Sun Shade Buyer's Guide

Touching your steering wheel can be difficult after your car has been left under the scorching heat of the sun. The same goes for sitting inside your vehicle. This is where the sun shade comes in handy. It reflects the rays of the sun so that they wouldn't come in direct contact with your car's interior. This makes jumping into the vehicle and driving more comfortable.

What is a sun shade?

Sun shades are protective shields that are mounted to the windshield or side window of your vehicle. Most sun shields are made from aluminum but some are made of reflective polyester, and nylon. Generally, the windshield sun shade and the side window sun shade can only be used when parked. However, there are some states that allow the use of the latter while the vehicle is running. To be safe, consult with your local laws before use and installation.

Types of Car Sun Shades

Car sun shades are typically classified according to how they fit and are stored. Here are the most common types:

Custom-fit, collapsible

This type of sun shade is tailored to your vehicle's specific make, model, and year for a seamless fit over your entire side window or windshield. Due to its collapsible nature, it is portable and easy to store.

Universal-fit, collapsible

As its name implies, this type of sun shade can be used on a wide range of vehicles. However, it will not be able to fit as snugly which means some areas will be exposed and unprotected from the sun. They come out cheaper than their custom-fit counterparts.

Accordion

This type of sun shade opens and closes the way an accordion does. Due to its structure, it has the ability to stay put on the windshield better. The downside is that it is not that compact when folded and can take up more room in storage.

Reasons to Use Car Sun Shades

Although it may seem like a mere accessory, there are a lot of benefits to using a car sun shade. Aside from assuring a cool and comfortable drive even after leaving your car out under the sun, it also has a ton of other benefits that will help extend the life of your vehicle. Here are some of them:

Regulates the temperature of your vehicle's interior

As mentioned earlier, the sun shade keeps the sun out of your interior or at least allows less heat inside. This allows the steering wheel, seats, and seat belts to be cooler by up to 40 degrees. Some shades are made up of materials that double as insulators during cooler weather.

Keeps your kids protected

Children have naturally sensitive skin. If you travel with kids often, sun shades protect their delicate skin from the discomfort and damage brought about by the sun's heat. Sun shades also protect their eyes from the glare of the sun.

Provides protection against UV rays

Some car windshield sun shades have built-in UV protection. This provides you with more extensive protection from the sun and can even help prevent the formation of skin cancer in the long run.

Keeps your electronics in good condition

Excessive sunlight is not only uncomfortable for the passengers, but it can also damage the electronics installed in your vehicle. The car windshield sun shade prevents this from happening so you can get more use out of your DVD player, LCD TV, and any other electronics built into your vehicle.

Preserves the condition of your interiors

Extreme sunlight can cause the interiors to develop cracks and fade faster. Using a car sun shade protects your car's upholstery so that this doesn't happen.

Which side of the car sun shade faces out?

As a rule of thumb, it's always the reflective side that faces out. The same is true even if the one you have is printed on one side. This is to ensure that sunlight is bounced off the way it should.

Winter Weather Protection

But sunshine isn't the only thing that hits your windshield. If you live in a colder clime you have the joyless task of having to scrape it every time it snows before you can drive. This is a tedious job on a small car, but it is a real hassle to reach all the ice and snow on the windshield of today's tall trucks and SUVs. If you're tired of scraping your windshield in freezing temperatures, then one of our covers will come in useful. Each of the shields we carry is custom made for the specific application, so you get perfect fit and complete coverage, which results in a clear windshield and optimal visibility in stormy weather when you need it most.

Ease of Use & Storage

These shades are easy to install. When the forecast is for snow, just unroll your winter windshield cover until it lays flat. It is retained at the bottom by the wiper blades, and straps or flaps trapped between the A-pillars and doors secure the sides, to resist high winds and prevent theft. After a snowfall, just remove the shield – and all that snow and ice – from your windshield, roll it up for storage and you can be on your way. Like our sun shades, many snow covers come with a convenient storage bag. All of them are made tough to hold up under extreme winter weather conditions, ensuring you get many years of reliable service. They're non-absorbent and remain flexible even at low temperatures.