Rating of car door sills, what are they for and how to install
Content
The bulk of the produced overlays are fastened with double-sided tape. Such accessories are mounted quickly and simply: in just a couple of tricks. They also take off easily.
Rapids, steep rapids... Yes, Kuzmin's song is not about those rapids. Singing about automobiles is superfluous. But it is necessary to protect them from moisture and dirt. To say a resounding "no" to corrosion and to please tuning specialists, smart people came up with door sills.
Functions of overlays: we will protect beautifully
Along with the wheel arches and bottom, the thresholds of the car suffer greatly from aggressive environmental factors. Moisture, dust and dirt from the shoes of passengers, reagents from the streets are the necessary conditions for the appearance of corrosion. Necessary but not sufficient.
The rest is added by the passengers themselves, now and then advancing and leaning on this vulnerable part of the body. This is how scratches and microcracks appear in the protective coating. From the outside, you have to withstand the attacks of small stones and rubble leaving chips. In the damaged protective coating, the first “saffron milk mushrooms” break through at the points of penetration. Late noticed or ignored stains quickly turn into penetrating rust, requiring extraordinary body repairs.
Plastic lining
Special overlays - as a rule, curly plates made of steel or plastic, rigidly fixed on the upper part - courageously accept all damage and attacks of the "whims" of nature. Low cost and easy assembly/dismantling have turned this accessory into a mandatory attribute of a passenger car.
And it's not just protection. A decorative stainless steel exterior embossed bar with car logo carved into it, along with a kenguryatnik and chrome-plated mirrors and running boards, brings the final touch to the exterior picture of any Toyota Fortuner. The overlays look good on smaller models as well. The main thing is to choose according to taste.
Let's get to know each other better: what are
Do not wander in the assortment, feverishly flipping through the pages of catalogs, the classification of overlay models will help.
By design
Model car door sills are only suitable for a certain make of car. It is impossible to install them on another car. And if possible, then the installation will be incorrect, with further troubles in the form of stagnant moisture and uneven gaps.
Door sills Mazda CX 5
Universal door sills are suitable for any car, or almost any. Such devices, designed for a series of cars of a certain brand, can also satisfy fans of several brands at once. For example, NataNiko universal PVC lining for the DAEWOO Lanos model range from 1997 to 2017.
According to the material for manufacturing
Popular types include:
- Plastic. Cheap and non-oxidizing, they deserve the title of the most practical. Alas, not everything is so rosy. Plastic is too brittle, does not withstand sharp mechanical stress. Service life of products - 1-2 years. Models made of polymers, such as ABS plastic, have greater strength, but are sensitive to ultraviolet light.
- Metal. Stronger than plastic, but also more expensive. Products exist in three variations: coated, stainless steel, aluminum. For example, chrome look spectacular, wear out as the coating wears. Samples of stainless steel look no less solid and "run" longer. Aluminum products are lighter than steel, they are not afraid of corrosion. One minus: due to the softness of aluminum, even after minor impacts, dents can remain.
- From fiberglass. Something between metal and plastic: light, durable. But the trouble is, they are afraid of sharp temperature jumps, reacting with cracks and subsequent destruction.
- From rubber. Plastic door sills of cars of "rubber" competitors "can't stand the spirit." Apparently "complex" because of the fragility. Rubber models have the right to exist. They are fragile, non-marking. And… unsightly.
Stainless steel door sills
Someone likes steel protection, someone likes budget plastic. Fortunately, there are plenty to choose from.
By type of attachment
It all comes down to one criterion: easy installation and the same (well, or almost the same) dismantling. A minimum of effort and virtually no intervention in the body structure.
The bulk of the produced overlays are fastened with double-sided tape. Such accessories are mounted quickly and simply: in just a couple of tricks. They also take off easily. The quality of the film (adhesive tape) and the correct preparation of the glued surface determine how long the products will last. Fastened with self-tapping screws, hold dead. Weaknesses: long installation, compared with film "opponents", and vulnerability to corrosion in the attachment points.
Rating
And protection is chosen by price. And here, as everywhere: its premium segment, the golden mean and budget versions.
Economy
“A cheap fish is a rotten fish,” says a Ukrainian proverb. Often it is. But sometimes a cheap fish comes to the yard.
Inexpensive copies are not made of carbon or fiberglass. Yes, conventional plastic models are fragile. Yes, they may not even last a year. But in a situation where slushy autumn is on the nose, the body needs to be closed, and allocating funds from the family budget for another item is a problem, and universal door sills for any car help out. With a cost of 250-300 rubles apiece, such devices can be changed every six months.
