Automotive Side Skirts: What Are They and What Do They Do?

If you have ever seen an automotive side skirt and wondered “What are they?” and “What do they do?” you are not alone. These extra few inches on a car may not seem to serve a purpose, but they can affect a car’s performance greatly. They also add visual appeal to the vehicle.

Automotive side skirts

To give a brief description, an automotive side skirt is an add-on to the bottom of a vehicle. It effectively extends the car’s frame to be closer to the ground. They can be made from various materials, such as rubber or metal. Front splitters are quite similar to these bumper lip side skirts in both form and function. Each provides protection and physical appeal to the car. Now, there are multiple types of side skirts as well. Full side skirts provide some benefits to the car’s look and aesthetic, but they become a permanent feature. However, there are adhesive flexible side skirts that offer a good amount of protection. At the same time, these side skirts can fit onto any vehicle and improve their looks.

The benefits of a side skirt

The exact benefit of a side skirt comes down to the kind of skirt you get. A full-length side skirt will improve not just the look of your vehicle but provide a good amount of drag resistance. Normally, the wind is able to slip underneath a vehicle as it moves at high speeds. This wind slows down the vehicle and can alter handling. The side skirt is able to reduce the amount of wind that flows underneath a vehicle. A smaller skirt still provides some help with drag but to a lesser extent. A smaller skirt does provide great protection to a vehicle’s paint. The smaller size means that it will not impact the vehicle’s ability to off-road by leaving plenty of clearance under the frame.

Now that you know what automobile side skirts are and what they do, you can make some decisions on whether you want one for your vehicle. Trying out a temporary adhesive side skirt is a great place to start.