Hailstorm durability

There's a hailstorm inbound. Im not familiar with new Toyotas yet. How resilient are they in going unharmed during a bad hailstorm? Should I crap my pants now or should my babe be ok? I want the hood scoop hood anyways but I don't want it to look like a giant golf ball until then.

 

Really depends on the size of the hail and the force of the wind pushing it. Hate to say this, but the Tacoma isn't really made of any special materials so it's going to dent like any other car / truck with metal surfaces. I know that's not the best news to hear but it might be worth parking it under cover somewhere like a gas station or something until it blows over; hopefully it's a fast moving storm w/ small pea-sized hail.

Found this online; hopefully it helps out:

WHAT IS IT YOU WANT TO PROTECT?: The answer to the question will greatly determine the hail size that is considered severe. If it is a car, window, aircraft or crops that need protection, hail size smaller than 1" can still do damage especially in a wind blown situation. Since plants are very sensitive, even small hail below the severe threshold can do significant damage to them. If it is a sturdy building, small hail is unlikely to do much damage. The magnitude of damage tends to be much less with the small hail when it comes to buildings and structures. Once hail gets over one inch then the damage to cars, windows and roofs and structures goes up significantly. The force impact of hail goes up exponentially with hail size. For example, 1.5 inch hail will not just do twice as much damage as 0.75 inch hail, it can do many times more the damage.

 

Yep. Good info. Tacoma is actually a little softer than other brand vehicles.

 

If you have no place to park under cover, a few good moving blankets will prevent all but the biggest hail from damaging stuff. You may have tie down the corners with some string and milk jugs to keep wind from taking off with it though.

With that username, I am assuming you have some exp, lol.

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news... A Tacoma is going to get annihilated in a hail storm. It has happened to me twice, with both of my Tacomas. The latest storm only produced hail about the size of a quarter, it destroyed my 2014, but fortunately it did not break any glass.

Get some big area rugs/carpet rolls and throw them on your truck (fuzzy side down) before the storm. You will be better off, but no guarantees.

 

Back in the 90s when I was a kid, we got stuck in the middle of nowhere during a big hail storm. Huge hail was coming down and the sound of it hitting the car was really scary. My dad couldn't really do anything except keep driving slowly.

The Previa held up great and there was little to no damage. Other local cars took alot of damage.

But comparing a Japan built Previa van to a modern Mexican built Tacoma isn't quite apples to apples.

 

My ’16 Taco just went thru a vicious hail storm about a week ago that was accompanied by F1 tornadoes 2 miles out from me.
The hails were about 1”- 11/2” in size and I chit in my pants in horror, ran outside and drove it inside garage for cover.
The Taco stays outside 24/7 as the garage is for the Boss’s -13 4runner only and was not home at the time.
But I should say that by the time I realized what was happening, 3/4 of the storm had passed and the worst was over.
Moreover, I was so relieved when I had a chance to check it and found no evidence of any damage, I had to pull out a couple of dos xx and cheer my good fortune for the day.
I’ve heard white paint is the hardest of all paint, so maybe that had something to do with it??
IDK, But I do know I have no complaints nor have I ever had any, on Toyota paint quality.
On the contrary, I’m quite impressed at the thickness and quality compared to the many other vehicle brands I’ve owned, with only some of the Europeans matching or exceeding it, albeit at twice the MSRP.
However, If a hail storm should catch me on the road, I would ASAP pullover as I think two forces moving would potentially do more damming damage.
Stay safe, cheers!

 

I would expect the 2016 Tacoma to be much more hail damage resistant than previous generations. The use of hot stamped UHSS (ultra high strength steel) is very significant, and much more than typical BS marketing babble.

 

Apparently they did switch to "high strength" steel for the body panels to help reduce weight. Just paint a bullseye on the hood and leave it in the driveway and let us know how it holds up

 

Here is the result of an Oklahoma hail storm:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/8000-in-hail-damage-added-more-pictures.325485/

 

First, it isn't "high strength steel" it is "ultra high strength steel". And it isn't something Mike Swear and Toyota came up with, there has been a lot of development by the steel industry. The strength increase is largely influenced by the quenching step in the hot stamping process. The microstructure changes from an austenite to a martensite phase with little or no ferrite formation.

Wait, I need to explain this in words that you can understand...It gets real hot and when it is cooled real fast, it gets real strong, cos it's science and shit.

 

Knock it off boys.....

 

Good tip! lolo!

 

Can you break it down a little more for me? I don't quite understand the process. I don't own a 3rd gen. So my brain hasn't advanced as much as the average 3rd gen owner.