Skid plate on my dads outback was a total pos, didn't cover any of the sides so driving on a simple muddy road, not even off roading would result in the bumper falling off from so much mud getting in there. It was a terrible flawed design and I'm trying to help him find one that covers the sides and fits similar to the stock plastic piece. I've searched around and i've seen some other complaints. It was primitive so that brand is out, can anybody steer me towards a different product? Thanks

 

rally armor skid plate?

 

they don't seem to have anything for the outback.

 

Make your own? It really isn't all that hard.

 

the outback is usually the same front end with multiple subarus?

Most likely should be around that fitment and wouldnt be so hard to make one either =D

 

Care to share? I'd love to know where the complaints are...and who wrote them.

We (my wife and I) both have Primitive skidplates on our Foresters, and the rear differential guards from Primitive. Never have had a fitment issue, the plate acts as nearly bulletproof armor protection. Trust me, if you get a look at the downpipe on Pleiad7's Forester, you'll see what kind of driving we've done with it - and the rock would have sheared the pan off if it hadn't had this Primitive plate on it.

Paul Eklund is a great guy, a professional rally driver, and is hooked up so tight with Subaru, he gets all the new cars in his driveway to develop skidplates and protection.

Please enlighten me with links to references of complaints...

 

+1 on good stuff with Primitive and Paul is a guy who goes out of his way to help his customers, I know I've met the guy a few times. Seems to me that the skid is not the problem, but the rest of your underbody protection (or lack thereof). The skid plate is only to protect the engine and tranny, and the primitive ones do it very well.

To keep mud and stuff out you should consider urethane sheets or high density plastic to cover the other areas. Otherwise if you're still unhappy with your skid you're going to either have to make your own or have one custom made. Just a tip though, rally drivers use the urethane sheets/high density plastic in addition to skids like primitive's.

 

OK I will find the complaints for you and post them. Yeah the rear diff protector he sent us did not fit at all, and the skidplate is a joke. It has no sides and is completely uneffective off road unlesss you are one 100 percent dry off road. The guy seemed to be nice, but having already spent our money and had poor results I'm looking for another brand.......not to trash the guy. SO please help keep this thread positive, and don't try to put a spin on it thats not there.

Guy ready to return and pist for exact reason***also pist because picture clearly shows sides
http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/...threadid=13522

another guy from the same thread other than the OP-

"I had an ok experience with primitive. The skid doesn't cover the trans pan at all and the diff in my 2005 XT is the heavy duty rear end used on the H6. The rear diff skid didn't fit and the person that I talked to really didn't offer a lot of help.

I reminded them (weeks later) that I wanted an addition to the front skid and still no response. They are a small outfit and I understand that."

Also rear diff protector didn't fit for this guy......(didn't fit for me either still sitting in the back yard)


Theres also nasioc posts with bought issues with oil filter fitiment and similar to described above.



I don't want to trash the guy, so I don't think I need to go ahead and post more.

I'm glad the Primitive plate is "FOR" protecting from rocks etc... but the REALITY of the situation is you encounter dirt when going off road. It designs the car to rip the bumper off/ be disgustingly dirty (Ed had claimed he had never seen a subaru so dirty underneath) and my dad had only taken it off road a time or 2 at that point. So if it defeats the purpose **** it.
Again as the thread title states im looking for someone who might have a skid plate on their outback, and who can help me find a suitble one. I think it's really rude to try and make the thread out of something it's not Roo, and you act like nobody could ever make a business mistake.....I didn't say he was a dick or an ******* so it's not a personal thread. You aren't a lawyer. How about I send you a picture of the skid plate and you can see how stupid of a design it is on the outback, then see if you still feel the same way. Everyone makes mistakes, I'm not bitter but I don't like being second guessed. The forester one may be good but this one is not.

 

If you look around, you'll find complaints about EVERY SINGLE BRAND. What you didn't notice is that Paul resolved this to the customers' satisfaction. Also what was missed was the picture in post #2 clearly shows an H-4 equipped Outback, not an H-6. Different motor, different design for the skidplate.

I've been out in the off-road - with water bars that rally cars won't race over (Rim of the World access road), and taken our Forester XT airborne over them. The skidplate protected the motor and oil pan. It did its job - the job is not to keep the engine showroom detailed clean.

In this particular case, I'd much rather have a skidplate designed to protect the motor than keep it clean. I'd rather have someone design it who is a professional rally driver, and can test his designs on those types of roads - not some guy in a shop who hasn't ever taken their car off-road.

BTW, the H-6 pipes go straight back, and need some sort of airflow to allow heat transfer...which is why the plate is designed the way it is. I'm sure if you want a complete cover, so your motor can be showroom clean, there are people who can design a CF plate which covers the entire bottom of the vehicle from front to back.

 

yeah the problem for us is just a regularly muddy road that would be fine with the stock plastic piece ends up tearing the bumper off due to weight of the mud because theres enormous gaps on each side. I was hoping to find something that covers these gaps or at least is flared somewhat because while the cleanliness of the underneath is not a concern having the bumper ripoff far away in the middle of nowhere on an often basis is not cool. At the same time the thing has taken a hit so we need a skidplate, but i need a bumper too. Sorry for being cranky but I had no intention of trying to trash the guy just I need something to work for our model.

 

I'd be happy to take a look at it to help you figure out what's catching on the bumper to rip it off. I'd like to get pictures from most all angles...I'm sure if there's a special concern, Paul can design something that won't ever interact with the bumper...not that the design he has does (on my car). I'd really like to see the car if you have some time, and maybe the road...

...and with that, we could get a skidplate made which suits your needs.

 

Hey Paul makes those too

The majority of us non rich folk just use urethane and high density plastic to protect the rest of the underbody and keep stuff out of places they shouldn't be.