Diamond Tread Aluminum Skid Plates- Look Here

[EVONELLY]

Here is a first look at my new Diamond Tread Aluminum Skid Plates only available at Evolution Import

They will not be on my new website untill later this week due to my web guy being swamped right now.

Here is some information on the new skid plates:

I now carry 3/16 & 1/8 inch Diamond Tread Aluminum Skid Plates. Also I now carry 1/8 inch Smooth Aluminum Skid Plates. The 1/8 inch skid plates come with 1 inch thick aluminum square tubing that goes accross the front of the skid plate and attaches to the front two posts. This tubing gives a lot of extra strength to the allready indestructable skid plates.

Not only do the Diamond Tread Skid Plates look great, they are also very strong. We are also making it an option to get your skid plate with an oil drain access hole for the TDI's. No more taking off the skid plate for those oil changes. Here are some prices on the new skid plates.

1/8 inch Smooth- <font color="red">$339CAD </font>
3/16 inch Smooth- <font color="red">$369CAD </font>
1/8 inch Diamond Tread- <font color="red">$349CAD </font>
3/16 inch Diamond Tread- <font color="red">$399CAD </font>

Oil drain access hole for the TDI's will be $20CAD extra.

Here are some pictures:

Skid plates are in stock and ready to ship. Please call us at 250-564-8789 to order or email us at:

sales@evolutionimport.com

 

[BrentB]

Nice! I finally got my EI plate installed and I love it so far

 

[dadsdiesel]

Do the prices include all the hardware & shipping?
Also, is the diamond plate a lot stronger than the smooth?

Thanks

 

[EVONELLY]

Hey dadsdiesel.
The skid plate comes as a complete kit with everything you will need for installation. I email you the detailed instructions right after purchase.

The diamond tread skid plate is 2 pounds heavier then the smooth one of the same rated thickness. However, the diamond tread skid plate is 25% thicker in the spots where the diamond tread bumps are. This does make the skid plate a little stronger then the smooth especially where the tread bumps are.

Shipping to your door step in Canada is $35CAD
Shipping to your door step in the US is $40CAD

Here is a link to check the current exchange rate:

Exchange Rate

Thanks.

 

[TDI_Votex]

This plate goes on the existing side skirts, or does your kit includes new ones?

Thanks,

 

[20IndigoBlue02]

your existing. YOu need to make a slight (yet simple) modification to to skirt lip.

Though I've found (on my replacement side skirts I got from Birdman) that the Polyethylene material gums up the hacksaw blade quite a bit

 

[ymz]

>>Though I've found (on my replacement side skirts I got from Birdman) that the Polyethylene material gums up the hacksaw blade quite a bit <<

No need for a hacksaw with the Evolution plates... You only have to drill a hole in each side-skirt... so you'll only be gumming up your drill bit...

Now, if Neil could find a way to get the "new, improved" riv-nuts that Dieselgeek managed to come up with...

Yuri.

 

[04JettaTDI]

Pretty fancy looking, I just got the smooth style plate mounted last month, for the 2004 PD you also have to do some extra trimming of the plastic piece that runs along the front bumper, aside from that the install was very easy. I tack welded the Rivnuts so there's no chance of those babies spinning.

Just had it into the dealer for the 32K service and had a bit of a laugh when they put on the invoice removal and reinstall of "homemade" skid plate. The Evolution skid plate is much better engineered than the flimsy plastic VDub one, definately not homemade.

 

[20IndigoBlue02]

>>Though I've found (on my replacement side skirts I got from Birdman) that the Polyethylene material gums up the hacksaw blade quite a bit <<

No need for a hacksaw with the Evolution plates... You only have to drill a hole in each side-skirt... so you'll only be gumming up your drill bit...

Now, if Neil could find a way to get the "new, improved" riv-nuts that Dieselgeek managed to come up with...

Yuri.

Cutting a square out in the side guards means you may not have to remove the side posts to do things like a timing belt change.

You can do either way...

 

[ymz]

>>Cutting a square out in the side guards means you may not have to remove the side posts to do things like a timing belt change.<<

Are you talking about the Evolution Import Aluminum skid plate installation? Neil's instructions only call for drilling a hole, but I'll take a look to see if it's better to cut out a "corner" (cutting corners ???)... BTW, I still haven't installed my plate (no time...)..

Yuri.

