Description
Do you want your Jeep Wrangler JL 392 to be ready for any trail, any time? The Next Venture Motorsports aluminum Skid plates provide advanced protection for your JL's most critical components; your engine, transmission, transfer case, and fuel tank while you're tackling tough terrain, technical obstacles, and of course for the ride home.
When you're looking to save weight, given the added protection these skids offer over factory pieces, full belly skids become the largest piece of real estate to consider on or under your Jeep.
Next Venture build these skids out of 1/4" thick 5052 Aluminum because of its superior formability and strength, compared to many other alloys. The design and shape of the skids largely determine how rigid they will stay over time. We've designed these belly skids to tuck bolt heads up and out of the way, where possible (as can be seen on the rear crossmember and fuel tank skids).
Removal of the factory gas tank skid is required and nets you a 3/4" gain in ground clearance; in addition, you also lose the weight of the factory steel gas tank skid and some of the other steel underbody protection that is replaced with this system. The weight of our system is 125 lbs however the total weight gain is offset by the removal of the factory steel gas tank skid etc as mentioned above.
We also designed these pieces with compatibility in mind for popular aftermarket suspension kits (such as the Rock Krawler Long Arm Suspension), larger axles, and multiple engine choices. Please note that exhaust modifications may be required on Factory 392 Hemi Jeeps for some specific long arm kits. Please talk to your suspension manufacturer about 392 specific compatibility issues!
Photos show pre-production exhaust tip protection -- production models maintain more ground clearance.
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.
