Bra:Yea or Nay?

[Jehu]

After many delays i can have my car back tonight around 5pm. This looks like the only way to avoid ruining this new paint job considering how much driving I do. I always used to think they looked great till I contemplated putting one on MY car...
http://www.bavauto.com/assets/imglib500/bra_generic_image.jpg

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Naw, the Bra will eventually leave marks of it's own from the dirt trapped between it and the car.

Had one on an RX7 and it started to get a tan line. Plus it's just one more thing that can fly off, or get stolen.

[Dave M]

1 yay

1 nay

I had the full support bra shown above (came with the car), but couldn't handle the lower portion for both functional and aesthetic reasons. The lower part tended to move around, requiring adjustment and increasing the silly factor. It also collected more moisture, trapping it agauinst fenders..yada yada. So, I ditched it.

I use the upper part, but even it will wear your clear coat at the back edge as it starts to stretch and flop around. catch 22 I suppose. It does prevent stone chips. Haven't a single one :D

Here is a not so great photo of mine in underwear. Not sure if you have the option, but I do prefer the ones without the hole for the emblem.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/dave_macisaac/Bimmer/Misc/Apr182006002.jpg

Fair warning, people do tend to hate.......... ;)

Dave M

[uscharalph]

Nay

[Jehu]

Bavarian Auto,local to me does carry both with and without the emblem cut out. I just feel i need to do it to give this brand new paint job that has come at no little expense to me a fighting chance. I suppose i could take pains to wash benath it nightly and maybe sew some softer more dureable felt of something on the back,underside to be less abrasive.Remember this is my dailiy driver and i drive routinely around 300 miles aday much on the highway at high speeds.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

look for some of the 3M clear stuff.

you can replace it weekly

[Black 535i]

...and I use it on all highway trips over 50 km but I do take it off around town as things do easily get trapped in there under the cover. My vote is yay!

[Ross]

Nay. After a long time the rock chips look bad. Bras look bad straight away.
If you insist on having one I will give you the one that came on one of my cars. Along with a photo of the foggy, cracked paint that was beneath it.

[brosher]

Nay.

[philbyil]

Just put a lot of wax on the hood :D :D

[[1990]525]

Dear lord no.

[spyrot1]

Nay... you'll end up scratching the paint where the edge of the bra meets the hood (where dirt will get trapped).

[DaveVoorhis]

Bra = fugly paint destroyer of doom. Stand back ten feet, and you can't see the rock chips. You can't stand back far enough not to see that gawdawful flappy plastic eyesore.

[Macv]

I'll sell you mine (full front and hood with cut out)
Purchased used from Mel @ Abrahams.

I've used it maybe 200 miles.

Drop me a PM, I'll give it for cheap.

[pingu]

Nay.

Otherwise you'd be making your car look like a piece of ****... to stop it looking like a piece of ****!

[Sam-Son]

3M it if anything. definitely no bra they look like ****

[bmwrp8]

nay! go 3M

[MTechnik540i]

After many delays i can have my car back tonight around 5pm. This looks like the only way to avoid ruining this new paint job considering how much driving I do. I always used to think they looked great till I contemplated putting one on MY car...
http://www.bavauto.com/assets/imglib500/bra_generic_image.jpg

If used with some common sense they're great. Always make sure it's covering a clean, well waxed surface. I don't ever use mine for more than one day, and usually I only use it on occasion (Trips, etc.)

Also, I'd definitely recommend removing it if it starts to rain/etc.

[Denton]

No no no

[RobPatt]

I have the colgan hood bra (not full frontal bra...kind of a demi thign) ha ha...


on the hood.. .plus the mirror bras on my black car, looks great. had it for years... no worries for me... even here in HOT mississippi where when it rains the hood temp on black paint must be over 140F... but no issues.

i do keep her waxed up well before the bra goes on though...

keeps the rocks off for sure, and for me i think it adds a sporty look and functional protection.

+1 for half bra.

[Qube]

DEFINITELY nah. Think of it this way... enjoy the way it looks, with the increasing number of rock chips. I'm the type of person that thinks... screw screen protectors (PSP, NDS, phones etc)... I bought the damn thing now let me enjoy it for the life of it... none of this protection ****. Making babies are a different story.

NB: The ONLY exception is the fog lights. Those are damn expensive to replace so put a protector on it. Headlights I have too many of to worry about it getting cracked. I'm already on my third set of halos.

[attack eagle]

I have the colgan hood bra (not full frontal bra...kind of a demi thign) ha ha...


on the hood.. .plus the mirror bras on my black car, looks great. had it for years... no worries for me... even here in HOT mississippi where when it rains the hood temp on black paint must be over 140F... but no issues.

i do keep her waxed up well before the bra goes on though...

keeps the rocks off for sure, and for me i think it adds a sporty look and functional protection.

+1 for half bra.

I use mine whenever I'm going to be travelling out of town (usually 1200 miles to Mississippi BTW) ... and as soon as i get to my destination, it comes off the car, the car and bra get washed and the car re-waxed.

I have the full bra BTW, though it still doesn't protect the wheel arches... I keep swearing I'm going to get mirror bras for the trips.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b106/AttackEagle/bimmer/100_0648.jpg

[BigKriss]

I like the look of it but won't it stop air flowing onto the radiator?

[Macv]

Not a good one that has a hole in the bottom.

[bubba966]

Don't use a bra. The downsides have alreaddy been mentioned by others. It will wreck your paint, just in a different manner than not using a bra.

Get the 3M flim applied to the hood/fenders/mirrors/etc. Don't know if Lamin-X sells kits for that or just for the headlights/foglights. I forget who else wells the 3M stuff online.

And when you get your new front lights, order the thick headlight kit from Lamin-X and apply it before you put the lights in. It took me about 1/2 hour to meticulously apply the film to each high/low beam on my new OEM glass with them off the car. I'd imagine it'd be a bit more of a pain to do it with them on the car.

[Jehu]

Don't use a bra. The downsides have alreaddy been mentioned by others. It will wreck your paint, just in a different manner than not using a bra.

Get the 3M flim applied to the hood/fenders/mirrors/etc. Don't know if Lamin-X sells kits for that or just for the headlights/foglights. I forget who else wells the 3M stuff online.

And when you get your new front lights, order the thick headlight kit from Lamin-X and apply it before you put the lights in. It took me about 1/2 hour to meticulously apply the film to each high/low beam on my new OEM glass with them off the car. I'd imagine it'd be a bit more of a pain to do it with them on the car.

Thanks for the tip. There is a company who will custom fit this 3m film locally I'll check into.

[attack eagle]

and remember to take that %*#@&$# film of th car every 6mos. -1 year and wash and buff and wax.
Or else your paint fades unevenly and the stuff gets brittle and yellow.

[bubba966]

and remember to take that %*#@&$# film of th car every 6mos. -1 year and wash and buff and wax.
Or else your paint fades unevenly and the stuff gets brittle and yellow.

The current 3M film doesn't yellow and get brittle.

[filip00]

i'd rather paint the hood every two years than have that UGLY **** over it :-\ nhf

[Paul in NZ]

i vote no too...i bought the car for me...not the next guy....my sister said you better get some seat covers to protect the leather ...nay again....