TORTURE TESTING 3D PRINTED CAR PART FILAMENT
If you've ever wanted to make your own 3D-printed car parts but worried they might fail, you're not alone. So we put a ton of filaments to the test to find out which is the best…
We put various filaments through the ultimate torture test—printing interior, exterior, and even engine bay parts—to find out which is the strongest for your next car project.
THE SETUP, BAMBU LAB X1C
To prevent warpage during 3d printing our car parts with higher end filaments, we used the Bambu X1C. It’s a fully enclosed 3D printer with hardened steel parts.
This setup allows us to print with tough materials like carbon and glass-reinforced fiber filaments as well.
The X1C makes setup simple, and you can even manage prints wirelessly from a mobile device.
But before printing, it’s also important to dry your filament to eliminate any moisture from the factory. We use a dedicated heated dryer, but the X1C also has a filament drying feature.
INTERIOR CAR PARTS…PETG vs ABS vs ABS-GF
PLA (Polylactic Acid) is a common filament, but it’s terrible for car parts. We previously printed a vent gauge in PLA, and after just a few hours in a sunlit car, it started to melt. So, we moved onto testing a few different filaments.
PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol-Modified): Our first test print was a door frame for a BMW E30 printed with Bambu Lab PETG HF. It’s easy to print, offers decent strength, and can handle temperatures up to 134°F. When we tested the door frame clips the PETG had some give.
ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene): The same door frame was also printed in ABS, but the door frame clips snapped pretty easy. ABS is much more heat-resistant at temps up to 134°F, but definitely more brittle than PETG.
ABS GF (ABS Glass Fiber): This variant includes glass fibers for increased strength and provides temperature resistance up to 210°F. The ABS-GF door frame held up much better, with the tabs being as strong as PETG.
✅ INTERIOR CAR PART FILAMENT WINNER: ABS GF
EXTERIOR CAR PARTS…PETG vs ABS vs ABS-GF vs ASA
For exterior durability, we printed a couple of trailer hitch covers for our F-150 in four different filaments and tested their strength after submersion in water for three hours.
STRENGTH TEST RESULTS
PETG: Cracked third under jack lifting load
ABS: Cracked first under jack lifting load
ABS GF: Cracked second under jack lifting load
ASA (Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate): Didn’t crack under jack lifting load
✅ EXTERIOR CAR PART FILAMENT WINNER: ASA
To make our hitch plate even more stylish, we used the X1C’s multi-color filament system to print it in black and white ASA filament.
ENGINE BAY PARTS:PETG vs ABS vs ABS GF vs ASA vs PC
For high-heat engine bay applications, we printed some custom hose clips to attach to the upper radiator hose, where temperatures can reach over 200°F
HEAT RESISTANCE TEST
PETG: Severe warpage
ABS: Severe warpage
ABS-GF: Minimal warpage
ASA: Minimal warpage
PC (Polycarbonate): No warpage
✅ ENGINE BAY FILAMENT WINNER: PC
FINAL VERDICT
While PC is the strongest overall, it’s also the most expensive at ~$40 per spool, compared to $20 for PETG/ABS and $30 for ASA. We recommend you choose your filament based on strength needs and budget. Here’s a comparison table:
| Filament | Strength | Heat Resistance | UV Resistance | Best Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLA | Low | Low (134°F) | Moderate | Not recommended for car parts |
| PETG | Medium | Medium (156°F) | Moderate | Interior and some exterior parts |
| ABS | Medium | High (188°F) | Poor | Interior parts, but brittle |
| ABS GF | High | High (210°F) | Poor | Stronger interior parts |
| ASA | High | High (212°F) | Excellent | Exterior parts |
| PC | Very High | Very High (242°F) | Good | Engine bay parts |
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