Are you about to buy a used car? Going to restore a truck? Perhaps you want to redo your current wheels? If you answered positively to any of these questions, then you must have heard countless suggestions about the importance of skid plates.
Since skid plates are considered a valuable safety component for a car, most automobile enthusiasts and mechanics swear by them. Some experts even go as far as to recommend that you avoid longer drives until you get your skid plates in check. Which brings about many important questions for the regular car or truck owner. What are skid plates? How do they function? And most importantly, do skid plates work to keep your car safe? In order to make it easier to learn more about skid plates, here’s all you need to know about their effectiveness, their function, and their real world usage.What Are Skid Plates?
Before diving into the efficacy of skid plates, it’s important to understand exactly what they are and how they work with your car. Simply put, skid plates are external components that are installed under your car to protect its base framework and the parts it holds within. These plates are developed to fit a variety of automobiles, which allows them to effectively cover the exposed parts of your vehicle’s undercarriage. This way, skid plates work to keep your car’s underside safe from impacts against the road or external objects. Similar to other car components, skid plates can fit on old and new cars alike. To avoid any compatibility and installation issues, it is prudent to find skid plates that are a perfect match for your car’s make and model. This ensures that your skid plates seamlessly install under your car and do the job that you expect out of them.
How Do Skid Plates Work?
The idea behind skid plates is simple to understand. These plates work as a protective barrier between your vehicle’s base framework and the road underneath. By absorbing the shock of any impact with the road, these skid plates keep your cars’ delicate components safe from being exposed to extensive damage. To put it simply, skid plates are to a car’s undercarriage what bumpers are to a vehicle’s front. Both of these components are made to prevent physical damage, absorb excessive force, and protect your vehicle. The difference is that bumpers protect cars from their very front, while skid plates play this role for the chassis of vehicles. In order to understand how do skid plates work, it is important to learn how they are made. Skid plates are typically developed from metal. But they can also be created using a variety of plastics. It is also important to remember that metal-based skid plates are more expensive than their plastic-based counterparts, but the former is more durable and provides more value for money in the long run. To put it in simpler words: the stronger the material, the better chance the skid plate has of protecting a car. That’s why, the main objective while shopping for skid plates is to find options that are made out of sturdy material. 
What Kind of Cars Need Skid Plates?
Skid plates are considered an important component of most vehicles. But they are absolutely essential for cars built with a lowered height as well as vehicles developed for off-road usage. The reason is simple. Due to having a close distance between the road and their base framework, lowered vehicles are most likely to hit the road during a drive. This risk also applies to offroad vehicles, which can receive unwanted abrasions from their journey on uneven ground. But given that any type of car can run into unexpected road conditions, it is best to have your vehicle protected by skid plates. How well do skid plates work for each category depends upon the material and the build of these plates. The protection of skid plates is so profound that modern car manufacturers such as Tesla make it a point to include skid plates in their factory-assembled models. This goes on to show that skid plates are not just meant for lowered vehicles or off-road automobiles, but they are also effective in protecting everyday cars from harm.Bottomline: Skid Plates Do Work, and They Are Important for Your Car
Skid plates may seem like an additional expense for your car. But they are an essential component that you shouldn’t steer away from. It’s because skid plates can save some of the most expensive and crucial parts of your car from massive damage, which saves you from a world of trouble and repair costs in the long run. They also ensure the safety of your car, yourself, and your loved ones, which makes them an important component to install in your car. Due to their popularity and essential use, skid plates are easily available through third party vendors such as ourselves. You can also find skid plates for older vehicles by contacting your local mechanic or an online platform. Thanks to the variety of available options, it is easy to find skid plates that cover the complete rear or front portion of your car’s underside. At the same time, it is quite simple to source skid plates that can be fixed under specific components in the undercarriage, such as your fuel tank. It all depends upon your needs and your budget. This flexibility and accessibility also adds to the widespread usage of skid plates.
For more info on the features, benefits, and pricing of skid plates, click here, alternatively, use our interactive map to find an authorized installer near you. If you enjoyed this article, check out our blog.