That plate appears to flex.. mine feels as solid as a rock!!….mind you placing it flat & running over it is not testing it as it is mounted...he needs to support it under the main bolt holes on blocks then stand on it/or run over..I think in another thread there is a picture of two big blokes standing on one with it supported between two sets of bricks...
i agree- the OEM Alltrack "plati-steel"-like engine skid tray is very solid- and good to go as is, as an upgrade to the shorter thinner plastic-only and thus flimsier under engine aero panels on GSWs, GTIs.
You can also replace that sturdier AT engine skid plate with ECS aluminum skid plate which (golfdave originally scoffed at, but...)
now has a front reinforcing bar that adds more strength IMHO than OEM AT plate in two key areas:
A. Two bolts into the bar at leading edge of tray, that in addition to the alum tabs slotting into the front spoiler, which like the plasti- steel tans on OEM plate
Serve to add extra hold of the bar for front edge of aluminum skid plate from bending up, on an impact.
B. Bar bolts into core on the ends with two bolts replacing two OEM stamped metal brackets with only one bolt that attach the front corners of OEM plasti-steel plate.
You can also add the ECS tunnel skid plate as I did (which protects nothing on an MT, but continues the flat area further aft and is claimed to stiffen the body).
YMMV but its worth it to me for peace of mind, as an aftermarket aluminum metal engine skid plate on an older VW tdi saved me many times...
and I am fairly certain this setup saved me again only two weeks after install when I got hogbacked in a gravel wash out in the desert...?
...two hours of jacking with the itty bitty factory jack, digging out underneath with my trusty folding USA trenching tool...in 110degree heat, and
stacking rocks, wood under wheels to drive off on a firm surface, baja recovery style, and all I had was scratches on the skid plates, dirt all over me, and wounded pride ?
PS: I am safety oriented so I replaced plastic oil pan with a steel one plus mag drain plug...also ECS.
Two oil changes later after more bumpy roads, including same road as before, plus a whifferdill thru an interstate median swale on a u-turn thru some tall grass...that *may* have contributed to that itty bitty silver piece on lower edge of front grill popping off, last seen pin-wheeling thru the air in rear view mirror over UTAH vibration strips on I-15...
(i digress, another story...)
tldr the skid plates are holding up, worth every penny for peace of mind!