If I'd like to buy some underbody/driveline armor for a 2013 JKU, what products, and in what order, would you recommend I get? That is, what products should be protected first (i.e. most vulnerable)?

 

I know for me personally the lower control arm brackets took a beating as did the gas tank skid on my mildly lifted 33" tired 2013 jku so when I got my new rubicon those were the things I did first. I know people say tranny and oil pan skid but those never had a mark.

 

You should consider the following:

Oil pan skid
Front lower control arm skids
Heavy duty cross member
Rear lower shock/control arm skids ( Evo Rockstars as they relocate the shock as well)

Other than that the stock skids are pretty good. Obviously they will take a beating and could be upgraded but the above are wiser choices in my opinion.

Pm us for a quote.

 

I bought the evo skid package. Oil pan skid hasn't gotten hit yet, transmission skid has a nice long scratch on it and the crossmember/exhaust cross over skid is beat to hell. Before you have 20 people tell you how amazing the evo protek skids are I'd say look into something else. The design on the exhaust cross over skid is pretty weak. Several bends in it that aren't supported or gusseted. I've had to take a pipe wrench to mine on several occasions to get it off the exhaust pipe. That and the gas tank skid will be the ones you hit the most on a 4 door without lifting it to the sky. I've been looking at the artec skids but at $1500 I'm pushing it back down the list.

 

^^^What he said. It's a standard process for me. Go wheeling, bend EVO crossover skid, drive home with exhaust rattling on skid, bend skid back with big wrench, and repeat. The real suck starts if you ever need to remove the skid and put back on after it has been bent. The bolt holes never really lines up well. I've had to drill the crap out of them to get the skid back on.

That all said, it wouldn't be rocket science to add a few gussets, which is what I should have done. I've seen a couple people add them and that solved the issue.