sunshade that fits?

[pasadena_commut]

Which model sunshade fits a P5 well?

I spent 20 minutes in Kragen's today trying to figure out from the backs of the boxes which of the n-zillion sunshades would fit a P5. In the end I bought an "Axius Jumbo Blockade" (27" x 67") but wasn't at all happy with the fit on the car. It was kind of flimsy/floppy and so sagged a lot in the middle. Give it a few months of use and it will probably just sag right out from behind the sun visors. The standard (ie, not Jumbo) version was only 23" tall and that seemed like it would be too short. If need be I can cut this to fit better, and stiffen it up with some plastic or something, but I'd rather just buy one that doesn't need surgery to fit.

 

[Lord_Zath]

there's supposedly one that's made directly for proteges - www.mazdastuff.com has it I believe.

When getting a sunshade, some things to think about.

NO cardboard. Go w/something w/a reflective surface and nice material outlining it. Cardboard can mess with the dash material.

Mine is a little too wide and not tall enough (typical since our windshields are rather long). But it cuts out the majority of the sun and it's definitely worth the $15 I paid for it at Wal-Mart.

 

[toucci]

I just bought the large one at pepboys. Our cars have very large windshields and we will need the large ones which are also used for trucks and suvs

 

[Bala]

This one's pricey ($50) - but it's a perfect fit. I've got one for each car: http://www.autosportcatalog.com/index.cfm?fa=p&pid=277

*edit: you're gonna want the storage bag as well

 

[TheMAN]

**** that, for 50 bucks, I rather buy the mazda one that's a PERFECT fit and it says "mazda" on the center of it

 

[xvdarkyvx]

I'm thinking about the one from mazdastuff.com... anyone know what the material is made out of and can anyone recommend it who has it?

 

[TheMAN]

it's padded vinyl with the HIGH reflective foil s*** on one side.... it is not a fold up type, it rolls up for storage and has a velcro strap... I have it and I love it... fits PERFECTLY, the downside is it's a bit bulky to store

 

[toucci]

foil is peeling on my generic one. might spring for the mazdastuff one. It's on sale for ($40-$10)=$30! Not too bad at all

 

[pasadena_commut]

In the spirit of DIY, here is the Mark I sunshade, which only stays in place when held up with masking tape. Basically it's just a paper template showing roughly the shape of the inside of the windshield. Stay tuned for Mark II and Mark III.

 

[pasadena_commut]

Here is the Mark II, made of the biggest cardboard box I could find, which unfortunately wasn't quite big enough. It tends to hang up on the vent that runs laterally across the front top of the dash, so to install it one must push a bit on the bottom to get it out of that groove. Other than that, and being a few inches too short, and of course, ugly as hell, it fits pretty well. To make the creases for the fold I bent it at 8" increments across a straight board and then smashed the edges by stepping on the cardboard with the heel of my foot. There is no picture but it folds up to about 1.5-2" thick. It insulates well but stinks a bit when hot, both are probably a function of the cardboard I used. Also the cardboard should have been white but at the time I couldn't find a white box that size.

 

[pasadena_commut]

Here is the Mark III, made of several feet of 48" reflectix, which was purchased from Orchard Supply Hardware. Home Depot also sells it. The fit is great but right now I just keep it in a loose roll, so it takes up a lot of space. It might fold if I puncture the bubbles along the crease. Unfortunately it gets fairly hot on the inside, so apparently it doesn't insulate as well as reflectix advertises. There are no pictures of it in the sun because the reflection is just blinding. Note the little divot that goes above the rear view mirror (second attachment). Right now it fits by just being jammed in there. Unclear how long that will continue to work like that.

The creases in the material were present before I started work on it - the reflectix on the exposed end of the roll tends to take a beating in the hardware store.

 

[pasadena_commut]

One last picture of the Mark III showing the fit against the left pillar. Since the material is both fairly stiff and a little flexible it can be tucked in behind the pillars and it stays there. The 5' x 48" piece of reflectix cost around $10. It was the only thing that was purchased for this project.

Ideally there would be a Mark IV made of some material that insulates a bit better than reflectix but is just as stiff.

 

[aMaff]

Damn dude, how long did that take? Get a little borned on the 4th? Nice work tho.

Wow, that's kinda funny I like your "DIY Spirit." When do you start selling them?

 

[pasadena_commut]

Damn dude, how long did that take? Get a little borned on the 4th? Nice work tho.

Wow, that's kinda funny I like your "DIY Spirit." When do you start selling them?

Mark I took about an hour, the hard part with that was that the paper kept falling off the window and had to be held on with a lot of little loops of masking tape. I tried to trace the outside of the glass first but those dimensions didn't quite match the inside.

Mark II took about two hours, including tracing Mark I onto the cardboard, folding the carboard, and trimming it so that it would install. The cardboard was a pain to work with because it was so stiff it was hard to get it into a shape that would fit. It isn't easy to see but the sides are slightly concave where the window is straight because otherwise it wasn't possible to fit it in in front of the pillars as the "fan" expanded.

Mark III was really fast, about 30 minutes, just cut the reflectix to match Mark I and then trim the hole for the rear view mirror. Ok, to be fair, add 15 minutes more for buying the material from the hardware store. The combination of stiffness and flexibility is just about perfect for a sunshade so it's really easy to install and doesn't sag like the Axius Jumbo did.

I won't be selling them. Google around, there are already companies that sell reflectix sunshades, for instance:

http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/refrolcusfit.html

I was really surprised by the amount of heat the reflectix passes. Sure, it stops all the UV but for something sold as an insulator it sure passes a lot of heat. Reflectix's web site hints that this could happen here:

http://www.reflectixinc.com/technology/rvalue.asp

It's also possible that because the top surface of a car sunshade gets so hot that the "negligible" convection effects become rather more "significant". As opposed to when this material is tacked up on the inside of a roof, which is one of the original intended uses.

 

[Lord_Zath]

I got a mazdastuff shade and am really glad I got it. Fit is perfect; the only drawback is that it says "mazda" on the front instead of "Protege5"

 

[Robot Romeo]

I have a Magic Shade by Axius. Its two circles of reflective material sewn together (not like the two seperate squares). And it folds up into a 1/8 of the original size and fits on the side pocket on the door. I got it at a hardware store for $10.