Anybody heard of ASFIR skidplates?

[Matt]

I like where this is going!

[LWM]

So today I drove the XK over to ASFIR in Scottsdale, AZ and met with Armando who showed me their line-up of Commander and Grand Cherokee products. They currently manufacture three products for the Commander and five for the Grand Cherokee that are available here in the United States.

I looked at a front skid plate and we agreed that the best time to try one of those is when the new bumper is finished and the GetLost4x4 stuff in no longer protecting my radiator. The ASFIR front skid plate covers the area similar to the 4xGuard front skid and OEM engine skid combined. I am not sure yet of the pricing but I did like the fact that one skid covered both areas.

The next skid plate is the area we currently cover with the 4xGuard "Belly Guard". Here are a couple photos of the one I removed from my Commander today:





You can see it is bent up pretty good, but don't get me wrong... that is a good thing. The damage was absorbed by the skid plate and not the catalytic converter! The skid plate can be bent back into shape with a good hammer.

I replaced the 4xG with an ASFIR Transmission skid plate P/N 545060 which has it's pluses and minuses. On the plus side it is soooooooo much lighter (I will find the actual weight) than the 4xG skid which weighs approximately 25 pounds, on the negative side (and it is a BIG negative), it does NOT protect the catalytic converter. Armando did take some good photos and we talked about how it could be changed to cover it with an added plate similar to the 4xG currently does. If you look at the 4xG cover it does appear that it originally was only one piece and after review the second section was added (I do not know for a fact that that is the case, just an observation).





I then removed the Jeep Transfer Case Skid Plate which weighs approximately 12 pounds and replaced it with the ASFIR Transfer Skid Plate P/N 545065. This skid plate come with a mounting bracket that will allow you to install the plate using the factory fuel tank, I used the upgraded off-road skid plate so I did not need to use the bracket (the transfer case skid plate bolted directly to the fuel tank skid plate).

Here is the plate prior to installation:



And installed:



It bolted right up to the off-road package OEM skid plate, but the down side to this installation is that the bolt heads are exposed and certainly will be torn apart by heavy wheeling:





My fuel tank skid is really bent up as well and we talked about the need to make one for that area as well.

[Matt]

A few questions:

1) You mentioned their "front skid" looks like it covers the same area as the 4XG front skid + the OEM front suspension skid. That sounds good... but being that I just changed my oil 2 hours ago it reminds me that I need to remove the 4XG front skid to get to my oil filter. Does this mean we'd have an even larger skid plate that needs to be removed every oil change? (FWIW, my OEM suspension skid took a beating on my wheeling trip and is bent upwards quite a bit... so i WOULD like a stronger skid in that area)

2) For the belly skid, it's great that they're looking into covering that other catalytic convert... that's 100% required IMO. I'm just wondering about all of the slots they have in that skid plate.... seems like a lot of areas to get hung up on? Also looks to be like a lot of thinner sections; wondering if they'll hold up to the abuse we put the 4XG belly guard through...

3) Again on the belly skid; do you have a side view? From that picture it looks like it drops down an inch or so and then shoots backwards towards the rear of the vehicle. Is there less ground clearance with that skid than with the 4XG belly guard?

[Matt]

... i like the look of the t-case skid though. Does it feel notably stronger than the OEM tcase skid? That may be one of my upgrades after i beat up the stock one.

[LWM]

A few questions:

1) You mentioned their "front skid" looks like it covers the same area as the 4XG front skid + the OEM front suspension skid. That sounds good... but being that I just changed my oil 2 hours ago it reminds me that I need to remove the 4XG front skid to get to my oil filter. Does this mean we'd have an even larger skid plate that needs to be removed every oil change? (FWIW, my OEM suspension skid took a beating on my wheeling trip and is bent upwards quite a bit... so i WOULD like a stronger skid in that area)

I do not think you would have to remove it, it appeared to have holes in all the correct places but I will let you know once we do install one how accessible the filter and drain plug are.

2) For the belly skid, it's great that they're looking into covering that other catalytic convert... that's 100% required IMO. I'm just wondering about all of the slots they have in that skid plate.... seems like a lot of areas to get hung up on? Also looks to be like a lot of thinner sections; wondering if they'll hold up to the abuse we put the 4XG belly guard through...

the ASFIR skid plate is twice as thick as the 4xG so they add the needed strength in that manner, the holes allow the transmission pan to vent and grant access to the lower area if needed.

3) Again on the belly skid; do you have a side view? From that picture it looks like it drops down an inch or so and then shoots backwards towards the rear of the vehicle. Is there less ground clearance with that skid than with the 4XG belly guard?

The ASFIR skid is the same distance so it does not effect ground clearance, I didn't get any measurements but they are within a fraction of an inch of each other.

[LWM]

... i like the look of the t-case skid though. Does it feel notably stronger than the OEM tcase skid? That may be one of my upgrades after i beat up the stock one.

I am not sure how I can say that it "feels notably stronger", the weight is so much less that you would not expect it to be as strong, but the design I am told allows it to flex just enough and then return to its original shape. I will go out and put them to the test but I from what I was told and what I saw while installing them I would not fear having them on my Jeep as long as ALL the areas are covered. My Cats currently exposed so I am nut sure how long I will go before covering that expensive item.

[Matt]

For the t-case skid, i was thinking in terms of thickness.

Only way we'll really know is to hit one on rocks.... but from the pictures I couldn't get a good handle on how thick it is compared to the stock steel skid.

[LWM]

For the t-case skid, i was thinking in terms of thickness.

Only way we'll really know is to hit one on rocks.... but from the pictures I couldn't get a good handle on how thick it is compared to the stock steel skid.

Stock is pretty thin, I don't have a tool yet for thickness (on my list) but the ASFIR is .25 inches thick.

[Omelet]

As Jon said we spent some time today playing with the Commander and all of your concerns are clear as day now.

I am going to request some changes in the products we offer and see if there is something we can do to help cover the cats and add some beef to the rear crossmember. Jon's was abused real good!

Also, we set Jon up as a dealer so please contact him for pricing, I am sure we will get his website updated soon enough.

Thanks to all of you!

Armando

BTW: I will be needing a GC to do some test fitting on rea soon. Can't do a freebie on those, but will make it a sweet deal for your time if you want to buy some skids.

I am up for driving out there! I will be making a trip soon. I am interested in at least the t-case skid for sure. Once there is an added plate over the cat on the tranny skid I will want that one too. Depending on pricing I might be interested in others

[superacerc]

A few questions:

1) You mentioned their "front skid" looks like it covers the same area as the 4XG front skid + the OEM front suspension skid. That sounds good... but being that I just changed my oil 2 hours ago it reminds me that I need to remove the 4XG front skid to get to my oil filter. Does this mean we'd have an even larger skid plate that needs to be removed every oil change?

I've changed my oil at least 3 times since i've had the 4xguard skid on the front and have never taken it off. I can still reach in there adn get the filter off and finesse it right through the gap with no problem. Of course I have the 4.7 so i'm not sure of the tolerance difference. I guess you guys with the 5.7Ls are just out of luck in that dept. I love those new skids. Esp the t-case one. Looks good!