I spend a great deal of time off road in the wilds of Nevada, Utah & Arizona. Hauling my Mountian Bikes to get even more out in the middle of nowhere!

Any leads on Skid Plates, Lift Kits (just couple of inches would do), Grill Guards?

Because the Element is based on the CRV, any leads on this stuff for the CRV that may be adapted?

Also sure would like to see aftermarket plastic quarter pannels that would give more room for a wider tire set.

petie,

My guess is that you are a few months early. Most places are still working on getting the Element in to play with it, and design stuff for it. It will be a few more months before things are available.

When many people have never seen one, it will be time before people make aftermarket items for it.

Funny... when I think about "Serious Off-Road", Honda just doesn't come to mind. With everything hanging off the bottom of the Element to give it the flat floor and low center of gravity, I can't imagine this vehicle ever being a good candidate for a body/suspension lift for anything other than for show. I prefer lowriders myself...

Hey gang thanks for getting the thread rolling. I doo like los slung sleds for the street as well, but that is not the world that I hang in. The Element does have an muffler/catalytic converter hanging in the wind that really need to be skin plated.

Here are a couple of really interesting insights. The Jeep Liberty, Toyota RAV, LandCruiser Discovery and many other SUVs have 6.5" of ground clearance just like the Element. Two more inches of clearance with a couple of key skid plates will put the Element in the bonifide off road category. Add two more inches additional height with taller tires and wow you have a off road home run.

In Europe vehicle with similar suspensions are raced in what are called 'rally' races all the time. They are lifted a couple of inches, with taller tires, and they smoke the off road.

One of the primary limiters to a functional off road vehicle is the risk of brush marks & dings messing up the perfect pretty paint almost every time you go out. The Element addresses that issue directly with the plastic quarter panels. I plan to protect the lower half of the painted doors with the vinyl sheeting described in another thread. You can have the vinyl printed with 'bus wrap' technology that will match the colors of the plastic quarter panels.

20 miles per gallon off road is phenominal comparied to most SUVs. You can sleep and camp in the element, just like with the much bigger and heavier rigs.

Remember most real world off road work is not what you see hyped in the magazines. Most of what we do is cover a lot of ground on reasnonable dirt road. Covering many miles of discovery and fun.

I see the Element a 'New Age' Jeep Grand Wagoneer.
(all of the functionality, with greater reliability, half the weight and three times the gas mileage)

hey petie i couldnt wait so i made a skid plate for mine. it covers the engine and tranny. its very confidence inspiring. im going to build one for the gas tank soon. im still working out the design. i want it to be removable yet look good and be functional. ill let you know when im done.

How much weight does it add?

Hey almondog, right on! Thats the kind of leadership that we need. Can you please take a couple of moments & run by us some of the details & your thoughts. How thick was the aluminum plate, how did you bend it, & what were your mounting points? Thanks so much!! petie

i used 1/8th inch aluminum.you could go thicker but i dont think its needed . if you look under the engine you will see that there is a frame that goes around it.take a measurement side to side front to back. you could make a cardboard template. on that frame there are holes . i used compression nuts ,2 on each side and one in the rear.5 total, these nuts are great they work like pop rivits.i got them from true value hardware store.the plate fits nice and tight under the engine with about an inch clearence from it. you can cut the plate with a metal blade for a jig saw. i also cut out an opening so i can drain the oil.it weighs about 7lbs. im guessing though.i wish i could send photos but im computer dumb.also no digital camera.once you go under and see the engine area youll understand what im talking about. it was rather easy to build. if you cant find those nuts then maybe someone could weld them on. that was my next plan. good luck.

Could you post some pics?

"The Jeep Liberty, Toyota RAV, LandCruiser Discovery and many other SUVs have 6.5" of ground clearance just like the Element"

OK, I've seen this information somewhere else as well. I don't know about the others, but the Liberty has 9.5" of clearance, not 6.5! Even the Subaru Forrester has over 7".

If anyone has looked into lift kits oranything, let me know cause I was thnking about it and once I came across this pick someone did in Photoshop I am definately going to try to lift it and put some A/T tires on it! The E looks wimpy and "street like" or "minivan like" only because of the crappy stock tires! Check this out and let me know if you actuall disagree.element_offroad.jpg

Nevermind I can't figure out how to get it to post!

You have to put your picture up somewhere on the web, a photo sharing site or your own web space, and then put the image URL inside the [img] tags.

Let's try again!
If anyone has looked into lift kits oranything, let me know cause I was thnking about it and once I came across this pick someone did in Photoshop I am definately going to try to lift it and put some A/T tires on it! The E looks wimpy and "street like" or "minivan like" only because of the crappy stock tires! Check this out and let me know if you actuall disagree.
http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?UV=392128751853_71556656205&collid=22194656205&photoid=12194656205

Aight here just check out the link:
http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?UV=392128751853_71556656205&collid=22194656205&photoid=12194656205

That is a nice look but it is unlikely you will be able to get an oversized tire quite so big on a Honda. If you look on top of the Tires in the fender wells you will find out what I mean.

Has anyone thought of air shocks? this could give you a few inches of lift when needed then aired down when not needed. how about air struts? the low riders use them to drop and bounce thier cars and mini trucks, but aired up they could be great off road.

I ran across an interesting install on a Toyota when googling for "air shocks". http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/4Runner/tech/rear_air_shocks/

Maybe it will give somebody here some ideas.