The other day, I saw someone in the group of car friends discussing "whether the under-engine guard plate is useful or not", and I just happened to be busy with other things at hand and did not participate. But I always feel that I should take the time to do a popular science, and explain clearly the "whether the engine guard plate is useful or not" thoroughly! For it seems to me that most of the world's problems are no longer problems as long as they have been dissected from the basic principles.
First of all, today's bmw, Mercedes-Benz, Audi's new cars, factory has a guard plate, only the old model does not have. Since the original factory has it, it means that the shield is useful! Otherwise, what are people pretending to do? But what exactly is the shield used for, and there are few people who really understand it! Many people say that "the engine guard plate can effectively resist the damage caused by the foreign body of the car engine bumping into the road"! However, this statement is actually untenable!
Many riders believe that the skid plate can protect the engine
Riders who think that "the guard plate can protect the engine" usually says this: As an "infrastructure demon", China's road construction has never stopped. Driving out from time to time will pass through some construction sections. If the construction section is not cleaned and repaired in time, the road surface will often have bricks, stones, or potholes.
The car presses through these things at high speed, and if the sharp objects are not good, they will bump into the oil pan of the engine. If the oil pan is broken, the engine will be finished, and it can only be turned off and waiting for rescue, repairing the old money. - But in fact, this kind of worry is completely unfounded!
A truly bump-resistant skid plate
Limited to hardcore buggy modifications
Because the "hard goods" such as "hard goods" such as "frontal hard" stones and cement blocks can basically be "armored guard plates". This type of skid plate we can see on the "hardcore off-road vehicle". For example, Toyota FJ, Isuzu "Mother Night Fork", Beijing BJ40, Tank 300 and other models. In foreign countries, it is called ORV model, and domestic mistake is called "hardcore SUV".
The "armored shield" used in this type of ORV is a manganese steel plate with a thickness of more than 3 mm or an aluminum alloy plate with a thickness of more than 6.5 mm (the modification circle generally uses a 4 mm manganese steel plate, or an 8.5 mm aluminum alloy plate is the most common), which is really resistant to stones hitting the oil pan. The so-called "vigorous miracle", the thickness of the pile is called "armored guard plate"!
And the average sedan, and urban SUVs, will not go off-road at all. Therefore, their shield does not exist for protection at all! (You can't fit a professional "armored skid" on a sedan or SUV, right?) So what are the skid plates that cars and SUVs, especially those that are now available in mid- and high-end car OEMs?
The real role of urban car skid plates:
Directs air flow and resists muddy water
Correct answer: It is actually used to "rectify the airflow". Because there is no skid plate, the chassis of the car is potholed, protruding here and recessing a piece there. When the car is driving at high speed, if the air current blows through the chassis, the resistance will be very large, which is not good for wind noise and fuel consumption.
So find a way to use the board to "flatten" the chassis, so that the air flow is blown very evenly, the noise is small, and the resistance is small. It's a good idea to save gas at high speeds, but also to improve silence and comfort! In addition, with the skid plate, the muddy water will not be thrown into the engine compartment by the wheels on rainy days, and it will be thrown everywhere, and when the hood is opened, the thief is disgusting... With the skid plate, the engine compartment will be much cleaner, a lot cleaner.
So at this point, I think everyone should understand: for cars/home SUVs, the shield they need is not "armored shield". Therefore, the demand for material is different from that of "armored guard plate": the material of the guard plate of the family car is actually soft and better! Because the stones or something hit it, it will not clang! Softer skids will be quieter!
Does the skid plate affect engine heat dissipation?
Don't worry! Take a look at the "Middle Channel"
Finally, I will answer another question from many riders: whether the skid plate will affect the heat dissipation of the engine. It's actually too easy to answer this question! After installing the guard plate, the engine water temperature meter alarm is not? Is there a phenomenon of high water temperature? If not, what are you worried about?
Hey! I'll help you "straighten out" the path of engine compartment heat dissipation, and you will naturally understand. When the car is driving, cold air enters the engine compartment and needs to be discharged after being heated. So where does the hot air come from? There are usually two ways: if the car does not have a lower guard plate, then the hot air will be discharged from all directions; if the lower guard plate is installed, then the hot air emission channel is the "central channel" of the car.
The "central passage" contains the exhaust pipe or drive shaft (the drive shaft of the rear-drive and four-wheel drive vehicles is hidden in the "central channel"). So usually there will be a "protruding drum bag" in the center of the floor of the car. This "drum bag" is the "central passage". If we look from the front of the car, the opening of the "central passage" is actually very large.
It is recommended to install the skid plate in time for new cars
The significance of the old car mounting guard plate is no longer significant
If the car is fitted with a lower skid plate, then the hot air in the engine compartment can be discharged from the huge opening in the "central passage". Therefore, some riders are worried that "after installing the skid plate, the hot air in the engine compartment will not be blocked inside" the worry does not exist.
Since the lower skid plate is useful, shouldn't we have a piece for our car? I think the key depends on how old your car is. If it is a new car, it is still necessary to have a guard plate. If it is an old car, the engine compartment itself is already very dirty, what is the cost of money? The reason is the same as the chassis anti-rust armor, it is recommended to do when the new car is proposed, and the old car is not too necessary to do it again!