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broncorik

Badlands
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I have a Badlands/Sasquatch and I live in Southern California...and much of my wheeling is pretty rocky. Although the Badlands has ok skid plates from the factory, I bought JCR lower control arm plates, JCR rear shock plates, an ASFIR transmission plate, and a Foutz differential skid.

After some fairly technical wheeling on some rocky trails (Tip Top in Big Bear, Rubicon Trail/Buck Lake Trail in Tahoe, Broken Arrow in Sedona) I found it interesting that even though so many folks are all about the search for the perfect frame mounted rocker sliders that my stock rockers sliders have zero rock rash...but even with careful lines my rear shock sliders/cross members/a-arm plates/rear lower trailing arm mounts/diff slider/front bash plates/tranny plate have all been "touched." I am stoked that I have rocker sliders, but even more stoked to have almost all of my "low hanging fruit" covered. I like the JCR belly slider that cover the cross member, but it also covers the cats and I don't want that much heat build-up...so I ordered that ASFIR cross member protectors. This is an example of some of the terrain responsible for my current battle scars. Nothing too crazy, but without the protective bits it would not have been pretty.

In short, if you are in a budget, covering the lowest points first will be the most beneficial (unless you do a lot of ledges/high center risk stuff and somehow clear your lower bits in a regular basis).


Ford Bronco Discussion: most important armor / skid plate protection? 20220622_135819
Ford Bronco Discussion: most important armor / skid plate protection? 20220622_134840
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kodiakisland

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All depends on where you are and what you do as to what is most important. Glad your skids are working well for you. The nice thing about the 2 door is the better break over angle as compared to the 4 door, although the 4 door isn't bad itself.

Personally, the reason I want good sliders is to use them as a pivot point and the fact the trails I'm on aren't much wider than the body. Sliders push you away from stuff so you can clear your rear tires. Not everyone uses them as such, but for me they come in very handy. I'm not interested in making my lowest points even lower and causing more to drag, but again that choice goes with the use and territory.
 
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broncorik

broncorik

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I imagine a 4-door would make use of sliders more so than the 2-door in many situations...and absolutely on tight trails having a good set of rocker sliders is a necessity. My observation has been that in order for any object on trails like the Rubicon to make contact with the slider there is a good chance that something else underneath the rig has already either made brief contact or worse yet hung up and prevented forward progress. The rear shock mounts, especially, and the crossmember are shaped in such a way that they are not going to glide over anything without some angled plate. Adding plates does mean some loss of clearance but it also adds the ability (like the rocker sliders) to slide over or pivot off objects. All a tradeoff. The diff slider also protects the pinion area, and the a-arm plates prevent potentially costly damage to the soft a-arms. After making it through the rock gardens I experienced on my last outings, I am thankful I spent the money on every slider I ended up with. As you shared, the sliders one installs should reflect the intended terrain...but because. terrain can change by the trip I like to be over prepared. The limitation with our IFS is the weakness of the tie rod setup/our steering box/ideal lift height max due to angle of half shafts, so we are always going to be dragging something. I must admit that although I like the way my Bronco drives in the road and its pretty hardy off road ability I do miss the simplicity and capability of my LJ and my FJ40 and their ability for things like trussed axle housings and much more lift/tire. On the Rubicon Trail we ran into some Jeeps on 40's with one-ton front and rear axles, ram steering, 3 and 4 link mid/long 2" DOM .25 thick arms and they cruised over pretty much everything without any dangling bits (and they could use their mid/long arms as skid plates if necessary. All that to say that I understand my Bronco's limits, and for me the tradeoff of not having a monster rig (and having the perks the Bronco offers) works for my needs as long as I have armor on the things that really need it (as evidenced by the rashes on each piece).
 

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Rick Astley

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So very important! None more important than rear shock skids.

These are a good set:

https://broncbustertx.com/products/bronc-shock-skid
Or if you wanted a smoother style without having bends or removing the ~240 lb tq bolt, these will fit on without disconnecting the shock:

https://www.srqfabrications.com/store/2021-6th-Gen-Bronco-Rear-Shock-Mount-Skid-Plates-p442182665

Where i'd be more inclined to have a solid lower plate welded to the tabs such as:

https://www.foutzmotorsports.com/products/2021-bronco-rear-shock-guard-kit-by-foutz-motorsports

Different strokes for different folks, but I don't like having the relief holes like Broncbuster has since they are folding the metal instead of welding.
 

Pseudoko

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Or if you wanted a smoother style without having bends or removing the ~240 lb tq bolt, these will fit on without disconnecting the shock:

https://www.srqfabrications.com/store/2021-6th-Gen-Bronco-Rear-Shock-Mount-Skid-Plates-p442182665

Where i'd be more inclined to have a solid lower plate welded to the tabs such as:

https://www.foutzmotorsports.com/products/2021-bronco-rear-shock-guard-kit-by-foutz-motorsports

Different strokes for different folks, but I don't like having the relief holes like Broncbuster has since they are folding the metal instead of welding.
Yup I just received my SRQ skids so I'll get those installed soon.
 

akturbo

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Or if you wanted a smoother style without having bends or removing the ~240 lb tq bolt, these will fit on without disconnecting the shock:

https://www.srqfabrications.com/store/2021-6th-Gen-Bronco-Rear-Shock-Mount-Skid-Plates-p442182665

Where i'd be more inclined to have a solid lower plate welded to the tabs such as:

https://www.foutzmotorsports.com/products/2021-bronco-rear-shock-guard-kit-by-foutz-motorsports

Different strokes for different folks, but I don't like having the relief holes like Broncbuster has since they are folding the metal instead of welding.
I hope it was 350...
Ford Bronco Discussion: most important armor / skid plate protection? 1656022202563


Overshot 350, that's officially my highest torque.
Ford Bronco Discussion: most important armor / skid plate protection? IMG_3793-1 (2)


Just installed the Foutz yesterday. Beefy! I wasn't excited about how large and low they are, but the fact they will protect the reservoir (and not hit it) was the ticket for me.

Ford Bronco Discussion: most important armor / skid plate protection? IMG_3775-1
Ford Bronco Discussion: most important armor / skid plate protection? IMG_3777-1
 

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Bird Dog Off Road

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Just my opinion, but here is my priority:

  • Better Sliders
  • Rear shock guards
  • Aluminum Transmission/t-case skids (to fill that gap in the factory)
  • Front lower control arm skids
  • Fuel tank skid
  • Trailer hitch skid
  • diff skid
Living in the rust belt, I prefer to use aluminum for the underbody skids as they aren't in plain sight. Had them on my old 4Runner and they survived Moab and Ouray last year.
 

SS Bronco

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Broncorik great post, I could not agree more. My 4 door Badlands had barely even hit the rock sliders, especially now with a 3” body lift. But the rest of the factory skids have taken a beating. I have done most of the trails in Moab, and the Rubicon twice. All the Skid plates are key to getting through.
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