I remember I thread a while ago about someone useing roadsigns as skidplates.Im just wondering how well that has been holding up.especially as the other day a drunk driver hit a signpost.completly destroying it.The sign is in a ditch with shattered bits of wood.Are road signs any good for skidplates?I was kinda thinking of a "frame" made of 1x1 angle iron..

they probably won't do much if they look like swiss cheese

 

I still haven't mounted the old style stop sign, probably due to it being a collector's item antique

they probably won't do much if they look like swiss cheese

 

I still haven't mounted the old style stop sign, probably due to it being a collector's item antique

 

 

but the stock plate looks like swiss cheese-err has some large preformed holes in it...

i have used a couple of different types of signs for skidplates.seem to work as deflectors pretty well,but not against smashing.(ie...coming down really hard on them.)

I have a sheet of aluminum that is about the same thickness as a roadsign that I used to make a plate on my Focus for RallyCross. Not gonna protect against anything nasty but works good as a deflector and to keep the badly placed oil filter unharmed.

 

So yeah, as a total bashguard you need more but for mild deflection I would think it would be great.

If you made the frame you could possibly slide over an obstacle with it slowly. But I would be afraid of it tearing through over rocks.

 

The factory Sube plates are steel, and thicker. (at least on my old GL it is)

 

I wonder if doubling up a couple signs with an epoxy between them would prove strong?...

arnt road signs galvanized steel?

what is your point?you asked if anyone had used them,and we have answered with"yes".are you now going to question why we used them?if we should have used them,or state how bad it is to use them?

 

 

galvanized ,usually.and if you build a frame,i would make it 1x1 square tubing,not angle iron

 

 

arnt road signs galvanized steel?

I think they are all aluminum now. So they do not rust up.

 

 

galvanized ,usually.and if you build a frame,i would make it 1x1 square tubing,not angle iron

 

 

I know but I have a fair bit of 1x1 angle iron I got for free...

Remember this too, those signs probably still belong to some type of government entity ie state, federal or local. Good chance you don't want to get caught with a "stolen" road sign. Later, Tim

 

PS look for the thread on plastic skid pans too, I put in my .02 for heavy duty cutting boards.

there are entities that recieve the defunct signs when they are put out of service,ie.:college wholesale shops,public auctions and whatnot.you are ok as long as there is no federal or state sticker on them anymore.

 

i am in no way promoting using a stolen sign by anyone,however a person will do what they wish.

 

Remember this too, those signs probably still belong to some type of government entity ie state, federal or local. Good chance you don't want to get caught with a "stolen" road sign. Later, Tim

 

PS look for the thread on plastic skid pans too, I put in my .02 for heavy duty cutting boards.

Road signs are made out of some special aluminum alloy that is pretty though stuff. A few years ago the scrap guys I knew didn't like to take them in because they are hard to bale, they shatter instead of crumpling up nicely. Now that aluminum is up I think they will take anything, though.

Andy

I used a skid plate for my skid plate... IIRC it's from an '04 Toy Taco.

This thread needed more pics anyway:-p

I can't wait until someone shows a road sign bolted to the bottom of their car!

obviously not mounted,but i ran this one for 2 yrs.barely covered up the y pipe.but did it's job more than once.

 

I think I am going to go with a 3/8" sheet of UHMW bolted to the 1" angle iron frame.supposidly UHMW is slippery.I wonder what it will be like to slide over stuff rather than a slight bit of resistance from the metal skidplate?

Would the plastic not shatter if you dropper the car on it? I guess thats what the frame is for, nvm.

the plastic is flexable...and it tends to return to its original shape...

Most common shaped (all the most regularly used designs, like squares, and octagons) are made out of 7000 series High Zinc Alloy. The zinc is to make this family of alloys both corrosion resistent, and harder. High Zinc Aluminum is not as flexible as more common aluminum alloys, and will not bend as uniformly, like 6000 series aluminum.

 

The upside of the 7000 series (or street signs in this case) is that they are incredibly durable.

 

With proper bracing, the street sign will make a killer "skin" for a skidplate.

 

Now, I am not saying that you can just screw one end to your bumper, then the other to your front crossmember and call it good.

 

One Eye and I recently made a skidplate for his Brat out of a T intersection sign, and it was utilized on the trip to Reiter Pit. The top is tab mounted to a pipe cross-piece on his bumper, and it has one crossbar directly in front of the 90* bend in the Y pipe. The crossbar is 1/4" x 1" flat bar, and it didn't bend Saturday. The bottom is connected to the crossmember under the steering rack.

 

I'm not claiming any originality to this idea because I stole the idea from our friend Woody. Woody has had the same street sign skidplate on numerous cars, and it has held up really well. As I recall; Woody's skidplate has pipe running down beside the Y pipe, and a few cross braces in between, with the sign acting as a skin. I have seen that skidplate take numerous "direct hits" with no breakage or any other ill effects. That skidplate has been on a few (I think 3, ?help me out Jeff?) heavily wheeled Subarus and is yet to be ripped, or crack. There aren't even any dents in it to speak of. Woody has time tested the street sign skidplate, and it has held up for a long, long time, through multiple cars.

 

I'm excited to see how the one we fabbed up for Jeff's brat holds up. It was a spur of the moment idea, and was done in haste to prepare for the trip to Reiter Pit. I'm thinking it will need more bracing, but it did hold up just fine through the tree roots on Saturday. Jeff?

 

I think the main thing is that you need to give the aluminum a heavy structured frame, with support in the rear. That way the sign acts as a skin and helps things slide past.

 

Plus, they look good!

 

Hope this helps!

And here is a picture of a car with a road sign bolted to the bottom of it. That skidplate went through just about everything you could possibly imagine, and I believe it may be going back on another car here real soon.

Here is what mine looks like

 

 

It seems to work a whole lot better than nothing.

 

Jeff

This is woody skid plate set up again, but on his brat it's the same one as on his wagon .

 

 

Jeff

is anybody making a bumper such as this? i want

sign me up

 

This is woody skid plate set up again, but on his brat it's the same one as on his wagon .

 

 

Jeff

I've been thinking about welding a road sign to the skid bars that came with my soob.they're great for slammin down on rocks, but they do NOTHING as far as protection from brush for the oil pan etc. Plus I've got a few super sweet signs I've been wanting to do something with. I'm actually thinking about pulling a "Jeep" and using them as patches for places I need to repair rust on the body. just weld them on there and have a body made of signs... that's be pretty sweet...

I've been thinking about welding a road sign to the skid bars that came with my soob.they're great for slammin down on rocks, but they do NOTHING as far as protection from brush for the oil pan etc. Plus I've got a few super sweet signs I've been wanting to do something with. I'm actually thinking about pulling a "Jeep" and using them as patches for places I need to repair rust on the body. just weld them on there and have a body made of signs... that's be pretty sweet...

 

I made a fender out of a sign on my 79 Brat way back in the day, the brat was gray with an orange sign, I wouldn't do it, the state patrol played 20 Q's with me. I ended up with one of those faulty equipment tickets. :-\

 

Jeff