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2021-01
Should I put protective covers on my car parts?
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Adding protective covers to car parts has a long history, and the debate continues. The most discussed issues are dashboard sunshades, seat covers, and engine compartment shields. Today, we will analyze the pros and cons of these additions.
1. Should you use a dashboard sunshade?
Many car owners use sunshades, mainly because they address the following three issues:
▎Dashboard cracking and fading due to prolonged sun exposure;
▎Glare from the dashboard when hit by high beams, causing blurred vision and poor visibility;
▎Especially the midday sun
Adding protective covers to car parts has been a long-standing practice, and the debate continues.
The most discussed issues are the use of sunshades on dashboards, seat covers, and engine bay covers. Today, we will analyze the advantages and disadvantages of these additions.
I. Should you use a sunshade on the dashboard?
Many car owners use sunshades, mainly because they address the following three issues:
▎The dashboard may crack or fade after prolonged sun exposure;
▎When exposed to high beams, the dashboard may reflect light, causing blurred vision and impairing visibility;
▎Especially at noon when the sun is strong, the dashboard may reflect light, creating overlapping shadows;
Whether this is unnecessary depends on your perspective, as sunshades do help solve the above three problems. The reasons are as follows:
▎It helps absorb ultraviolet rays and is resistant to aging
We know that for durable materials (most paints and plastics), short-wave ultraviolet radiation is the main cause of polymer aging, as it causes the breakage of macromolecular chains in plastics, leading to degradation. Sunshades effectively absorb ultraviolet rays, preventing this problem.
▎Sunshades produce diffuse reflection, which is not glaring
Diffuse reflection refers to the phenomenon where light projected onto a rough surface reflects in various directions. Compared to specular reflection, when diffuse reflection occurs, less light or no concentrated light reaches the eyes, making it less glaring. Most sunshades have a fuzzy surface, and when light hits them, diffuse reflection occurs, preventing glare.
▲To address the issue of blocking air conditioning vents, most sunshades are designed with holes in these areas, so they do not affect daily use.
However, it is important to note that the passenger-side airbag is mounted on the surface of the dashboard. Adding a sunshade will obstruct the passenger-side airbag, directly affecting its deployment.
Taking the corporate standards of a leading brand as an example, in normal temperature deployment, the airbag inflates in approximately 30-60 milliseconds. What does this mean? 1000 milliseconds equals 1 second. Under normal circumstances, the speed of a human blink is 1/14 of a second, or 71 milliseconds. It shows that the airbag inflates in the blink of an eye.
Therefore, if there is a passenger-side airbag, use sunshades cautiously.
As for whether this affects aesthetics, it depends on individual preferences. However, it should be noted that since sunshades do not cover the entire dashboard, after several years of use, the covered and uncovered areas may show a color difference.
II. Are seat covers suitable?
There's no absolute answer; it depends on the type of seat cover.
To fully illustrate the issue, let's first look at how car seat airbags deploy.
Clearly, if the seat has a cover, it will inevitably affect the deployment of the side airbags. Although the force of airbag deployment is very strong, even if it can push open some mesh covers, the deployment posture and time will be affected, which will directly affect its ability to protect personal safety.
Of course, some full-coverage seat covers have specially designed tear openings on the sides, so there is no need to worry about affecting the deployment of the side airbags. However, you must confirm this when purchasing, as some sellers may not inform you in advance.
Addressing the opacity issue of full-coverage seat covers, semi-coverage seat covers have emerged, such as the one shown in the figure below. You can see that its sides are usually fastened with elastic bands, usually not many, to minimize the impact on airbag deployment.
However, although semi-coverage seat covers have little impact on airbag deployment, their aesthetics and fit with the seats are somewhat inferior. They are fine initially, but after some time, they easily shift out of place.
III. Is the engine cover a useless accessory?
Since when have engine covers been mocked as "shame covers" or "attempts to create a high-end feel"? I dislike such statements.
The advantages of adding an engine cover are twofold: 1. Dust and water protection; 2. Sound insulation and noise reduction.
These two advantages are quite obvious, so we won't explain them one by one. Regarding dust protection, excessive dust in the engine compartment can increase the blockage of air filters or air conditioning filters, and may also affect the heat dissipation of the engine and related components. In special cases, it may also cause static electricity or corrosion, leading to circuit failures.
In addition, the engine cover will have openings in the corresponding positions, which can facilitate the addition of engine oil, coolant, and wiper fluid. It is more intuitive for car novices, eliminating the need to be intimidated by the engine compartment full of oil pipes.
Some say that because the engine compartment layout of domestic cars is too messy, using an engine cover to cover it makes it look better. This is true in some cases, but not all joint venture cars have beautiful engine compartment layouts; many are also messy. For example, Honda's engine compartment is notoriously cluttered.
As for why domestic cars have engine covers while joint venture and imported cars do not, it's simply to save money.
Some people believe that adding an engine cover will affect heat dissipation. This is slightly true, but the engine is water-cooled, not air-cooled, so the impact is negligible.
In addition, many joint venture cars are not specifically for the Chinese market. If it is a global model, the needs of the Chinese market will be considered, but it will still depend on the situation. If other countries do not install it, and it is only installed in the Chinese market, Chinese engineers often need to provide detailed reasons for the assessment (especially to prove that the addition will increase sales or improve product performance).
Now, since other joint venture brands do not install it much, naturally, there is not much demand for it.
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