Do body side moldings really work?

No they don't work any more with the SUVs and trucks, they hit you right above the moldings.

 

They'll provide protection against what I would estimate to be less than half of potential dings. (If you want to protect against more potential dings, you'll have to have moldings that are wider and protrude further out).

But to me, protection against less than half of dings is good enough because I also like the way they look.

 

Some moldings there to protect is always better than barebone nothing.

 

I've had them on my 2008 for 8 months and have had two dings, one on each side.
Without them the doors would have received the ding. A little touch up paint and they look like new. Will they prevent all dings, no, but some is better than non.

 

I've got to state it ... and no offense to those who have the side moldings ..... but I'd rather have a ding than those moldings. They just seem to break up the lines of the auto to my eye.

... Brad

 

In terms of looks, I think they're about equal to the car without them. Not better, not worse, just different.

But I know and appreciate what bac means about breaking up the lines of the car.

However, some people want the lines of the car broken up or put another way, want the car's slab sides look mitigated.

Rokeby and I (and others) have the view that you can have both: Use the side moldings to mitigate against the slab sides look and still have the moldings blend in smoothly with the lines of the car. We think this can be done by increasing the front-to-back, end-to-end height differential of the moldings (as measured from the bottom of the doors) to 1 inch instead of the 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch recommended at various times by the manufacturer. With the 1 inch differential, it seems to blend in better with the angled rake of the top of the doors and the seemingly level line of the bottom of the doors.

 

I've gotten a turqoise, red, and brown scuff on my moldings since installing them in 06. No door dings yet.
So yeah, they work.