So back in December the plastic undershroud by the transfer case ripped off. This is the second time this happened, and I do not want to replace it with the mediocre plastic one again. I took some measurements and drew it up in CAD, plotted it off, and cut it out of chipboard to test fit. I'm happy with the fitment and I am going to make one final adjustment before taking the next step and having it cut from sheetmetal.

I have offered the cad file to Spdracer (zspeedperformance) and he wasn't interested so I am going to do this myself. I figure since I'm putting in the effort, I could offer to have a small run of these waterjetted if there is interest. I am going to make one for myself but just thought I would offer.

Anybody interested?

 

its such a small market for us AWD guys and finding guys who modify or care about their X's is even harder.

mainly reason why he wasn't exactly interested was because the belly shields didn't sell. We have like maybe 100 AWD guys here who have actually done a mod to our cars VS 100x that in the RWD platforms.

I haven't gotten my front shield yet because my plastic one hasn't broken completely off. I think a few people asked about this like about a year and a half ago. I guess its all pending POSSIBLE price.

 

Agree with Turtle. I need one of these, but I just want an OEM replacement for a non-OEM price.

 

I think the key here is that having one or two cut is obviously not going to be the most economical. The cad work is already done so there should be minimal front end labor on the part of the fabricator. The price driver is going to be the quantity. Setting up a machine and only using a 3 sq ft piece of metal would be more costly per unit than cutting out as many that can be cut from a 4'x8' sheet of metal... Then setting up a pan brake for the few folds.

Im going to talk to two places later this week about pricing and I can report back

 

reason why these things sell on other cars is because there is a actual need. We have a full cover, some cars a 1/4 or 1/2 cover or no cover at all. Which is great for oil changes but not so great for protection. But really protection from what?

We own g35x's yea they are AWD and stock height is pretty much a 4x4 but clearance sucks *****, we are AWD + auto so it could break at any point if we stuck. I know of anyone on here that would consider going in ANY sort of dirt roads. We might try just to brag but this isn't the same as a EVO, WRX type of car. Those cars have a great market.

in the end, exactly like what midnight said if you can come up with one for a OEM or lower price then it could work. But honestly the market is so small its sad. Many of us AWD drive guys, well G drivers in general just drive stock cars. On average on this board the normal driver has a Z-tube and another mod of some sort. Look at a WRX board, the average is stage2 with up/down/ tune. A truck board, most are raised up and rocking mudding tires.

I know what you mean it going to be VERY closely to just make 2-4 but really thats about it. Gotta face the truth. But do report back with a price.

 

So after sitting on this idea I finally had a metal one made, so no ripping off the crappy plastic one for me next winter.

 

I remember when there was some interest in making these a while ago. The product looked good, but the cost was too great. If I rememepber, one was in the $200 range.

That much money, for no benefit at all just seemed a bit too much for something under the car, that nobody would see. The only selling point was ease of oil changes, but for $200, I'll just whip out my cordless drill with 10mm nut driver attachment and have it off in 5 mins

 

I think this is a great idea for the x guys that are lowered. If I didn't have an aftermarket bumper I would be all over this and a metal version of the larger belly/skid plate.

 

I'm interested, but I'd need to know a price first. One of my lower covers half broke off over the winter, and I need to replace it. How much? And how much to ship it to Michigan (49684)?

 

The guy charged me 100 bux which I thought was fair for a one-off... considering probably 10 bux in metal and 2 hours of labor. Dealer was charging like $85 for the plastic ones and I have already ripped two, so this was worth it to me.

 

This is great that you are doing this. I have asked several vendors to make one of these, but they are simply not as common as the one up front. I dont think the issue is as much AWD in general as it is the fact that almost no one rips off their transfer case cover, its almost always the front one, which i got the aluminum for a long time ago.

I would be very interested in this transfer case cover, mine ripped off a while ago and i just havent bothered putting another one on. As long as the price is reasonable, count me IN.

 

Wait a second? There is a rear cover?

 

looks interesting , but i would not want any extra weight

 

If you look at the pic of the test fit, you can see the cross member and front shield.

Honestly, weight is negligible. probably a net gain of 2 pounds. Unless you have gutted your interior, ditched your spare tire etc, your not gonna tip the scales with this.

 

i was thinking of getting a smaller spare instead of full rim for save some weight