Next Venture Motorsports Aluminum Belly Skid - UHMW

When you want to be ready for any trail any time, skid plates are important. They protect your JKUs most critical components -- and you want your engine, transmission, transfer case and fuel tank in good shape while you're tackling tough terrain, technical obstacles, and of course for the ride home.

Given all of the added protection these offer over factory pieces, full belly skids become the largest piece of real estate to consider on or under your Jeep when you're looking to save weight. Next Venture Motorsports chose to build these out of 5052 Aluminum for it's superior formability and strength compared to many other alloys -- as the design and shape of the skids largely determines how rigid they will stay over time. They designed these belly skids to locate bolt heads up and out of the way where possible as can be seen on the rear crossmember and fuel tank skids. The skids shown here are a pre-production unit; production units are countersunk on all the bolt holes on the bottom faces of the skids.

Weight

Installation of this system does add some weight -- between 35 and 65 lbs depending on configuration. The skid system weights 110 lbs or 140 lbs (with UHMW) however you remove 75 lbs of factory equipment as you remove and replace the factory fuel tank skid, factory transfer case skid, and some factory crossmembers.

Compatibility

They also designed these pieces with compatibility in mind for popular aftermarket suspension kits (such as the Rock Krawler Long Arm Suspension) and driveshafts.

UHMW - THE ULTRA HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT OPTION

Want to make these skid plates slippery and even more impact-resistant? Select the UHMW Option! UHMW stands for Ultra High Molecular Weight. It's the 3/8" thick black cutting board like material that can be optioned onto these skids; it is more abrasion resistance than carbon steel, and it's fairly light weight. It helps to better distribute and absorb impacts and keep you sliding along rather than getting stuck or hanging up on an obstacle since it's slippery and self-lubricating. If you select this option, the UHMW will come pre-installed on the bottom of the aluminum skids.

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