Best way to prevent rock chips on highway?

W

wash-girl

New member
My girlfriend is planning to buy a couple of year old Thunderbird from a dealer in Texas, and I will be flying down there to drive it back to Louisville. I do not think the car has an existing clear bra, and I doubt I would have time to wait for one to be applied down there before driving back. Plus, being that it's a used car, I would assume that I will be polishing it out before we'd want to apply a clear bra.



Can anyone make recommendations as to the best way to protect the front end for the trip?
 
How about a regular bra? I also remember someone putting black electrical tape on parts of the front of their car for the winter (I'm thinking this was someone from Canada....VW). Some of those tapes can leave a lot of residue, but some don't.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
How about a regular bra?
Click to expand...



Yeah. I thought they were more expensive and would be a waste, since a clear bra would eventually be going on. But now I see they're just $50 on eBay. Maybe I'll get a LeBra just to use for the trip.



Thanks.
 
Yea, go with the regular bra for now. If you do want a clear one, they're expensive to apply professionaly, and you have to be pretty good to do it yourself. Anyway, I'd only go with a clear bra after polishing the protected paint, and I'm sure you're not going to detail the car down in TX.
 
The advice about watching what is in front was good. Stay back and don't get in a hurry. If someone passes you then pulls in drop back 100 ft minimum. Stay away from trucks. You may also try blue painters tape. Some guys use it at the track to keep their front ends from getting chipped. If it rains then immediately remove before the sun comes out or it may dry on or leave a hazy mark.
 
My mazda owners manual recommends staying three hundred fifty some-odd feet from the vehicle in front of you to avoid rock chips.
 
Thanks for all the actual driving advice. I am definitely not ever a tailgater, but I will pay particular attention during this trip.



That Autoskin stuff does look interesting, and I was able to find a US distributor of it. Maybe I'll give it a try, either on this trip or even on my Jeep, sometime.



Thanks!
 
ZJ JIM 96 said:
My girlfriend is planning to buy a couple of year old Thunderbird from a dealer in Texas, and I will be flying down there to drive it back to Louisville. I do not think the car has an existing clear bra, and I doubt I would have time to wait for one to be applied down there before driving back. Plus, being that it's a used car, I would assume that I will be polishing it out before we'd want to apply a clear bra.



Can anyone make recommendations as to the best way to protect the front end for the trip?
Click to expand...



Take the back roads :p



But seriously as others said keep a good distance between trucks, and if possible maybe get a cheap front bra just for the ride home.
 
ZJ JIM 96 said:
Thanks for all the actual driving advice. I am definitely not ever a tailgater, but I will pay particular attention during this trip.



That Autoskin stuff does look interesting, and I was able to find a US distributor of it. Maybe I'll give it a try, either on this trip or even on my Jeep, sometime.



Thanks!
Click to expand...





so you can not order it from the orignal site ?? i am in the states as well, and the 1 liter bottle is like 30 bucks more :scared:
 
gav'spurplez said:
so you can not order it from the orignal site ?? i am in the states as well, and the 1 liter bottle is like 30 bucks more :scared:
Click to expand...

With the exchange rate, it's actually like $40 more! I hadn't noticed that. I don't know what the shipping would be from Australia, but I bet it would substantially cut into the savings.



I wound up using 2.5 inch blue painters tape. I did the nose and mirrors, and it worked great, even if it looked kinda weird.
 
ZJ JIM 96 said:
With the exchange rate, it's actually like $40 more! I hadn't noticed that. I don't know what the shipping would be from Australia, but I bet it would substantially cut into the savings.



I wound up using 2.5 inch blue painters tape. I did the nose and mirrors, and it worked great, even if it looked kinda weird.
Click to expand...



I just noticed this thread - When I used to show my car, I (and others) would use the same blue tape driving to car shows. Works better then anything else.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top