-=Rowdy=-

I also had a question concerning the shape of the 8's hood. It seems with the way it looks, it is prone to getting major rock chips going down the road. Have any of you had this problem? My black 6s' paint seemed soft and I had a small stone just skip across and leave little marks due to the soft Mazda paint.

beachdog

Time for a clear bra. The car is low. No way to avoid what gets kicked up.

-=Rowdy=-

Doesn't clear bras scratch the underlying paint?

Gambit

Way not to get scratches:

Don't follow people too closely, and stay very very far away from dump trucks

crossbow

Even better...take backroads instead of the highway

o_town_racer

I have a Clear Bra on my baby. I would not get another new car and NOT install one of these. It's GREAT! No, they don't scratch the underlying paint and are removeable if you no longer want it (once removed, it's destroyed). The only exception, it's not good for white cars. You can notice it more easily and you'll notice the dirt/debris on the Clear Bra much more. This directly from my guy who does the installs.

Gord96BRG

No. A clear bra is NOT a bra like the black vinyl bras that have all the hooks and straps to cover the car - a clear bra uses a 3M adhesive vinyl film called Scotchcal that is cut in a pattern to fit the particular car model and is permanently stuck to the surface of the vehicle. It has pieces that cover the front ~2 feet of the hood, the fronts of the side fenders, and the bumpers. It's pretty much invisible, but it prevents all but the largest rocks from causing any damage, and makes bug cleanup much easier.

Do a search for 'clear bra', and you'll find lots of threads. Also, check out www.xpel.com to see one vendor's kits and patterns. I had a local XPEL installer do my RX-8 the week after I bought it (in July 2003), and I don't have a single chip on the front of the car.

Oh, and Mazda paint isn't any softer than any other manufacturer's paint these days.

Regards,
Gordon

-=Rowdy=-

Permanent? No thanks. I won't trust a product that could lift on the edges in 5-7 years. That's not to say that it would lift or curl but I prefer to not permanently adhere anything like that to my paint's surface. Besides, whether yellowing is something that can happen or not, I can't trust a material on my car for that duration. BTW-Mazda paint IS softer than other manufacturers. They are similar but different paints altogether.

Gord96BRG

Sorry, let's redefine permanent - you don't put it on and off like a regular bra, but the adhesive isn't like permanent glue that will peel your paint if you try to remove it. It can be removed with a hair dryer to heat it up and you peel it off, but then it can't be re-used. I'd expect the useful life to be in the 5-7 year range, then you'd have a new clear bra applied. Still far cheaper than paying to have the nose of your car repainted, but it's your call!

PS - still sceptical? Go look at your rear fender flares, the part to the front of the car. See that clear vinyl shield to protect the flares from rock chips? 3M Scotchcal, courtesy of the Mazda factory.

Regards,
Gordon

Nubo

If my Miata was any indication, the paint gets tougher with time. I had the OMG! CHIPS! reaction with that car too early on. After a few rounds of touch-up the chips started getting fewer and far between. Or maybe I just started leaving more distance, to stay out of the "rock zone"

-=Rowdy=-

Thanks for the idea Gord. I will think about it. I have heard from quite a few 6 owners that their paint seemed to chip easy and I verified this with some bodyshop people who work for the local Mazda dealership that the Mazda paint has not been durable. I love the paint on my last car, the 6s but it did chip easy and that was riding wayyyyy behind dump trucks. Heck, I only put less than 8000 miles on my previous 6 in less than two years. The 8 will sit in my garage and take over as my weekend car.

Overport

and, dont do 100+ mph launches down the freeway.

like thats even possible.