 

[20IndigoBlue02]

Neil modified is instructions since he liked the idea of cutting a square out.

From his updated website:

All you will need to install the skid plate is a set of wrenches, car ramps and 1 hour of spare time. You get instructions e-mailed to you after purchase. Very little modification needs to be done to the side skirts. Only one small square needs to be cut out of the plastic side skirts so the solid aluminum post can bolt to the frame. There are only two compression nuts at the front making the installation very simple and fast. A specially designed compression nut tool is included with every skid plate for easy installation.

As I mentioned earlier, you can go either way.

Passenger Side

Driver's side

As you can see on the driver's side, the hole you drill as specified in the original instructions is big enough just for the hole/threaded section. It's not like it's hard to remove the side posts, however down the road -- so TB changes it may be 2 less things to go (remove and reinstall the side post).

If you rather drill a hole -- that's perfectly fine. It's your choice

 

[ymz]

>>Neil modified is instructions since he liked the idea of cutting a square out<<

Thanks !!!! I only got the "original" set of instructions... I prefer cutting this particular corner... Procrastination wins again !!

Yuri.

 

[EVONELLY]

Those are great pictures to illustrate the two options. Thanks 20IndigoBlue02

.

I am happy to get feedback like this from people on the forum. It helps make everything better and easier for all of us when doing installs and modifications.

I'm glad to hear people like the new Diamond Tread Skid Plates.

Cheers.

 

[ymz]

Well, after a month or two of procrastination, I finally put on the plate I got as part of the Group Buy...

As far as "cutting the corner:" I used a pair of diagonal cutters and just "chewed" my way cutting away material.

Neil: somehow the two rear-side mounting bolts seem to be at different sides of their respective slots: the driver's side one is at the very back of its slot, the passanger one is at the very front of its... is this on account of some body distortion at the front of the car (it did have a collision last year) or is this considered normal variation?

All the best,

Yuri.

 

[frugality]

Personally I'd go for the smooth skid plate. The diamond patterns are put in the aluminum to be a non-slip/anti-skid feature for things like truck bumpers, etc. But for a skid plate, you want to slide over what you hit. With the diamond pattern, if you hit a rock, it'll catch more on the diamond pattern. While it'll probably still do its job, and would definitely do the the job better than the plastic pan, it could make for more stress on the mounting points as the plate 'grabs' the a rock. The smooth plate will much more easily slide across. For raccoons, etc., both would be about the same. But smooth would be the better skid plate for rocks.

 

[woofie2]

Personally I'd go for the smooth skid plate. The diamond patterns are put in the aluminum to be a non-slip/anti-skid feature for things like truck bumpers, etc. But for a skid plate, you want to slide over what you hit. With the diamond pattern, if you hit a rock, it'll catch more on the diamond pattern. While it'll probably still do its job, and would definitely do the the job better than the plastic pan, it could make for more stress on the mounting points as the plate 'grabs' the a rock. The smooth plate will much more easily slide across. For raccoons, etc., both would be about the same. But smooth would be the better skid plate for rocks.

I was thinking the same thing, (especially with the 14" of snow I plowed through this year),
But the uneven surface would provide air disruption thus allow for a quieter air flow under the car,

Either way a layer of B-quiet http://www.bquiet.com, or Dynamat will go on the engine side of the skid plate for sound control, else the engine sounds like it is in a tin can.

 

[Innkeeper]

My plastic belly pan broke a long time ago. I do not have the side skirts anymore. Do I need side skirts to install the aluminium skid plate?

 

[EVONELLY]

Hey Yuri.

The holes are slotted to allow for adjustment of the skid plate during installation. Once the bolts are tightened there will be no movement of the skid plate. The compression nuts at the back on either side of the the skid plate lineing up on either side of the slotted holes is normal. This just means that you have some room to play with during installation.

Damage from a collision can affect the mounting of the skid plate, that's why the holes are slotted to help with the installation.

I hope no one got hurt in the accident! And I'm glad to here you got your skid plate on now. Your car is fully protected.

 

[EVONELLY]

You will need side skirts to keep water spray out of the engine compartment that gets thrown up by the tires. The side skirts are not structural for the skid plate. Once the skid plate is installed, the side skirts will never get damaged again because they will be fully protected.

My plastic belly pan broke a long time ago. I do not have the side skirts anymore. Do I need side skirts to install the aluminium skid plate?