Bash Plates

[krunchi]

Cam500
I phone Mitchell Bros regarding the guard i recieved.
Aaron there was very helpful and he has asked me for pic of the version STXowner has.
I dont expect much in my case as i have already fitted my guard but if i had known i would have paid extra for the later version.
They are going to contact BD for me and find out what the story is.
Mitchell Bros seem great to deal with and i would definently purchase from them in the future.
I will let you know what we find out from BD about the different version before you make your purchase.

 

[CAM500]

Thankd Krunchi, that would be great.

Cheers

 

[krunchi]

Ok took some measurements today
The BD guard sits 50mm lower than the front crossmember.
Thats right a whole 50mm! i paid close ot 2k for 60mm of lift and now this guard has taken that away.
From what i can see the fold in the guard is in the wrong place and thats the main reason for the ground clearance. I am in the process of discussing options with Mitchell Bros 4x4 who are going to see if Brown Davis will take a refund.
If BD gave more detail when advertising these guards we would all know what we are buying. All listings only show a bad pic of the guard fitted to a misc car and price, no indications of dimentions etc.
Keep you posted how it goes, in the mean time i wouldnt buy a BD guard for Navara, saw one on a hilux and it didnt have the same issues.

STX owner how muh does your guard sit lower that the front cross member?

 

[Al]

you sure its a BD guard or just a guard Mitchell Bros 4x4 have made up and passing it off as a BD guard. I really can't see them changing the design completely. Why not ring BD directly and as about new design.. i guess i just don't trust some people lol

 

[krunchi]

Mitchell Bros supplied a legit BD guard, they spoke to BD about the gaurd STXowner has and apparently BD claim that is a new design just released this year.
I looked at BD guards on other cars and they all seem to not loos so mcu ground clearance. IF BD dont come to the party with a working replacement or refund i am going to get a friend to mod it, he works in metal Fab. Second option is TJM guards and i will just have to wear the cost as lesson learnt.

 

[CAM500]

Mitchell Bros supplied a legit BD guard, they spoke to BD about the gaurd STXowner has and apparently BD claim that is a new design just released this year.
I looked at BD guards on other cars and they all seem to not loos so mcu ground clearance. IF BD dont come to the party with a working replacement or refund i am going to get a friend to mod it, he works in metal Fab. Second option is TJM guards and i will just have to wear the cost as lesson learnt.

Thanks for the updates Krunchi. Have you got any pics show us how the plates are sitting?

 

[krunchi]

Not the best pic, was taken in the dark.

As you can see the fold is oi eeh wrong spot and hangs below the underbody. There is just on 50mm lost ground clearance there.

BD can call it 'design feature' all they want, every other manufacturer can make one with out that gap.
Look at a BD guard on any other make of 4wd and there is not this sort of a ground clearance loss.
I dont think BD are coming to the party with a refund so i am tossing letting a mate who can fabricate hack it up to fit better or just buy some TJM ones like i should have in the first place.

CAM500 i highly reccomend you buy any thing except a BD guard.
Also ARB have officailly released thier d40 underguard.
Price is about $700 but that goes right past the transfer case.

 

[krunchi]

I measured the actual ground clearance from ground to under side of the guard and i have 200mm, my Nav has stock 255/60/16 tyres and a pretty fresh 2 inch EFS suspension lift.
Pretty pathetic clearance even for a Navara.
So with a better fitting guard id have close to 250mm ground clearance under the front.

 

[CAM500]

Thanks fpr the advice krunchi. Will ARB bash plastes suit the thai built ST ?

 

[krunchi]

Yep ARB bash is for Thai bult ST, send me ur email and i will send u the quote and promo pdf they sent me. TJM is slightly cheaper still.
I am modding the BD plate tongiht, will post pics of finished product if we dont balls it up

 

[CAM500]

Cheers Krunchi, PM sent.

 

[krunchi]

Test the bash plate unitentionally today.
Climbing a steep washed out rutted hill with even the best line choise was going to see the front scraping.
The Nav rear its front left up high in the sky to come crashing down on a big solid dry clay rut. All mighty thud, i was thinking i have damaged soemthing pretty bad.
On inspection the only damage was a bent BD under guard.
Even tho i have my complaints about its fitment the item cetainly earnt its keep today.
Worht mentioning i dont have ground clearance issues on half the guard any more, i now have a nice dent that has regained about 20mm for me lol

 

[Al]

do it again for another 20mm haha

 

[krunchi]

Went to Levuka 4wd park today for a spin.
Didnt take any big hits to the basj plate but it did scrape mildly a few times, check it when i got home to find both sides now bent up abour 2-3cm.
My complaint about the low height solved, doesnt take away form teh fact the BD is a bad fitting guard. Also i have to wonder how much it can take seing how easily i bent it.
I think if it fit better in the first place i might not have bent it so easily, its only been off road twice.

 

[Vanguard]

From memory ARB bash plates are a three piece set. It goes from the front all the way to the transfer case and when I was quoted they were $500 give or take a couple of $.

 

[krunchi]

Well you have all seen the BD guard, Does any one think any other guard is going to be stronger? I have bent mine pretty easy on two outings and starting to think i may need to replace t by the end of the year, if so what would every one reccomend?

 

[Bosshog]

I have the front and rear BD bash plates. IMO they are excellent and have sustained a heap of punishment.

After the Simo Desert trip I simply took off the front one and knocked it back into shape with a sledgehammer. Good as new.

 

[CAM500]

OK, update from me. Purchased the ARB full under body protection gaurds - Front, sump. transmission and trasnfer case. I fit it myself took about 3hrs (i had to muck around with it a bit - instructions are not great) Fits well on my Thia built ST, with still plenty of clearance as it tucks/huggs in well.

The ARB kit supplies you with extra fittings to solve the differnces in Chassis from the Spain to Thia set up (this was what was so time consuming for me - now that I have done it I reackon i could know an 1hr off the time). Also includes fitting for both standard front bars and bullbars set up.

Very Happy with it. We will see how it works this week end. Hopefully it does not have to work hard at all if my driving/navigating/4x4 skills are good enough.

Another Mod done Ahhh!

 

[krunchi]

CAM500 thats good news, can you please post some pics as i am thinking of replacing the BD guard with the ARB items. Also let me know how they go after a few big bangs and scrapes. Cheers

 

[CAM500]

CAM500 thats good news, can you please post some pics as i am thinking of replacing the BD guard with the ARB items. Also let me know how they go after a few big bangs and scrapes. Cheers

Hey Krunchi,

I I e-mail them to you can you post them. always have problems posting pisc on this forum as I do not have them on a URL.