Your car may look shiny on the surface, but what you can’t see is where car companies have saved a lot of money.

In my country's automobile industry, the word "reduce configuration" is a frequently mentioned topic. Many brand models will be treated differently when they come to China. Some configurations are reduced to reduce costs, so "reduce configuration" It’s a topic worth breaking the news about. Do you still remember that the new Passat gave you that "sour and refreshing" feeling in the crash test of China Insurance Research Institute, and the video impact will make you feel "extremely comfortable". However, in the crash test of the American version of Passat, the picture lacked "aesthetics" and the A-pillar was not broken. What else is it called a crash test? Obviously this is a joke. But please imagine a new Passat speeding along the highway in your life, bang! Life is flying by... So today we are going to talk about those "underweight" problems that are bright and bright on the outside, but are extremely dark where you can't see them.

Unexpected Firewall

Many car owners may not know much about firewalls, because in daily driving and use, there is very little information about firewalls. Rhetoric?. So this gives some businesses an opportunity to take advantage of it. The firewall is the middle partition between the engine compartment and the cab. Normally, this partition should be equipped with a honeycomb-shaped aluminum alloy heat insulation and heat dissipation board. You can open your engine compartment cover when you look back and look under the front windshield. Check to see if there is an aluminum alloy heat sink, or is it just a black plastic baffle that blocks the world.

Have you ever opened the hood when choosing a car?

The firewall mentioned above, the editor would like to ask everyone, during the process of choosing a car and looking at the car, have you ever opened it? Is the engine compartment covered? Or even if you open the engine hood, what are you observing? Yes most of the answers would be the engine. But what the editor wants to say is that when you observe the layout of the engine and engine compartment, you should also take a good look at the engine compartment cover that is opened upward to see if there is insulation cotton inside the engine compartment cover. What? What cotton? That's right, it's thermal insulation cotton. Many models of vehicles sold abroad come with thermal insulation cotton as standard, but when it comes to China, haha! Sorry, no!

This layer of insulation cotton actually plays a very important role. Although it is called insulation cotton, it can also suppress the noise in the engine compartment. In addition, the most important thing is the heat insulation effect. The working temperature of the engine compartment is relatively high. If things go on like this, especially when you are driving long distances, it is conceivable that the temperature of your engine compartment will be relatively high. Without this layer of insulation cotton, The paint on your engine bonnet must be in trouble, especially for vehicles with white paint. The yellowing of the bonnet should be considered an "assist".

How to make "articles" on the chassis that you can't see

When buying a car, you basically don't care about the specific conditions of the vehicle's chassis. At most, you know about the front and rear suspension. Structural form, but there is still a lot that can be done on the chassis. For example, many models do not have baffles for various chassis pipes. Many of the honeycomb aluminum alloy heat insulation and heat dissipation plates between the exhaust pipe and the car bottom are replaced by ordinary aluminum baffles. The chassis of the vehicle should have a layer of chassis armor before it leaves the factory, but many models do not have it at all. Domestic consumers attach great importance to independent suspension of the rear axle, but where are the anti-roll bars of many multi-link independent suspensions? That's why the Elk Test can only be placed on models that are not recommended for purchase. Therefore, the editor suggests that when choosing a car, go to the maintenance workshop of the 4S store and take a look. Among the lifted vehicles, there is the model you want to buy. You can go under the car and take a good look at the chassis. Maybe it can be given to you. some help.

The black-hearted soundproofing cotton that makes you sick

At the beginning of 2019, more than a hundred Audi car owners jointly complained about the use of "black-hearted soundproofing cotton" in Audi vehicles. I believe you still Have an impression. The sound insulation material under the chassis of the vehicle involved was asphalt, which was excessive. There are also some models that are relatively better. On the surface, the sound insulation material under the carpet is nothing special, but when you get closer and smell it, the smell is quite "sour".

There are also many models that omit sound insulation materials in the roof and A, B, and C pillars. Then think about it, you are driving such a vehicle with extremely reduced sound insulation. How does it feel to your ears as you speed down the road? What reaches your ears is not the exhaust sound, but various "wave" sounds.

Summary: In addition to the above-mentioned reductions, the commonplace issues such as the aluminum alloy of the engine compartment cover being changed to ordinary steel and the absence of rear anti-collision steel beams will not be discussed here. So after talking so much, the most fundamental reason is not to say which brands or models are bad, but more to express that it can give you some help in the process of choosing a car. In the process of choosing a car, in addition to a series of visible and tangible things such as appearance, interior design, powertrain, and safety equipment, you should also check whether the "hidden secrets" are real. Something fishy.

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This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.