Side protection strips

[Aus1]

Hi All,

Do GM or some after market co have stick on side protection strips for the VOLT yet?
-Yes it's probaly not cool looking but it's a lot better than dints in the pain & sheetmetal

[Raymondjram]

Try Advanced Auto Parts (originally known as Western Auto) or Pep Boys (I haven't tried Auto Zone). They sell many types of rubber strips that will help protect the doors and bumpers. I bought two types for my 2009 Chevy Equinox. The first one was the door edge protector, which sticks on very strong, and has about a quarter of an inch of overhang. It may not look aerodynamic ( I travel less that 60 MPH anyway), but it really protects the door edges in tight parking spaces, and that overhang prevents other doors from touching my doors.

The second type is a thick and wide strip (about two inches wide) that I placed along the outmost car line (above the factory trim). This prevents other car doors (and wandering shopping carts) from hitting the sides. This strip also increases the drag a bit, but it doesn't bother me. Since this kit came with many feet, and there was about four feet left over, I attached this leftover to the rear bumper, which gets the most hits from other vehicles. Last week I saw a white mark on the strip which was easy to rub off since the strip is tougher than the bumper. But I felt good that this strip avoided any possible paint scratching on the rear bumper.

Obviously, don't overdo the strips on the vehicle, but plan well where the strips will be placed. First, get a straight edge (a three foot ruler is okay but a bubble level is best) , hold it vertically and run it along the vehicle body lines, looking for the places it touches first. Then see if there is any factory strips in that area. It so, you may not need any new strip, but if the factory strips don't cover those edges well, then buy a new strip. Then chose the best color (black is the most common) and width (thicker is better than wider). Finally, go to the auto shop, look for the strip that best fulfills your need, cut the correct length, follow the instructions to prepare the surface, and attach the strip. If you cannot line the strip up well, I recommend attaching masking tape first (and get help, so with more eyes to line it up, the better), then use that to line up the strip. Remember that the strip glue is very strong so don't make a mistake!

have fun and keep your Volt as good as new. I am still waiting for the Volt to arrive in my area (Puerto Rico).

Raymond

[Aus1]

Cheers Raymond
Makes alot of sence, wish we could get a factory option - would be nice!

Regards,

Martin

[petefoss]

Not to be cynical, but IMHO the reason we don't have bump moldings anymore is automotive writers. If the writers don't like the look, the industry doesn't do it. Independant of customer desire because too often we design to the critics not the final customers.

Plastic body panels like we used on the Saturns is a great example. It's impossible to have tight gaps with a high thermal expansion material like was used there to maintain impact performance. (High impact strength is very very very hard to do with low thermal expansion). When the writers decided the customer needed 2 mm gaps instead of 5 mm gaps, dent resistant plastic side panels were history.

Me I'd rather let the customer choose.

Pete Foss
GM R&D

[voltage692]

Park smart and make friends with a good paintless dent removal person -- I have one on speed dial. They can work miracles.