It may be easy to forget about your car’s floors. This area is less prominent than the parts of your vehicle that are easily seen by others. Yet, keeping your car’s floors clean is crucial to your car’s overall look and health. There are ways to protect your car’s floors from dirt and grime.
Whether your car has seen many miles or is new, you don’t have to settle for a dirty interior. Below, we’ll go over the option of floor mats and liners to help you decide which floor protection option to choose for your vehicle.
Why Vehicle Floor Protection Matters
At the outset, vehicle floor protection may not seem like a huge deal. But there are aesthetic and mechanical reasons for ensuring your car’s floors can avoid wear and tear. First, installing a floor mat or floor liner over the top of your car’s floors allows you to keep them clean and attractive.
Not only does it keep your car looking nice, but it prevents you from having to spend a considerable amount of time vacuuming and washing your vehicle’s floors. Keeping your car’s floors clean can also be helpful if you ever want to sell your vehicle, as an attractive interior will also help you attain a good resale value.
Second, dirt isn’t the only thing that can collect on your car’s floors. They are also susceptible to collecting moisture. Your car’s carpet can absorb that wet mud or rainwater that collects on shoes. From there, the water can make its way into the interior parts of your car, causing damage. Therefore, making floor protection a priority can prevent these issues from happening.
Benefits of Floor Mats
Floor mats do offer some protection from dirt and grime. They will keep a large part of your floor from getting wet or dirty. One of the most significant benefits of floor mats is how easy they are to get and their affordability.
Typically floor mats are the cheaper option when compared to floor liners. Depending on the type of brand you’re considering, you can find floor mats in the 4 Wheel Parts inventory for around $30.
Also, floor mats are usually included in your car when you purchase them, so these floor protection supplies are easy to get. Additionally, most floor mats are pre-made, so you can easily order them online and receive them fairly quickly. They are also easy to remove and clean off.
While floor mats offer some customization and sizing options, floor liners offer more fitted customization. A floor mat might be the best choice if you’re looking for an affordable option and a quick solution for protecting your car from dirt, grime, and moisture.
Benefits of Floor Liners
Floor liners are typically made to be customized to the fit of your vehicle’s floor. Because they are fitted for your vehicle’s floor, the fit will likely be tighter, effectively sealing your car’s floor. A custom-fitted floor liner will prevent moisture, dirt, and debris from spilling onto your vehicle’s floor. Another benefit to floor liners is the channels on the upper surface. These ridges can redirect water from your car floor.
Floor liners are built to be rugged and stable. This feature means they will likely stay in the same position because many have raised spikes or nibs on the bottom. So, you get the benefit of having a mat that doesn’t move when in use but can be pulled up for cleaning when needed.
Lastly, many floor liners have high trays, which ensure that debris and moisture don’t make their way under the mat and onto your car’s floor.
Determining Floor Mat and Liner Fitment
When deciding between floor mats and liners, much of the decision will come down to whether you prefer a universal or custom fit. Typically with floor mats, you will be getting the former. Many floor mats come in general sizes that you can measure against your vehicle to see if you can get close to your car’s fit.
However, while you might get close to your car floor’s sizing specifications, limitations will remain. If you get a floor mat that is larger than an area, you could manually trim it. This wouldn’t be possible with a smaller fit.
If you’re considering going with a floor mat, take measurements of your car’s floor area. You’ll want to make sure you’re measuring the following areas:
- The front seats –
- Make sure you push your front seats back as far as they can go and measure from the seat to the front of the seating area.
- Measure from the left (or right) most part of the floor area to the door.
- The back seats –
- You’ll want to push the seats forward as far as they go. Then, measure from the back of the front seat of the seating area to the back seat.
- Measure from the left (or right) most part of the floor area to the door.
You may also want to add a few inches on all sides to allow for some extra space in case of inaccurate measurements. You can trim the mat if you have more mat space than you need.
For floor liners, the measurement should be more accurate. Typically a company will custom-make your liners by scanning your vehicle’s floors to align perfectly with the length and width of your floor area. This tactic ensures that the entirety of your floor area space is covered. Floor liners will likely be more expensive than mats, but you’ll get more protection, and much of the measuring work is done for you.
Allow us to Help You Find the Best Floor Protection Product for You
Whether you choose floor mats or floor liners, it’s crucial that you make a plan to protect your floor for aesthetic and mechanical reasons. If you’re looking for a dependable floor protection product, check out the 4 Wheel Parts inventory.
We’ve got some leading floor mat and liner brands like Bestop, WeatherTech, Husky, and Rugged Ridge. We’re also happy to say that our products range in various price points to fit your budget. Find your next floor mat or floor liner in our inventory today.
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