jlumba81 Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I was curious how durable rear wing protectors are. Also how well do the optional carbon ones do? Anyone use those plastic film protectors or try powdercoating them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 My non-carbon protectors have 23K miles and have held up well. They are dimpled from stones but look fine. The real problem is they don't cover the entire rear fender, so the unprotected paint around them has a lot of road rash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I have the carbon ones. They don't dimple but over the past 8 eight years they have dulled slightly. And I second KitCat's comment on the road rash where they don't cover. It's pretty bad. On my new rear wings, I had a local guy do the 3M clear coat thing. I had him apply it to the front half of the wing up to the midway point on top. He even put it on the new carbon protector. So far it looks great. If you're worried about road rash then I think this is the way to go. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 My Caterham has the stainless steel rear wing protectors. Last winter I had them coated with bed liner as they were showing lots of small pits and a few larger dings. I like the look of the black bed liner better than the polished SS. With about the same mileage on them they show no signs of damage. At the same time I had the underside of all four wings coated with bedliner to help protect against star cracks. So far, so good. The rear wings as well as the complete exterior of the car is covered with 3M clear bra. There is a small unprotected strip below the wing protector where the paint has suffered. The next time I remove the rear wings I will have that section coated with bed liner. Skip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumba81 Posted March 13, 2009 Author Share Posted March 13, 2009 Nice idea about the bedliner on the wing undersides. I was wondering about that 3M clear bra. Is the piece for the nosecone one piece or multiple pieces? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Nice idea about the bedliner on the wing undersides. I was wondering about that 3M clear bra. Is the piece for the nosecone one piece or multiple pieces? The nosecone is three major pieces with a seam running longitudinally about 4" aft of the Caterham emblem. The bottom is the 3rd piece. Most people don't notice the seams until I mention the whole car is covered, then they start looking for them. You can see the top seam in the attached picture which was taken to best show off the seam. The 2nd picture is the artist at work. Kristen is a real perfectionist and can cut the plastic on the car without marking the paint. Unfortunately, she has left the area. It is holding up well, I can see some small pits in the nose from the rocks. There are a couple of actual cuts in the clearbra on the side panels, one even went through the clearbra, paint and into the primer. I suspect that happened at the track with the R compound tires. Skip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumba81 Posted March 13, 2009 Author Share Posted March 13, 2009 Thanks for posting the pics. It looks very well done. They use a lot of gravel around here and I definitly will use a clear bra when I get my seven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Should I even bother with a clear bra for my white Se7en? I hear they still tend to yellow on white colored vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Should I even bother with a clear bra for my white Se7en? I hear they still tend to yellow on white colored vehicles. Without some protection you are still going to get some pits and chips whether the white color is paint or gel coat. I haven't heard about them yellowing on white paint, but hey, yellow is a great color for a Se7en. Skip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB6 Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 (edited) They also come in shorts and longs. I have short stainless, I kinda like the BB shot up look after the first few dings. By the way I got a rock chip in the eye tonite, chipped my glasses ( I have clams and sidescreens). So much nasty rock crap was put on the roads this winter it is still all over the place and as I said before shit that wont bother you in a car become asteroid nitemares in a 7. Edited March 14, 2009 by DB6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDingo8MyBaby Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 I've used Venture Sheild on my rear wings. No chips after 2000 miles and it was very reasonable when I bought it on ebay (less than $20 to do both fenders) http://www.venturetape.com/pdfs/VentureShield_Brochure.pdf The elise guys use starshield - or helicopter tape. I think this stuff is pretty pricey though. I considered the bedliner option, but line-x wanted $200 to do it. Another alternative I've considered is skateboard grip tape... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB6 Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 skate tape works well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderbrake Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 I used a 12 mil thick 3M film from http://www.xpel.com on the rear fenders. It has been a very sturdy and chip resistant protection. You can hear big rocks hitting the fenders but no paint dings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 I considered the bedliner option, but line-x wanted $200 to do it. Another alternative I've considered is skateboard grip tape... The local bedliner shop charged me $120 to do the rear wing protectors and the under side of all four wings. It wasn't line-x, it was the other major brand whose name escapes me at the moment. Skip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Rhino liner probably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Rhino liner probably. Yes, that's it. Skip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsimon Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 They also come in shorts and longs The short spat is for the offside and the long spat goes on the drivers side (right side for those of you with unconventional steering:)). The left rear wing of a Caterham has the bottom cut short 2.25" for rear exit exhaust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB6 Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 The short spat is for the offside and the long spat goes on the drivers side (right side for those of you with unconventional steering:)). The left rear wing of a Caterham has the bottom cut short 2.25" for rear exit exhaust. Bob, Yeah I know that. Caterham provides 2 dif heights, the old original height as used for years and taller ones as an option.Honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff7 Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 DB, U R right sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsimon Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I see that in the catalog now. The tall spats are an 1 1/2 inches taller than the ones on my car. It looks as though they changed the length and width in 1996. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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