| AWD Rookie |
During my recent trip to interior BC, we drove on some very icy highways which were sanded. The "sand" consists of many little rocks/pebbles. They struck the car and the windshield a lot; I mean a looot! I am sure I'll find fair amount of stone chips the next time I wash my car.
Just want to know if any of you have some effective ways to deal with these flying rocks on highways. Looking at Subaru's site, they offer three protective accesories which seem to help with my problem: "Front-end cover - Full", "Front-end cover - Hood" and "Hood Protector".
http://www.subaru.com/shop/accessor...gory=PROTECTION
1. Has anyone used any of these things? How well/poor do they perform?
2. Does the "hood protector" only protect the hood not the windshield? Or maybe it is even worse for the windshield with this protector (some rocks which would have hit the hood are now hitting the windshield)?
3. Is there any other product you found effective in protecting the windshield and the front end of the car?
I would appreciate your sharing of your experience. |
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| cougar |
| Increase your following distance and stay closer to the side of the road. It doesn't stop it, but it does slow it down. |
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| bheinz57 |
That's about all I do also.
Brian
It's inevitable here in Nebraska, getting rock chips during the winter months.
quote: Originally posted by cougar
Increase your following distance and stay closer to the side of the road. It doesn't stop it, but it does slow it down. | |
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| tranks |
i go 5 mph under the speed limit and zig zag from ditch to ditch. no body passes me, it works great! :4:
:eek:
you can get the protective film (clear) applied to the entire front end. something like this.
the covers you link can wear the paint off. the hood protector will not protect the windshield from rocks/pebbles, but it could help to deflect bugs.
:7: |
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| ETC |
not much else you can do besides trying to stay enough back so they fall to the ground before they hit you
to me the film is like putting a plastic cover on your couch.
the bra's are kinda 80's and like stated, wear the paint off any way or, even if they don't and you leave it on long enough the paint fades differently and looks bad when you take it off.
my wifes bmw was horrible when it came to paint chips, doesn't help that she drives 90 everywhere she goes and that the average following distance in california is 4 ft. last ime we had the front clip painted, i had them use a flex additive that seems to help quite a bit, the rocks still hit it but more of them bounce off without doing damage. it makes the paint look different and it lacks the "depth" when you look at it so i only had it used on the air dam, spoiler, whatever you want to call it.
strangely the subaru seems less effected by the road rocks. my lifted truck gets almost no paint nicks and the windshield still looks pretty good for 6 years old and being sand blasted in the desert a few dozen times. |
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| AWD Rookie |
Thanks for the advice guys. I did try to follow far behind, but it is the vehicles passing me giving me the grief. I even tried to stay close to the center line (which forces them to be in the left side of their lane), then I'd swing as far right as possible (even onto the shoulder sometimes) as they pass me. Still, I lost the windshield (posted in another thread).
I did think about having everyone else eat my dust for a change, but the abundant cars/trucks in the ditch kind of held me back. :(
So, the quest for protecting the windshield (or finding a good installer) continues. :rolleyes: |
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| AWD Rookie |
Got to the car and ready to open the car door. Noticed some "mark/dirt" on the driver side window. A slight touch with my finger... BANG!!!
The thing just shattered! Lucky I had the window tinted and the glass pieces did not fly off. I have to take the car to an insurace claim center tomorrow because I have two pieces of glass broken/cracked; I'll have to prove to them that they are damaged on the same trip so I don't need to pay the deductibles twice. Without the tint, the driver side window would have been in pieces and I would have nothing to show for.
We've been blanked by snow for the last week and I was waiting for the snow to melt before I wash the car and find out the damage on the hood. With all these commotion on the glass, the examination was expedited, like just now. Man, there are lot of chips on the hood! One chip on the chrome looks like it was made by a sharp knife.
I may sound like a whining baby to some, but it is getting really annoying! I guess I'll need to include a $1000 vehicle repair budget in my trip planning. :3: :16: |
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| tranks |
quote: Originally posted by AWD Rookie
A slight touch with my finger... BANG!!! | |
HOLY CRAP! Chill out Superman!!!
time for a winter beater. |
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| ETC |
damn, that sucks ...... whine away ;]
might be cheaper to get an old beater ob for those kind of trips and keep the nice one for more friendly roads. or, like was said in the other thread, try and get a windshield policy with a separate deductable.
but, stuff happens and you can't avoid it sometimes. my wifes car had a 3/4 x 4" bolt penetrate the spoiler in her car, i've had mattresses, bicycles, tools, ladders and i'm sure there's stuff i've deleted from my memory, hit me .... oh yeah, missed a couch a few years back by a couple inches .... oh , and then there was the palm tree ;] |
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