Choosing skid plates: aluminium or steel
Weight, cost and what actually protects.
Aluminium 6061-T6 at 6 mm is roughly half the weight of equivalent steel and does not rust. It dents and slides rather than tearing.
Steel is cheaper per plate and takes repeated hard impacts better, at a real weight penalty on the front axle.
For overland and general trail use, aluminium is usually the better trade. For competition rock crawling, steel still wins.
More guides
Forged vs cast vs flow-formed
Which process actually matters, and what you are paying for.
How to measure a bolt pattern
Getting this wrong is the most common ordering mistake.
Understanding offset and backspacing
Why ET decides whether the wheel rubs.
Choosing a winch: capacity, rope and mounting
The 1.5x rule, and why rope choice matters more than most people think.
Roof tents: how to work out if your roof takes one
Dynamic vs static load, and why the number on the rack is not the number that matters.
Do differential covers actually do anything?
Separating the real benefits from the marketing.
Load rating: the number to actually check
The spec that decides whether a wheel is safe on your vehicle.