Dash mats.

[creative]

Having lived in the uk for 22 years when we came back two things i noticed.... Houses have a laundry room and cars have dash mats!

What do the mats do? I just see them as a place to collect dust and dirt!

Serious question...... No really it is!

[mik]

it`s not uncommon to get a run of low/mid 40+ celcius days here in many parts of oz, the dash mat gives some protection to your dashboard .
even though where having a mild spell in parts of the country for the past year or two.

[Ford_The_Win]

Stops glare from the sun on your face/eyes (especially a problem in the B-series with that shiny plastic) and protects the dash from the harsh sun.

[jaydee]

Originally Posted by creative

Having lived in the uk for 22 years when we came back two things i noticed.... Houses have a laundry room and cars have dash mats!

What do the mats do? I just see them as a place to collect dust and dirt!

Serious question...... No really it is!

Glad you didn't want to know more about the laundry, would have meant I had to talk to my wife and ask her about it.
As for the dash mats, as said, to stop the glare and protect the dash, they become brittle and crack eventually.

[Dusty1]

They are a personal preference. Me, I don't like them. Last car I had that had a cracked dash was my 69 HT Kingswood.

I'm probably going to get flamed here, but when I worked in the plastics industry, I spoke to component makers and they told me that dashboards have UV inhibitors in them these days, so they are less likely to crack due to sun damage.

I had a BA Futura that did 175k in four years, it was always parked in the sun, and the dash didn't crack. But that's my experience.

[kempy311]

I have a dash mat on mine and hate it but because it sits in the sun all day I consider it a necessity.

[creative]

Ahh right. Makes sense.

They are still fugly!

[Mr Hardware]

you might think so creative, but i find that dash mats make a car far more comfortable

no dash mat = fleet animal, dash mat = personal car.

[creative]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

you might think so creative, but i find that dash mats make a car far more comfortable

no dash mat = fleet animal, dash mat = personal car.

The beauty of opinions. Just because i dont have a mat its a fleet animal? How does it make it comfortable? You cant sit in/on it...

How random.

Personally i dont like anything sat on my dash so I guess its one of those marmite things!

[Mr Hardware]

/edit: nevermind.

[poppa smurf]

I have a dash mat......buggered if I know why.....grew up in the days of cracked dashes and probably dont want another one.....but I have weather shields as well and looking for sunshades and stone protectors...also got mudflaps too or "spats" as the trade describes them

"grandpa spec" describes me very well

wash houses being separate well it's always been that way......dont want them daggy knickers in the kitchen!

[xisled]

I have been told with the dash mat it stops the front window from fogging up.

not to sure how true this is as I have never had a dash mat.

[strobe]

Extra weight. Might impact my 0-100.

[NX74205]

I don't have a dash mat in my car. I hate them. If my car sits in the sun (rarely) I'll put the reflective windscreen sun shade up.

My last two cars had dash mats because the dash was already cracked when I bought them. I find that early E-series Falcons were quite prone to cracking dashboards, but I don't recall seeing any EF/ELs or AUs and later with cracked dashboards, so I guess the manufacturing has improved in that regard.

[In Focus]

Originally Posted by creative

The beauty of opinions. Just because i dont have a mat its a fleet animal? How does it make it comfortable? You cant sit in/on it...

How random.

Personally i dont like anything sat on my dash so I guess its one of those marmite things!

Maybe they're good for hiding the hard plastics on dashes, which automotive journalists think are a sign of low quality.

[GCRXR6]

Originally Posted by xisled

I have been told with the dash mat it stops the front window from fogging up.

not to sure how true this is as I have never had a dash mat.

Haven't had fogged windows since I was a teenager ..... can't remember how long ago that was now...

[NickyN]

I've seen personalized dash mats.... like some symbol or their nickname or something in the corner? Would make it more "you" than the generic ones that are fitted to your dash.

I've seen some dash mats that have been in the hot sun for so long that it's faded and pretty ugly but owner still loves it! I'd have ordered a new one or taken it off. And no I don't have a dash mat, no cracks in mine either that I would need to hide.

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by Dusty1

... Me, I don't like them. ...

I'm probably going to get flamed here, but when I worked in the plastics industry, I spoke to component makers and they told me that dashboards have UV inhibitors in them these days, so they are less likely to crack due to sun damage. ...

I don't like them either, fly off under hard acceleration or turning, block the vents to the windscreen.

modern dashboards may have uv inhibitors, but you still see it is a problem. you see it on 5-10yo cars have cracks in the dashboard.

