# @#$%ing rock chips!!! Need a Bra / Deflector for my Cruze



## klchiew (Jan 15, 2011)

Invest in a clear front end protection. You can ask a professional to install it for the best results (nearly invisible) or you can do it yourself (takes lots of patience, but it's not impossible). I have it on my other cars and 3 years of regular driving on the freeway, the front end is 100% blemish free.


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## Knightslugger (Jan 11, 2011)

try backing off traffic ahead of you... that will solve your problem.


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## INTIMIDAT3R (Jan 22, 2011)

Knightslugger said:


> try backing off traffic ahead of you... that will solve your problem.


Tailgating and/or crowding other vehicles is not a problem for me. I NEVER do it.

They had to have come from one of the tractor/trailers that passed us going to Cedar Rapids a couple of weeks ago.


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

Knightslugger said:


> try backing off traffic ahead of you... that will solve your problem.


This. Some you can't hide from. It sucks finding them. You always notice them on new cars. Same thing happened with me on both my cars. Makes you cringe. I've never liked the clear bras because you can see them from a few feet away. Good luck OP.


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## INTIMIDAT3R (Jan 22, 2011)

JDM-USDM Love said:


> This. Some you can't hide from. It sucks finding them. You always notice them on new cars. Same thing happened with me on both my cars. Makes you cringe. I've never liked the clear bras because you can see them from a few feet away. Good luck OP.


Finding rock chips is like a kick in the "juevos".

Already been warned about the clear bra's and to stay away from them. Especially from 3M because they tend to start "yellowing" and cracking after a couple of years on vehicles who aren't garaged.

My '11 Cruze LT/RS is my daily driver and never in the garage. The garage is only for my '11 Camaro 2SS/RS and the wife's '11 Equinox 2LT AWD.


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

INTIMIDAT3R said:


> Already been warned about the clear bra's and to stay away from them. Especially from 3M because they tend to start "yellowing" and cracking after a couple of years on vehicles who aren't garaged.
> 
> My '11 Cruze LT/RS is my daily driver and never in the garage. The garage is only for my '11 Camaro 2SS/RS and the wife's '11 Equinox 2LT AWD.


 
Great choice for garage selection! =D I know your pain though. No matter how much care you put into your car it sucks when you hear that loud ping or crack even though you do what you can. GM paint seems to be better than Honda's though. My G6 has had less paint chips than my Civic. I think that may be due partly to the larger grill area in the front for the rocks to hit plastic instead of paint though. How do you like that LLT motor? I sometimes think about swaping it for my LY7.


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## GoldenRS (Nov 11, 2010)

INTIMIDAT3R said:


> Finding rock chips is like a kick in the "juevos".
> 
> Already been warned about the clear bra's and to stay away from them. Especially from 3M because they tend to start "yellowing" and cracking after a couple of years on vehicles who aren't garaged.
> 
> My '11 Cruze LT/RS is my daily driver and never in the garage. The garage is only for my '11 Camaro 2SS/RS and the wife's '11 Equinox 2LT AWD.



When we did our 3M Clearbra, we were given the guarantee from the dealership/installer for lifetime on any yellowing/peeling and so on for life of the ownership. Okay risk in my book..


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## Uns69 (Jan 30, 2011)

Im sure one of the better companies will make a molded hood protector in time.


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## GoldenRS (Nov 11, 2010)

Was searching around and found these..Interesting..$149.00


SupeRich Motors | Car Accessories | SUV Accessories | Truck Accessories

http://www.koreanautoimports.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3938


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## TSURacing (Jan 1, 2011)

GoldenRS said:


> When we did our 3M Clearbra, we were given the guarantee from the dealership/installer for lifetime on any yellowing/peeling and so on for life of the ownership. Okay risk in my book..


What was the cost of the 3M kit and install?


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## fastdriver (Jan 7, 2011)

GoldenRS said:


> Was searching around and found these..Interesting..$149.00
> 
> SupeRich Motors | Car Accessories | SUV Accessories | Truck Accessories
> 
> *Korean Auto Imports*


WOW! This place, 
*Korean Auto Imports*
Attached Thumbnails, does have a ton of stuff for the Cruze IF the cars are the same design/style/size?


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

for the most part they are very close, most anything you see there will work for us


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## fastdriver (Jan 7, 2011)

shawn672 said:


> for the most part they are very close, most anything you see there will work for us


Thanks. Good to know. My Cruze is a lease, so I can't do too much, but it is amazing that this site has more Cruze accessories than GM does! GM could offer some of this stuff for those who want to spruce up their Cruze a little more than GM did since GM wanted to keep the cost down.


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## GoldenRS (Nov 11, 2010)

TSURacing said:


> What was the cost of the 3M kit and install?


