On Wed, 28 Feb 2024 11:24:43 +1100, Noddy <me@home.com> wrote:

>On 28/02/2024 4:02 am, Paul wrote:
>> On 2/27/2024 4:26 AM, Daryl wrote:
>
>> Cars are designed for global markets. If you are Tata, you don't
>> design a car and only test it in Mumbai. Say the boss says "let's sell
>> this car in Canada". If you are the responsible engineer, you can't
>> say to the boss "but, but, it will need to be tested in Finland
>> for cold start, and that will mean a one year wait for test completion".
>>
>> Instead, you have to do your best, to design cars that work anywhere,
>> by testing them in extreme conditions. As a Mumbai car driver, you can
>> take comfort that your car starts in Finland.
>
>If only that were true. It was once, but not these days :)
>
>Like any other consumer product today, cars are designed to a price
>point and most of today's testing is simulated. The problem with that is
>that simulations will only ever pick up faults that the creators of the
>testing program have anticipated as being possible, which explains why
>we see cars today fail within a short time with ridiculous issues that
>would have been picked up in any kind of real world testing like that
>which was carried out years ago.
>
>In today's world it's all about money. Manufacturers want the fastest
>return they can get on their R&D dollar, so they simulate the bulk of
>their testing and get the car onto the market as quickly as possible so
>they can start earning sales revenue. In doing so they use the initial
>buyers as beta testers, and as faults present themselves they
>incorporate the fixes into the subsequent updated models.
>
>> The body work on cars, doesn't rust like it once did.
>
>I assure you that steel bodywork used on cars today will rust just as
>quickly as it did in years gone by *if* it's exposed to the same levels
>of moisture that older cars were.

Not like in the eighties!!! Metalurgy is a lot better (better methods
of recycling steel) and elrctro etch dip primers along with selective
zinc coating and better seam sealing has made a HUGE difference.A six
year old car was commonly rusted through in numerous places - now 12
year old cars here are still often basically rust free. Uni-body
consstruction eliminated reusted out frame rails but you still see
k-members and suspension arms rusting out - along with fuel lines and
brake lines.
Repaints used to be common on cars less than 10 years old - most cars
today end up in the scrapyard 15 years old or more with original paint
unless they have had colission damage.
When prople say they don't make them like they used to I say "THANK
GOD!!!!"
>
>Apart from using thinner materials, there has been no major change in
>sheet metal processes in the last 50 years as far as car bodies are
>concerned. Where change *has* occurred is in the area of weather
>protection. Cars today are very well sealed against road grime and
>moisture compared to years ago with all kinds of inner splash shields,
>seals, deflectors, under body trays, you name it. All of it designed to
>keep mud, water, grime or what have you from finding it's way into nooks
>and crannies where it can sit and eat away at the metal and create a
>hole where one isn't supposed to be.
>
>> The frame and underneath of a car, that's another matter entirely.
>
>The overwhelming majority of cars built in the last 5 decades don't have
>a "frame". They are Unibody construction, with the entire body made of
>sheet metal.
>
>> You can replace all the suspension components on a car, during it life.
>> The coil springs can crack and need replacement (I had a cracked one).
>> McPherson struts used to pop through, during a car life, but today,
>> as you're taking the car to the junk yard, the cap on the strut is
>> just starting to rust.
>
>Not sure what you're on about here....
>
>> The bottom of a car, can be treated with undercoat. But, the treatment
>> types should be consistent. If you use a wax treatment, if the company
>> goes out of business, you need to find another company that uses wax
>> coats during touchups. This is why in some cases, you're just as well
>> off with oil spray treatments once or twice a year. There are more places
>> that will do oil.
>
>Car bodies are corrosion dipped at the factory during their manufacture.
>
>> An oil spray starts with a cleaning, followed by the oil. And it's a selective
>> treatment, as you can't spray it on some things without damaging them.
>>
>> And that should be enough. No need for gizmos or snake oil.
>
>Sounds like you're talking about after market processes here, and if you
>are then don't waste your money on oils or waxes as they're not very
>effective. If you're in an environment where you need to use a third
>party under body coating, then the very best product you can ever use is
>body deadener, which in parts of the world is known as "body shultz".
>
>It's a bitumen based rubberised coating that is *extremely* durable. It
>only ever needs to be applied once, it is ridiculously effective and if
>done correctly it will outlive the car.
>
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