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Perceived VS. Actual quality: Plastics in cars...

M

MikeMike

Lifer
Now, im gunna go on about plastic, yes, the plastic.

Why is it that in order for a car to have a "good" quality dash it must have plastics that feel good, that arent just hard, but rather textured. How do people know that texture means better? that a softer plastic is better than the harder plastic? yet all people say is that plastic in this vehicle is worse than plastic in that vehicle yet in reality dont know if the better feeling plastic is actually a cheaper plastic. how do people know this?

is it just human nature to think that softer things are better???
 
Yeah, I've always wondered what makes people such experts on the quality of plastic. It's not human nature to think that softer things are better, it's human nature to think more expensive things are better.
 
Originally posted by: mugs
Yeah, I've always wondered what makes people such experts on the quality of plastic. It's not human nature to think that softer things are better, it's human nature to think more expensive things are better.
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now, how do you know if the plastic you are feeling is more expensive than the other one or not?
 
because the dashboard strokers like it, and it must be true.

jeremy clarkson is a dashboard stroker.

several prominent forum members are dashboard strokers.
 
Originally posted by: swtethan
plastics that dont feel flimsy and fit tightly together make a good build quality car......
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now, what if that flismy plastic is actually a better quality, and stronger plastic than the plastic that doesnt feel flimsy?

in order to make something less flimsy, all you have to do is add more support to it, and that support can be added in any way.

but dash strokers want plastics that feel better to the touch.
 
The plastic could be cheap crap but if they put it together and reinforce it right, the average person would not be able to tell.
 
I do believe that things of this nature are based upon experience. For example, If you hand me two different pieces of plastic, I can tell you - I believe - simply by handling them, which is going to be more brittle and prone to cracking, which is going to deform farther without rebounding, or even which one will be more likely to fade in the sun first. And unelss you were deliberately trying to stump me, I'd probably be correct.

Do you also believe that no one except experts can tell the difference between grades of leather or wood?
 
The more rigid & hard the plastic, the more prone (typically) it's going to be to squeeks and rattles.

Softer surfaces also tend to absorb sound better.

 
i don't know if softer means betetr but maybe they are thinking that based on clothing? how silk and cashmiere(spelling?) costs more than cotten and the like?
I don't go by the feel of plastic but the looks, can you see the lines where it was cut away from the mold? how well do the other edges take the shape or connect to the next piece of plastic or whatever is on the end, are there gaps? distortion? if painted how well? does it chip? fade? rub off? flex? etc


also as many of us already know, though you get what you pay for, just because 1 thing costs mroe than another does NOT mean it is better in any way
 
Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE
Originally posted by: mugs
Yeah, I've always wondered what makes people such experts on the quality of plastic. It's not human nature to think that softer things are better, it's human nature to think more expensive things are better.
Click to expand...



now, how do you know if the plastic you are feeling is more expensive than the other one or not?
Click to expand...

I was referring to the price of the car. 🙂
 
I can honestly say that Ive never stepped inside a car and even thought about the quality of the plastics on the dash.
 
Originally posted by: BD2003
I can honestly say that Ive never stepped inside a car and even thought about the quality of the plastics on the dash.
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Of course you didn't but you subconsicously knew which plastics had a better feel to them. As someone else said it's experience, if your dash feels like it's made of plastic grocery bags vs feels like it's made of that stuff they package stuff in (that nuclear weapons can't open) you subconsiously know which plastic will hold up better.
 
My dash in my car is textured and it's a real pain in the butt to clean. I have to figure out a smarter way. But... I wish the rear windows in my car were 100% plastic at the C pillar (?) where the small pane joins the big pan of glass that goes up and down. It is rubber with a bit of metal and that metal is starting to rust.
 
if I grab the plastic to the left of my shifter and squeeze, I get this horrific screeching squeal that comes from ford being too cheap to put a dashboard together. If they sacraficed quality in what you interface with on a daily basis, who's to say the drivetrain isnt cheaped on the same way?
 
Why use Plastic at all.

Why not use something like Magnesium Alloy, which is stronger than plastic and can be molded as well.
 
Originally posted by: DVK916
Why use Plastic at all.

Why not use something like Magnesium Alloy, which is stronger than plastic and can be molded as well.
Click to expand...

Do you want to double the price of your car?

Anyway, it isn't about strength. Believe it or not, your dashboard isn't load bearing. All it does is cover stuff up. Softness is what matters, which I think affects how natural it feels. The soft plastic used in some cars feels like leather. Regular hard plastic just feels like plastic, and the thinner it is, the louder it sounds when you tap on it.

I'd like to see bamboo interiors.
 
I don't really care one way or the other. The car I had with the softest plastic dash and panels ended up squeaking and rattling the most.
 
"Quality" in car plastics usually isnt a strength issue. Usually, it is a visual quality issue.

It is a fact that most American cars have plastic dashes that look like sh!t compared to most Euro cars.
 
Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE
Originally posted by: mugs
Yeah, I've always wondered what makes people such experts on the quality of plastic. It's not human nature to think that softer things are better, it's human nature to think more expensive things are better.
Click to expand...
now, how do you know if the plastic you are feeling is more expensive than the other one or not?
Click to expand...
It has more to do with the fit of the parts than the actual plastic IMO. My father's brand friggin new Pilot has visible gaps and rough, sometimes sharp, gaps in the plastic at the windows. The B-pillar plastic shows innumerable scuffs and scratches from where the seat belt buckle rests when it is retracted. That's cheap plastic. On a Pilot EX nonetheless. The friggin "high-end" Pilot has an interior that I'd be ashamed of in a Neon.

My 11 year old Lincoln, 20 year old 951, and 30 year old 914 have nicely radiused edges where plastic ends and capping rubber at the base of the side windows where the Pilot has a rough, sharp edge. The gaps are nearly seamless and despite many more years of wear on the interior, they look vastly less worn than the Pilot's plastics. That's quality plastic.

ZV
 
Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
I'd like to see bamboo interiors.
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Untiil you get in a car accident and end up with a bamboo sliver speared through your torso. Plastic is the material of choice these days because it's safer, it yeilds before it spears.
 
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