Clear bra or bust......

 

Full clear bra he wraped my whole hood the grill the splash areas by the wheel wells and the bumper the head lights no bubbles and he came to me for about 475$ but I'm in socal

 

Again, for all those who are interested in the magnetic hood bra, go to the website listed on my previews post. They said something about the hood bra being safe from theft as long as the hood is closed. This product doesn't just stick on the hood but they made it in a way that it will wrap underneath the hood which prevents someone from simply pealing it off. Again just visit their website or call them or email them, everyone will get better answers as I'm basing my anwers on what I read from their website.

www.magnetbra.com is the place to go people.

Copy pasted from their webpage:

"The magnetic bra's patented design makes it theft-proof and secure at any speed. A durable, U-shaped edge trim covers the leading edge and sides of the bra. The trim keeps wind and water out and makes it impossible to remove the bra without opening the hood."

 

This poll has been interesting. Please vote if you have not yet done so. I've looked at my finances and I can't afford the clear bra. I am not so crazy about some of the other solutions. So I am thinking of just letting it ride unprotected, come what may. It would be helpful to me and others if those that chose no protection have come to regret their choice as the miles roll on.

 

LOL

before a roadtrip to AZ

 

I have the Full Nose Mask. I live in a mostly rural area and don't have trouble with dirt collection under it... that is as long as you wash your car at regular intervals and don't leave it on 24/7. It offers GREAT protection from bugs, rocks and debris, and it's inexpensive. It looks very similar to the previous post's photo with painter's tape, except that it's black and easier to apply and remove.

 

Agreed, I have one as well. Keep a good coat of wax on the areas under the bra, clean the backing frequently & you should have few paint issues. Didn't help protect my fog light though.......

 

i bought mines from them.. so far so good. been raining here in Vancouver for the most part. need to try it out more on the highway.. otherwise i just like how it looks vs other car bras/deflectors.

 

It looks a bit better on the grey than on the orange imo.

I drive mostly highway about 80 miles each way to work. The chips on the hood are definitely a b#$ch, and they eat my soul.

I have already told my dealer to tack on the cost of clear bra when I buy a cr-z.

I've changed my driving route as much as possible to incorporate some backroads into the trip. Not only are they helping my mpg, but they also help avoid the chips caused by debris. In a week or two when I do my next major detailing I plan to hit it with a small application of the touch up paint, and begin the lengthy process of super light coats of that.

 

Go with the clear 3 M type bra. Ebay venodrs sell for $25 which includes the shipping. This will cover the hood up to 24" on the center. The paint is so cheap and "bio-degradable" and thin on the Fit that it won't last long exposed to the sun, let alone the dirt and wind.

 

It looks pretty sharp. Please keep us posted any problem you may enounter in the next few months.

 

so far the only complaint is how annoying getting the trim to line up exactly dead centre.. tho it's pretty much what keeps the whole big magnet from flopping and sliding up or flying away. i thought i could cut it. but turns out there's some kind of metal underneath the rubber trim. so u can see the tiny 2 inch overlap on both sides by the headlamps :b

otherwise still looks very clean and no air bubbles whatsoever underneath. tho only been a week. but will take note of any problems in the future.

 

Very much interested in hearing about your nose mask. By Honda I'm guessing.
Is it a quality material?
Underside kind to paint?
If left on too long what's the down side?

How difficult is it to install/remove?
Theft issue???
I'm in a similar sub-urban/rural type area and my primary concern is Northway/Thruway driving and trip up to Maine.

Would it be possible to rig in lexan fog lenses????

Thanks K_C_

 

I am going with a full nose mask from Honda. Couple of reasons why, the clear bra's on darker colored cars will make the paint slightly differ in color after years of being on and then removal of said product. Secondly is that you cannot treat your paint under a clear bra, you cannot buff it, get rid of a swirl or hologram if it exists in the paint. So you are basically going to have to fully detail your cars paint prior to having clear bra installed in order to keep it in some way of looking similar to the rest of your car.

A full nose mask is EASY to take car of, if you are not an idiot like about 90% of the nose mask owners out there. NEVER EVER ARMOR ALL IT, holy stupidity batman you don't know how many people I see doing this. The material is designed to breathe and the instant you armor all it that is gone. Second, TAKE IT OFF yes take it off regularly and keep your paint under it clean. I am a bit on the obsessive side of keeping my car clean so for me a full nose mask will be minimal effort over what I already to do my car weekly. Overall I think a full nose mask is a better option, however for people who are a bit less attentive to their paint and/or waxing a clear bra may be the better option.

 

One to ya Fit4Spl - for making sense.

It's been getting to me that the folks I'm seeing on this forum are willing to stick a huge piece of film on their new rides and spend big bucks to do it.

Okay, curb side bragging rights, but for those who ride the open road it just doesn't seem to do it. Before I came on-board here I had never even heard of that option. Hard to imagine a piece of scotch tape will stop an 80MPH pebbled...

To each his own, however, that magnetic thing made sense except it leave a huge amount of real estate open to abuse.
K_C_

 

I do a LOT of highway driving (probably 85% of my miles are highway miles because I live in the middle of nowhere). Most of these are highways with a lot of loose gravel because of potholes, sand they put down in the winter, and construction. So I really wanted to protect the paint on the front of the car -- partly for appearance, but mostly because I didn't want any rust.

My first thought was to get the Honda nose mask, but the main drawback to the old-fashioned nose mask and the magnetic bra is that you can't leave it on all the time -- if you did, the paint wouldn't fade evenly, not to mention that you don't want to trap dirt or anything under it.

So while it would work if you weren't driving it every day, or you just drove it in the city most of the time, what are you going to do if you have to commute on the highway everyday? Run without the mask a couple of days a week? And then you run the risk that on the day/week you don't have it on, you get a rock chip.

I needed something I could leave on the car everyday. So that pretty much leaves the clearbra as the only option.

The clearbra is made of pretty thick material -- you can't push through it with your finger, for example, and my hood is (was) perfect, whereas the areas that weren't covered got rock chips (I had a rock chip at the top of one fender and on one of the A pillars). The downside is that it is a bit pricey, and if you get close you can see the edges of the film (though that could be addressed by getting film to cover whole panels instead of stopping in the middle, but that costs even more).

Anyway, I'm not knocking the other options, but for me, I think the clearbra was the best way to go.

 

I am actually running "braless" right now... becasue the plastic stiffener in the tab that fits between the pass side headlight & the fender broke, so I can't get that tab to slide in anymore . & Honda only warrants accessories for 90 days. Still have the hood protector piece on.

 

Too many rock chips could cause a rash of CF hoods