Unfortunately a rock hit my fog light on my new M3 and destroyed it. How can I protect my fog lights, head lights and front end from rock damage? I also want to protect my paint job in best way from dings and dents. Thanks! Ben Prusinski 2006 BMW ///M3 Coupe Competition Package Silver/Red Leather Motto: "///M Power!"
Stay away from flying rocks. Usually, a hit that hard would go through any of the films you can apply to the lens. The biggest benefit there is keeping the pieces from falling on the road, although they do a decent job of minimizing chips and sand damage. The same goes for front end films you can apply. They'll keep small chips and sand abrasion at bay, but a rock the size of a softball doesn't care. AMHIK.
all my cars have clear bras on them, and its definitely helped eliminate many of the paint chips from the fender/bumper and/or small cracks to lights, etc.
www.invisiblemask.com. Front end, windshield pillars, mirrors, lights and foglamps, rear-bumper 'liftover' protectors...it's all here. Two different grades, fantastic instructional DVD and installation kits. Select only what you need or a whole package. I'm on my third 'Invisible Mask' car, and it REALLY saves paint and clear lenses! Don
+1 all my cars have 3M film, which resists yellowing and resists scratches due to a tough clear coat. the headlight & foglight shields are thick/ tough and designed to repel rocks that would otherwise shatter the lights, which is the whole point. BMW lights/housings are big bucks (been there), so this is a good investment
The 3M paint protection film was originally developed to protect helicoptor rotor blades from damage and to extend rotor life. They have since been further developed for greater UV resistance and to resist discoloration for auto use. I would highly recommend looking into using it or something similar. .
I know for us BMW drivers this can be tough (I know it is for me), but don't tail gate, especially rigs! Those flying rocks are coming from the car/truck in front of you. The further away you are the less likely you will get damage.
Houston installers? Does anyone out there know of a quality clear bra installer in the Houston area? I don't mind paying a little extra for someone who is willing to stand behind their work. Thanks.
Contact some of your chapter's sponsors to see who they can recommend: http://www.houston-bmwcca.com/index.php?option=com_weblinks&view=category&id=43&Itemid=48
I got a good size rock chip in my last 740, 1/8' hole on the outside with about a 1/2"x 3/4" hole inside. I took the lens off and epoxied the chip back in place and used it that way for about 5 years (100k miles) without any real issues. I bought the lens guard kit from Bavarian Motorsport. This is a 1/8" lexan based protectors that stick right to the lens.They'll absorb just about anything but a direct hit from a really big stone without damaging the lens behind.They worked well even though the surface took a lot of abuse. I still have the original lenses in a box... I took the headlight assemblies out of my vehicle before I sold it for parts and put them into my motorhome where they are still giving me awesome service. I replaced the lenses with new ones at this point... I found them for a really good price online. I have not replaced the lens shields yet as the motorhome just does not get the road abuse my 7 series did. I really reccommend these things if BMS still carries them. I had one of my driving lights pop out in a snowstorm and I unknowingly dragged it all the way to work. Half of it was ground away from abrasion, but the lens was unbroken even though it was half missing. This also had a protector on it. That says a lot about how well they work. Chuck
Rock damage I purchased a beautiful leather like bra from AutoAnything for $140.00 for my 2002 530I it also came with matching mirror bras to match for an extra $40.00. Made of durable and strurdy material, I wish I had them about two weeks prior to them arriving. I ordered them almost four weeks earlier, but because they are custome made they took up to three weeks to come. About a week prior to arrival I got a chunk of my passenger mirror hit by flying debris which broke a chunk of fiberglass encasing the lower half of the passenger mirror. The debris was a weighted screww which i eventally ran over and had to replace my tire which was ruined because the debris made such a large whole in the tire as I eventuall ran over it. As unbelievable as it sound , while I ws driving I heard this loud pop from the direction of the passenger window area, and all of a sudden my vehicle semed as if it's driving performance was being effected, so i turned down my music and heard this hissing sound in addition to a clackinf sound as iff the vehicle wheel had a tap shoe on. i pulled over and there it was , a large screw which looked as if it came of a construction truck or pice of equipment. It was stuck dead center in my tore and it was deflating at a alarming rate. Consequently, after i changed the tire , the next day I noticed the mirror casing damage. Now that I have the mirros bra on the passenger side you cant see the damage, just the beautiful leather like cover.