[SSD-85]

I actually love dash mats. My car isnt complete until ive put one in.

Yeah im weird.

[Fiesta God]

Many modern cars (like the Fiesta) have a very raked windscreen and thick A-pillars for safety reasons.

This increases the amount of heat and sun that enters the car.

I have found that the cabin temperature in my Fiesta is reduced when driving in the sun with a dash-mat, rather than with no dash mat. The mat seems to reflect more of the heat and the plastic dash underneath stays cooler, rather than heating up.

I used to hate dash mats but in summer in Australia I find them necessary to combat the heat (at least in my car) ... that's German air-conditioning for you.

[creative]

General concensious is for the heat then....

Everyday is a school day...



Now about the laundry...?

[castellan]

If you use ya car for work and it's in the hot sun all day the mat reduces the heat in the car a lot as the dash is like a cat converter pumping out the heat.
And if ya do hard manual work and have to jump in ya car to get stuff day in day out, boy do ya get angry jumping in a steaming hot car.

ya aircon does not have to work as hard when driving.

And if anyone bags ya for it, i would just punch them straight in the mouth. as i don't give jack of what fools may think.

[in_xcess]

Still boggles my mind that the poms put their washing machine in the kitchen, have sunroofs on cars (my guess is it gives a clearer view of the rain) and that they put kidney in pie!

Dash mats are the automotive equivalent of zinc cream on a nose... no sunburn and therefore no cracking.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by in_xcess

Still boggles my mind that the poms put their washing machine in the kitchen, have sunroofs on cars (my guess is it gives a clearer view of the rain) and that they put kidney in pie!

Dash mats are the automotive equivalent of zinc cream on a nose... no sunburn and therefore no cracking.

You can add carpet in the bathroom to that list....

I stayed in 4 houses different houses during my visits to London and 3 had carpet on the bathroom floor.......

Step out of the shower and your thinking... where is the best place to step.....

Wouldn't use a mat in my car. The one in dads XF always moved, and the stichind opened up near the vents... didn't like the look.

[AU Mont]

dash mats, about as ugly dodgy looking as a SCA steering wheel cover, and only useful for protecting fragile dashes made 30 years ago

[The Yeti]

The main reason for them is extreamly important

With out them & tacky looking streach seat covers can you imagin what the P&L at super cheap auto would look like?

The dodgy accessory market took a huge hit in the 90's after the death of the beaded seat over and vinal steering wheel covers so these shonky bits of carpet off cuts were a much needed injection in the markets quality auto accessory economy

I havent seen a cracked dash since E series falcons and even that wasn't common.

I recon they look crap and even if they were protecting the dash I think I would rather replace the cracked dash pad than look at a carpet mat

[2011G6E]

"LESS" likely to be affected...but still affected, as they're only plastic and absorb a tremendous amount of heat. I would even be willing to bet that anywhere in the warmer areas of Australia (ie: nearly everywhere...) that the heat would do more damage to the plastic than the UV rays.
It can't do any plastic good to be baked by maybe fifty degree-plus heat for hours on end.

Our G6E came with a dash mat fitted, and the first thing I did with my virtually factory-fresh one-owner '82 Celica (which had been garaged and driven little all it's life) was to buy a good quality dash mat. Having a black interior doesn't help with the Celica either...

They're cheap enough to replace every few years as well, and look tidy if you take care of them as well as the rest of the interior.

Rather replace the "dash pad" than have one fitted...? Have a look at any Falcon made in the last few years and consider just how big an undertaking doing that would be...If the Ford dealer in Rocky was open today I'd ring him up and ask for a quote on doing that job...and I'd make sure I was sitting down first when he told me the price...

[In Focus]

Anyone old enough to remember the (Aunger?) louvres we had to have in the 70's and 80's? I had one on my XB hardtop, and those other must haves: bumper overriders and the little "fins" on the wipers.

[poppa smurf]

aunger has only just shut down in the last few years apparently......I for one severely miss them, I have had aunger rear louvres on almost every vehicle I have owned

only found out that this long serving company had closed when I went to get a louvre for the Ford

[b0son]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

"LESS" likely to be affected...but still affected, as they're only plastic and absorb a tremendous amount of heat. I would even be willing to bet that anywhere in the warmer areas of Australia (ie: nearly everywhere...) that the heat would do more damage to the plastic than the UV rays.

And yet my VW GTI which unlike a falcadore was not 'designed for local conditions', was parked in the sun for 5 years, and still looked/felt as good as the day i bought it.

I suspect the need for a dash mat is probably more a reflection of the crappy plastics that are used in Aus cars.