Worse than budget stainless steel versions can only be stainless steel itself. Usually such options for a penny are nothing more than a fake. And they will be useful only in the role of decorative overlays on the thresholds of the car.
Middle segment: in the race for price-quality
Here, high demand from the buyer is at the forefront. A pragmatic man who always dreams of being "no worse than others", and for reasonable money. There are many options in the middle segment: both stainless steel and high-quality plastic.
For 1,5-2 thousand rubles, you can pick up a decent set of stainless steel accessories, for example, the Turkish manufacturer Omcarline, which produces components for the non-Turkish Chevrolet Aveo.
In the middle price range, only the lazy will not pick up the overlay. Both the owner of the budget Dacia and the owner of the new Toyota will find something here.
Premium segment: you can't forbid living beautifully
The ambitions of the owners of BMW, Audi and other Porsche Caen are usually collected in this place. Mitsubishi and Volkswagen with their "Tuaregs" are also pulling up here.
The ambitious and the wealthy hunt for premium parts. It doesn't matter if it's door sills on a Kia Rio or a Bentley Continental Supersports. VIPs will demonstrate their status in everything.
Bentley Continental Supersports door sills
The eyes of important people will shine with premium sets of polished stainless steel or durable fiberglass linings. Glue the door sills of the car will have branded adhesive tape brand "3M". Not khukhr-muhr. The cost of such kits is often only 20-30% higher than the average segment. For lovers of "more expensive" there will definitely be an option for 20-25 thousand. Rubles, of course.
In the arbitrary ranking of the top 3 premium overlays, the situation is as follows.
- Premium Nataniko for BMW X3 I (E83) 2004-2010 Made of high-alloy stainless steel 0,8 mm thick. Attached with American 3M VHB double sided tape. Not without an engraved logo. Fashionable, and fashionable again.
- Carmos for Volkswagen Multivan T5 2009-2016 Chrome-plated stainless steel door sills, made in accordance with the T5 style. Their “horse” is durability and flirtatious brilliance. It turns out two "horses". The price of the kit is about 3 thousand rubles.
- PartsFix for Moskvich-2141. You heard right, it was for a car from the Komsomol factory. Such cars will soon become a real rarity, and spare parts for them - even more so. Stainless steel, 1 mm thick. Manufacturer - Hungary. That's where the surprise is.
The choice of accessories is great. Everyone will choose their "cheap fish" or VIP. It's just a matter of desires and possibilities.
Features
Like any product, car linings have their strengths and weaknesses.
Advantages
Once again, practical and cheap plastic received praises. Well, nothing could be easier. With careful handling, such a device will serve "happily ever after". Sometimes owners use universal plastic thresholds on cars, managing to keep them safe and sound for a long time.
For a solid appearance and reliability - to models made of steel. From stainless steel. They are not afraid of the metal heel of a ladies' heel, and corrosion does not inspire horror.
Disadvantages
The first "stone in the garden" of plastic flies low strength. An accidental heel strike of a heavy boot worn on an even heavier foot will negate such plastic redoubts. The second cobblestone is facelessness. Well, the strip of black plastic does not look pretty.
Stainless steel loses plastic only at a higher price. Well, a little more weight. But this is no longer essential.
Crazy handles, or how to install it yourself
The installation process is a simple procedure. But someone will spit and decide to glue the door sills of the car with the hands of the service station masters. No freezes. However, troubles only attract some motorists. Such Kulibins not only mount the pads on their own, but also give advice to their comrades in the garage cooperative: how to properly install, degrease, and press down.
Do-it-yourself installation of door sills
Process step by step:
- Reading instructions: how to put, where to put and which side. Try on overlays without installation. Approximately.
- Complete cleaning of the pasted surface from dust, dirt. Remove all sticky and stuck.
- Degreasing. Do this with a rag soaked in alcohol. Or solvent "White spirit". A damp cloth containing alcohol is also suitable for this procedure.
- After the surface has dried, prepare the products for installation: remove the protective film of the double-sided adhesive tape.
- Carefully install the trim on the sill. With proper installation, the adhesive layer of the adhesive tape will completely coincide with the surface to be glued.
- To ensure the fit, apply pressure from above over the entire area: this will give maximum holding force.
It's all. Nothing supernatural. And yes, it only takes half an hour. And the thresholds will say "thank you."
