I had the Moss skid plate installed at my local garage today. It was an easy install, except the thing weighs in at over 26 pounds - so two guys had to do the job.

They warned me that I might pay more for oil changes because it will take 2 guys to drop and reinstall the skid plate! That was a bit of a surprise, but no big deal.

However, the real surprise was the piece of CRAP the MINI el-cheapo original equip. skid plate is. It's not a skid plate at all - it's a short, flimsy piece of plastic that covers almost NOTHING under the hood except the very front of the engine. The Moss piece is substantial, and about 4 times the size of the orig.

The Moss plate is a terrific investment. My Sharona feels more secure already. And I don't worry as much about junk on the road. Our MINIs are real low to the ground, that's for sure. Lots of stuff is exposed. The whole power steering fan issue was enough to convince me that the Moss plate was the way to go.

 

You're making my impending purchase of a skid plate that much easier. :smile:

 

rygold,
That whole 26 lb deal is the issue for me.
As far as the parts exposed...I'll put one
on if I keep the car until the warranty expires.
It sounds like you are carrying an extra runflat.
Unless someone makes one out of fiberglass.
2

 

>>rygold,
>>That whole 26 lb deal is the issue for me.
>>As far as the parts exposed...I'll put one
>>on if I keep the car until the warranty expires.
>>It sounds like you are carrying an extra runflat.
>>Unless someone makes one out of fiberglass.
>>2


Exactly. When that one comes out, I'll be the first to buy one.

 

I installed the skid plate a couple of weeks ago. I used Rhino ramps and did the job myself. The plate was robust, but I was able to lay it on my body while under the car and install the plate. It wasn't that hard. I also saw where the oil pan drain plug is located. There's a hole that's in the skid plate where you can get to the plug. I don't think you have to remove the plate to change your oil. I change my oil on my own so I have a plan in mind. I think the hole is big enough to find some type of funnel ( i may modify it ) and jam it up in there to catch oil flow.

If it looks too difficult i'll remove the plate before every oil change. It isn't that hard to do.

As for the weight issue - I thought about that. 25 pounds isn't TOO much, but I think I can find some other ways to save weight. New wheels and rims, lighter exhaust, and strip some interior items.

As a side note - Unless you track your car or constantly push it to its limits - 25 pounds won't make too much of a difference.

REMINDER - the MC's and MCS's weren't made to be straight line cars. If you feel like you don't have enough HP's to push - you DON'T. If you wanted that, you should have gotten a dreaded MUSTANG. But, if you wanted a car that could be tossed in the corners like it was your favorite high school girlfriend, you bought the right car.

I track my M3 and did some weight mods on it as well. I wasn't planning on taking the MCS to the track, but it's driveability made a liar out of me.

peace

 

I'm not concerned about an additional 26 pounds on a car that already weighs over a ton!!

The heaviest, changeable part of the MCS seems to be the 17" wheels and runflats. After I burn those tires out I may switch to a light weight, high performance 16". However, I only drove the 17"ers for about a week before I put on 15 snows and steel wheels. I nearly broke my back carrying the 17" wheels and tires into my storage area. Those babies are heavy!

Will the warranty cover anything that breaks (like the power steering fan) due to road garbage flying upwards?

I feel better with the Moss plate. I've managed to "bottom out" the front end already going over some minor parking lot entrance ramps - so the plate just makes me feel better.

I started a thread a while ago about this issue - Change the skid plate or not? The overwhelming response was to go for it - and many MCO owners seem to have done just that.

I suppose you could also look at the weight issue this way: In snowbound Toronto, it doesn't hurt to have an additional few pounds over the front wheels!

 

I think I was one of the first to do the skid plate install. Anyhow, for those worried about the weight, if your only concern is for reducing weight for track / autocross the plate is easy enough to remove. I plan on taking my Moss plate off for autocross events, and then reinstalling it. It's simple enough to do.

 

On the street, this thing is almost essential - and the weight is less than another bag of groceries ... most of us don't use the car to it's full potential in our day-to-day drives so the weight is negligable - but the protection as we blast across the potholes is immense. RandyBMC was talking about aluminium if you really are concerned about a few pounds ...

 

>>On the street, this thing is almost essential - and the weight is less than another bag of groceries ... most of us don't use the car to it's full potential in our day-to-day drives so the weight is negligable - but the protection as we blast across the potholes is immense. RandyBMC was talking about aluminium if you really are concerned about a few pounds ...

Exactly what I thought, and the reason I expect to install mine next week

 

I am definately going with a more substantial skid plate after breaking the original while backing in some crusty snow. See SNOW LIMITATIONS. Anybody have any recommendations/experiences with plates other than the MOSS design?

 

I am picking up my MCS in about three weeks. Do you think I could ask the dealer to install the Moss skid plate if I supplied it to them? I live in Upstate NY where we average 115 inches of snow a year so there is a lot of debris to fly up at cars. I am thinking that a substantial skid plate is a necessity for me.

 

check out the full body skid plate on this baby:
http://cascadeautosport.com/customers/newmini.html

sheet polyethylene would be a good slippery substitute for the aluminum