Cones, rocks and whatever might be in your way!

[mleblond]

Ok, so here's the deal. I feel like I am butchering my car right now by doing autocross and track. I have cone marks and scratches from rocks on the front bumper and side skirts and doors. I was wondering what I could do to minimize the body damage on my car.

It's too late for clear bra crap and to be honest that stuff looks like crap...

I was thinking maybe doing extra coats of wax on those areas but will this affect the look of the car? Will you be able to notice it? Also wondering if I should use some sort of protection for underneath the car?

P.s. I know your not supposed to hit the cones but my car was hungry!

[Fobio]

P.s. I know your not supposed to hit the cones but my car was hungry!

No...don't let your car EAT the cones either...lol...

I've always wondered about this but kinda embarassed to ask since ppl openly states that only noobs tape their front-end up with painters' tape to protect from chips...

I guess what they meant is during lapping, you shouldn't have to follow that close, and during autox, you shouldn't hit cones...but hey, life happens!

For cones, since they most likely go under the front tire, wouldn't a mud guard or taping up the back of the wheel arch help?

[mleblond]

Yeah ive seen some with painters tape at the back of the wheel wells....and recal seeing people with bra's on the front of their car. But man do people make fun of them....thats why I am leaning on seeing what wax can do to help....I always wash my car after a event to see new "bruises" and wash off the cone marks (usually 1 or 2 at the most)

[Elder_MMHS]

I've never had paint or panel damage from hitting cones (I hit a lot). I remove marks with Simple Green. I've heard Goo Gone works well, too. As with any degreasers, you will also strip any wax and protection after use.

[07Speedfreak]

I wasnt talking clear bra. I meant this:

http://www.streetunit.com/v/vspfiles/photos/BLMS8ML27-2.jpg

This thing saved my bumper this winter with the huge amount of snow we had, and with the salt and rocks and snow blanks I had to go through, etc.

I know I wasnt hitting any cones, but imo it would be worthed. And it looks pretty good on black too.

100-125$

[Fobio]

^^^ much better than tape IMO, and you can always take it off once you're done and reuse for next time or long highway drives...and @ under $130, much more affordable than the clear bra...

still doesn't solve the wheel arches tho...for which I'd consider using the cheapo CDN Tire non-molded mud flaps (in black and without tweety or road-runner logos on them)...if you can use those pop-in rivets, you can prolly put them on for track and take them off when you leave...

[mleblond]

yeah that bra would be a must for me :) I will have to get it next time I go to MoT :)

[Wild Weasel]

I dunno man... that's thing probably weighs 4 or 5 lbs...

[huyzel]

something like this should do the trick
http://s3assets.nextnewnetworks.com/10556_large.jpg

[silvermist99]

^^^ much better than tape IMO, and you can always take it off once you're done and reuse for next time or long highway drives...and @ under $130, much more affordable than the clear bra...

still doesn't solve the wheel arches tho...for which I'd consider using the cheapo CDN Tire non-molded mud flaps (in black and without tweety or road-runner logos on them)...if you can use those pop-in rivets, you can prolly put them on for track and take them off when you leave...


how hard/long is it to take those big black leather bras on & off? hmm that sounded kind of wrong lol.

[07Speedfreak]

10 minutes or so. Just need to follow the instructions as in to put which hooks in the right order, or else you'll be putting tensions on the wrong sections while installling. Pretty easy install.

[silvermist99]

I got the bra and tried to install it yesterday in a humid, 30c weather. After 10mins I only got half of it on and gave up lol. Good thing I didn't hit any cones today. For first timer I think this will take 30mins++

[Fobio]

Keeping an eye out for these:

http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=116131.0

I don't like that big clip with the screw...I'm thinking more like pop -in/out rivets, but we'll see...

Killed 2 cones myself (at least...hehe) this wknd...but the colour of my car hides its bruises well...and they're mostly front of the bumper, so a bumper protector might solve 80% of cone marks...

[Marsh]

It's not a case of newb's cover their car. It's a case of wimps cover their cars with tape. Be a man. Take the hit. Competition cars aren't supposed to look like trailer queens. When they do you know the driver of that car isn't fast. If he was fast the car would show the marks of his aggression.

BTW in 10 years of autoslalom I've never damaged PAINT from hitting a cone. I've broken an under tray, broken a rusty rear brake line (2.5 hours from home, that was annoying), seen lips torn off, seen grills broken (on a brand new Lambo Gallardo, that was expensive), but never seen paint damage. The cones are soft. Usually they leave rubber behind on the paint and you just buff it off (I use a bug sponge to remove "cone scars" when I'm washing the front end of the car).