What are the most important ClearBra sections on the Z?
 

For those of you that have clear-bras installed and have had them for a while, from your experience can you please rate the sections for how important they are with the following rating scheme? I am on a tight budget and the quotes I've been getting here in DFW so far have been very pricey. If there are sections missing please add them.

Does the car color change the ratings for some of these sections?

1 - Absolute Must Have
2 - Nice but not necessary
3 - Complete Waste of money.

Here are my thoughts:
Full Front Bumper : 1
Full Hood : 1
Full Front Fenders : 1
Mirrors : 2
Side doors : 2
Rear Quarter Panels : ?
Rocker Panels : ?

Full Front Bumper : 1
Full Hood : 2 (partial is fine)
Full Front Fenders : 2
Mirrors : 1
Side doors : 3
Rear Quarter Panels : 1
Rocker Panels : 1

A-Pillars : 1
Partial Roof at front edge : 2

Full hoods, and fenders do blend nicely, but they are expensive. I would have your Z detailed before installation. Tell the detailer you are having a clear bra installed.

Thanks for the info. Its interesting that you say the Rear Quarter panels are more important than the Front Fenders

I am more inclined to do partial front fenders. I have seen a full front, hood, fender 350Z (not a 370Z) and I liked it, but you I thought it was overkill—you may not. It does afford further protection. For the hardcore: 911 Full Front...and then some

Basically I wanna do everything from the rear wheels forward if not the whole car! LOL :tup:

But honestly, it it worthwhile to do from the rear wheels forward? When I was in germany I got rock chips kick up on my tC's door panels which piss me off.

Or to the Front fenders + roof + mirrors will suffice?

What you really need is the person with the most chips to post the locations hehe.

Is it black? If so, then cover the whole car.

All kidding aside though, I would say the bumper and at least partial hood are a must.

Yeah, my tC is black, and my Z will be black as well.

With Clear Bra, is that something I should do ASAP after buying the car, or is it something that can be done when I get $$$?

Full front bumper 1
mirrors 1
24" hood 1
10 roofline and A pillars 1
entire rocker panel 1
front and rear of all wheel wells 1
quarter panels to match hood 1

:tup:

What price range am I looking at for everything rear wheels forward? And where do you get it done at?

as long as you get it detailed really well beforehand, and there's no significant chips in it already, you can do clear bra whenever, though i always think sooner the better. you can go for the full car protection, but i think it's a waste of money. i agree with SoCal on this:

Full Front Bumper : 1
Full Hood : 2
Full Front Fenders : 2
Mirrors : 1
Side doors : 3 (really? side doors? helluva weird angle to get a chip on that)
Rear Quarter Panels : 1
Rocker Panels : 1

A-Pillars : 1
Partial Roof at front edge : 2

I just wanna do the whole thing so it's uniform... I've seen pics where you can clearly tell where the clearbra ends and its paint and it looks like crap...

you probably dont need the quarter panels. unlike my G, my Z doesnt seem to kickup anything enough to hit that area. on the G i consistently get grime there but nothing on the z.

now if i get aggressive offset wheels then i would consider it.

Clear bras iseally should be installed at the dealership before they roll off the lot. As soon as you drive it you are chancing getting chips. I never recommend anyone get it "later down the road" because by then, you will have chips. The purpose of getting a clear bra is to prevent chips and keep the paint pristine. So why put it on over chips????

Partial hood and fenders are fine if you can live with the line. You can get a chip anywhere on the car.... the odds are just the greatest on the front bumper, front part of the hood/fenders, lights, and mirrors. The rocker panels and rear wheel splash guards are a great idea as well. The other factor is when you start getting into the full panels, your cost is going to go up significantly. Its up to you to determine if the money is worth not having a line... or are you just worried about protection???

If the clear bra is done properly with a good film... i.e. VentureShield Ultra, you will not be able to tell a difference between your filmed areas and the exposed surfaces.

Do ALL dealers do it, or is it something I'll need to research about local dealers?

I would say the sooner the better... My baby will be parked in the garage until the clear bra can be installed. I would be devastated if I got chips in my paint when I could have prevented them by getting the clear bra asap.

I was only thinking side doors for days when you have to park next to people because there isn't a "*good" parking spot left.



*good = As far away as possible from any other person, double parked diagonally.

I hate to break it to you, but you will get chips on the 370 with or without the clearbra, this car is just so prone to them.

That being said, the clearbra will def help reduce the amount.

Let a man dream.... I know, resistance is futile.

resdm50, you are a crusher of dreams.

Buy the clear bar man. I have a white 370Z w/o the clear bar (wish I have).

Is been raining alot in North Cali. I didnt wash my car for 2 months. I wash it yesterday and I wish I didn't. Because after I wash my car. All the freaking chips show all around my bumper/ side quater panel. It just hurt so much...AND NISSAN PAINT SUCKS!!!!

The clear bra will only help here to possibly prevent the paint from being scraped off by someone opening a door on it, but not any dings or dents on our aluminum doors.

Full Front Bumper : 1
Full Hood : 1
Full Front Fenders : 2
Mirrors : 1
Side doors : 3
Rear Quarter Panels : 1
Rocker Panels : 1

A-Pillars : 1
Partial Roof at front edge : 1

The full hood looks much cleaner than the partial. I have partial fendors and kind of wish i spent the extra money and got the full ones. I have all of the above and also a custom full roof. The bra's were the first thing I did to my Z and am so glad b/c after 1 year my body is still flawless (its my daily driver too). I +1 on the importance of the rear qtr panels. I already had a huge stone hit that area. I actually created a dent but because the bra material was there the paint did not chip and i was able to get the dent pullled out. I did have to replace that piece though because it created a small tear.

Just got a quote from a place that someone on here recommended. The price seems very steep. Does anyone know of any other ClearBra installers in the DFW area?

$1200 for the following.
Full Hood
Full Front Fenders
Full Front Bumper
Mirrors
Roof
A-Pillar

LLumar Tint -$240

Is anyone doing the headlights to prevent scratches in the plastic?

I had mind done in VentureShield material. You can also find some great plastic cleaners at your local auto parts store; Mothers makes a good cleaner. When I say cleaner I do not mean "restorer," as they sell those too.

Thanks. I'm purchasing this week and am looking into the options. On my car now, I was driving down the highway and a semi ran over a car mat of all things and it kicked up and scrapped grooves into my passenger light!!!