door 2.0 turbo. But the oil draining issue and the a ability to remove the oil filter (still located underneath towards driver side of drain plug) easily is kind of a show stopper.

[@williamhibbard1535]

Have you looked into Metal Cloak plates

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

I have.

[@NarleyAdventures]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@mblake0420]

750? Im seeing 1500 bucks

[@jessicamathews5758]

Good video. I just checked out there website and see if they have any for my Nissan Titan and they don’t.

[@tattooedoverlander4872]

Good videos. Tattoos are coming along nicely also!

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

Thanks!

[@jimmierpadgettjr]

Do they have diesel skids for gladiator?

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

They sure do. www.asfir.com/skid-plate-set-547473b.html. Save 5% with code ozark5

[@djdannis]

@@OzarkOverlandAdventures This discount code doesn't work :(

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

@@djdannis the video is over a year old.

[@djdannis]

@@OzarkOverlandAdventures Bummer, thanks for the vid

[@Endgame392]

I plan on ordering a moon awning this week. Any discount codes?

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

I don’t have a discount code for Moon. Just the link

[@DUNEATV]

With all this talk about protecting your jeep have you given any thought into how to protect your hairdo in the event you slip off a rock and your hair hits the headliner?

[@OzarkOverlandAdventures]

😂😂 my hair is well protected. But if you see me wearing a hat you know something happened.

[@DUNEATV]

@@OzarkOverlandAdventures Let’s pray the day never comes… 🙏

[@kingkaliber49]

I would be more worried about the headliner with that coif, but I'm bald so it's just my jealousy coming through.

[@rbabler]

Asfir 4x4 is an Israeli brand! Go Israel! 🇮🇱