illestFX35
Member
- Car
- 2010 FX35 RWD
has anyone noticed the plastic trunk on their car? I had just realized and wanted to know why it was plastic.
trunk lid
- Thread starter illestFX35
- Start date
- Car
- 2004 Infiniti FX45
- Name
- Adam
Because if it was metal, together with glass it would weight too much. It's simply to make it lighter and easier to open/close. Also for molding and design purposes, easier to make bold shapes using less material. Most cars/SUVs have plastic tail gates.
---------- Post added at 04:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:56 PM ----------
You can also do some reading on plastics in general outer body usage
Here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=Pp...a=X&ei=nc_VUoKSKon3oATypoGoBQ&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAw
---------- Post added at 04:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:56 PM ----------
You can also do some reading on plastics in general outer body usage
Here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=Pp...a=X&ei=nc_VUoKSKon3oATypoGoBQ&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAw
Last edited:
illestFX35
Member
- Car
- 2010 FX35 RWD
thanks GetLuckyFX. I'm not so sure that most suvs had plastic trunks. I'll have to check on that. But anyways thanks for the info
- Car
- 2004 Infiniti FX45
- Name
- Adam
Sure thing. I'm sure there is a list of which car manufacturer uses plastics and which doesn't. But in general it's not only the tail gates, fenders, hoods, are also slowly being replaced with plastic/fiber versions, all to lower the overall
weight of a vehicle, to improve wether be it performance or fuel
economy.
But I'm not an expert the reading is interesting tho, when you get a chance
weight of a vehicle, to improve wether be it performance or fuel
economy.
But I'm not an expert
the reading is interesting tho, when you get a chanceOther than Nissan/Infiniti, Mazda uses plastic for most of their tail gates on wagons and SUV's. I'm not sure about which other makers do it, but I'm sure it's plenty. Plastic is lighter weight for better fuel economy which is so important these days with the new requirements. In the past, they did have trouble molding plastic to the complex shapes of many tailgates, but technology is much better now. FWIW, my E92 BMW has plastic fenders.
- Car
- FX
Automobiles have gradually been made less and less with metal over the last few decades. Cost, safety and weight reduction I suspect are the main reasons. The panels that are still metal are nowhere near the gauge of the past. You used to be able to hammer out dents of all sizes back in the day; newer metal is so thin that replacement rather than repair is more the norm.
Just as all the members above have mentioned, there plenty of benefits over metal:
- Lightweight, less stress for struts (standard or electronic like ours)
- Easier to make bold designs, easier to produce, cheaper on manufacturing
- Trunk lids are known to rust faster especially in colder climates where salt is used on roads. Water/salt sits in the bottom corners and edges which eat away at the paint/metal
The first gen FX has an aluminum hood as well
The second gen FX has an aluminum hood and all four doors. Fenders are still metal for now, I can anticipate those going to aluminum eventually as they are bolted on.
Having certain components going to plastic is not a bad thing. There's many benefits going that route. And plastic would not be the best term, I would call it composite. Composites are made from a composition of materials that can be designed to work for different requirements.
Having the trunk lid made of plastic does not degrade the safety of the vehicle, there's no occupants in the trunk. So the pros outweigh the cons in this case. Maybe one day cars will be made of a combination of aluminum and carbon fiber. Maybe something better will come out. For now, steel is still one of the best materials to use.
- Lightweight, less stress for struts (standard or electronic like ours)
- Easier to make bold designs, easier to produce, cheaper on manufacturing
- Trunk lids are known to rust faster especially in colder climates where salt is used on roads. Water/salt sits in the bottom corners and edges which eat away at the paint/metal
The first gen FX has an aluminum hood as well
The second gen FX has an aluminum hood and all four doors. Fenders are still metal for now, I can anticipate those going to aluminum eventually as they are bolted on.
Having certain components going to plastic is not a bad thing. There's many benefits going that route. And plastic would not be the best term, I would call it composite. Composites are made from a composition of materials that can be designed to work for different requirements.
Having the trunk lid made of plastic does not degrade the safety of the vehicle, there's no occupants in the trunk. So the pros outweigh the cons in this case. Maybe one day cars will be made of a combination of aluminum and carbon fiber. Maybe something better will come out. For now, steel is still one of the best materials to use.
- Car
- 2004 Infiniti FX45
- Name
- Adam
Good point on the safety, I think a lot of people assume that plastic is not as strong as steel or aluminum, where in fact can withstand more stress.
There is a few videos on line that show a collision between a modern "plastic" car and 50's "steel tank", surprisingly the steel car is gone.
There is a few videos on line that show a collision between a modern "plastic" car and 50's "steel tank", surprisingly the steel car is gone.