$400 for all the areas mentioned before in my 'Garage'


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## cruzeguy1977 (Feb 20, 2011)

Hey ther, I would recomend you get mud gards for your cruze, i put 1500 km on my car this week driving in the mountains. When I got home i washed my car only to find that my front tires had spit rocks right at the front side of my rear tire wells( between tire and rear door) verry dissapointed as i have the red premium pain on my car. now the mission to get mud flaps and to get the paint fixed... Booooo.....


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## fastdriver (Jan 7, 2011)

cruzeguy1977 said:


> Hey ther, I would recomend you get mud gards for your cruze, i put 1500 km on my car this week driving in the mountains. When I got home i washed my car only to find that my front tires had spit rocks right at the front side of my rear tire wells( between tire and rear door) verry dissapointed as i have the red premium pain on my car. now the mission to get mud flaps and to get the paint fixed... Booooo.....


EXACTLY! How could GM NOT make mud guards for the RS models?


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## HSR (Jul 5, 2011)

The red on the 2011 cruzes is a tri coat so you'll get 2 dupli color touch up bottles, I had tonnes of chips on my car including a huge door ding from some **** face a couple weeks ago. I didn't do a very good job being my first time doing touch ups and with a tri coat it sucked, the pen releases way to much paint and the brush is horrible to try just put the paint in the chip. a clear bra quote for me on the front end was $850 bucks...**** that ****. I'll keep doing touch ups lol


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Good quality clear bras don't yellow any more. My wife's 2007 Toyota Solara Convertable had a clear bra put on by the dealer a week after we purchased the car. It's nearly invisible. I had a clear bra put on my Cruze as well as mud flaps installed before delivery. The GM mud flaps are black, so on a black car they really don't show. They will show on the Crystal Red.


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

Here is a link Auto Accessories is the only place I found
LeBra Car Bra, All-Weather Car Bra


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## Meals on Wheels (Feb 5, 2012)

I put a clear bra on my Cruze a couple months back and so far, I don't know if it was worth the money. 

I wasn't concerned about yellowing since my father has a 3m bra on his 07 Impala since he bought it in mid '06. The thing for me is, even with the bra and all that effort, there is never a guarantee that you still won't get a chip. And after all that effort, I'm not really happy.

When I had the bra installed, at the cost of $500USD, I noticed a couple of spots where there was dirt trapped underneath. The guys looks at me and says "well, you know, that part there is just one big piece and its hard to get it on," etc and didn't want to do it again. Also, for whatever reason, four indentations popped up on the front bumper where the license plate bracket goes. They weren't there before but now they are clearly showing. 

Now, I'm noticing rock chips further up on the hood and on the A pillar, where the bra doesn't cover. I have to force myself not to look for them, its just heartbreaking. And on top of that, while washing my car, I noticed a slight blemish, the size of a quarter, in the corner of the clear wrap on the hood. Like an idiot, I start rubbing at it with the wash mitt -- didn't help.

Father has the bra put on his car and over 5 years later, only a single chip. I have a bra installed and a couple of months later I have dirt trapped underneath, four or five chips in the paint, and a noticeable blemish.

Had I not installed the bra, I wonder how much would it have cost to repair any potential rock chips. Less then $500, maybe?


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## Beachernaut (Mar 27, 2012)

That's bad luck about the rock chips above the bra, but those would've happened either way. I would've pitched a fit if there was anything under the bra just after installation. Regardless of whether they wanted to redo it or not. For $500 there's no reason it shouldn't be flawless.

IMO there is no reason not to put a clear bra on the front, especially considering the amount of paint on the front of our cars. My 04 GTO had a clear bra installed at the dealership, and the original owner used it as a DD for 2 years before I bought it. At the time I purchased it, there were 3 marks in the bra where rocks had hit it, but the paint underneath it was fine. The only drawback I found was that the bra didn't shine quite as well as the paint. Even then, you had to be within 10' to notice.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

Im seeing companies offering full hood fenders bumper and mirrors basically covering everything back to the front doors. So I look today and about 3 inches back in the middle of my passender door, is a little rock chip about the size of a .5mm mechanical pencil lead. Its killing me owning a new car.


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## Beaker (Mar 21, 2012)

Took two day before I had my first chip. Rear passenger door below the door handle. The roads around here are terrible.


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## Beachernaut (Mar 27, 2012)

I'd like to think that years down the road, I'd still have flawless paint on my car. In reality though, I know it won't be. I assume that the vast majority of us driving this car are using them for DDs, and despite the precautions we take, we're going to develop rock chips and other blemishes eventually.

That being said, it still isn't any easier when you find a new chip, or scratch on the car. I'm going to do what I can to protect the most likely trouble areas. I'll be installing my clear bra on the bumper/hood/fenders/mirrors and installing splash guards (I live on a dirt road). I have seen people doing wraps with clear bra material covering their entire cars, but I don't think that's reasonable for me.


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