bug deflector

[///M]

I\'m thinking of getting a bug deflector for my 3...I\'ve seen a few with them already. Will it help prevent stone chips on the hood?

Also, how are they installed? I don\'t want any drilling.

@ Flipspeed...I think I\'ve seen an orange 3 in the Avante showroom with it installed...how much does it cost?

[miggiddy]

No drilling required. They have these pain in the a$$ clips you clamp over the edge of the hood and the screws that hold the deflector in place tap into those clips.

I\'ve been very happy with mine. I haven\'t noticed any wind noise while running on the hwy, but then again I installed it 2 days after I picked up my car. The only annoying part is when washing the car it\'s difficult to clean underneath. I\'ve removed it a coulple of times to wash and wax the car.

I think it has done a pretty good job thus far, I do have a few chips here and there, but I don\'t think the clear bra would have saved the hood either.

It looks good to me IMO, well black on black works. My car looks strange without it. I haven\'t seen it up close on any other colour...well except silver (at the dealership) it really stands out. Check on M3F for other pics, I recall a pic on an orange 3.

I say go for it, if you don\'t want the clear bra.

[RedRaptor]

I\'ve seen the same hood deflector for the Orange Mica Sport GT in the Avante TO showroom. I really like the look of it and thought I would get one for my Sport GT. Until someone at M3F mentioned a really good point. Depending on how the deflector attaches to your hood, the point of contact will actually chip your hood paint because when the car is going at high velocity, the deflector will vibrate against your hood which in turn will chip the paint on your hood.

It made sense...but I was a little skeptical until I checked the family van (2001 Ford Windstar with Hood Deflector). I lifted the deflector off the hood a little and noticed that there indeed was chipped paint exposing bare metal at the points where the deflector made contact with the hood. I also noticed that there is a lot of dirt and grime underneath the deflector on the hood.

I have to tell my dad so we can clean up the arenas with chipped paint and use some touch up paint before it starts to rust. Good thing we have Rustcheck on the Windstar.

So for my car, I elected to go the Clear Bra way. Its double the cost of a hood deflector but its easy to clean and has more coverage for protection (front fenders & mirrors). The actual hood portion of the clear bra actually rides up the hood higher than the hood deflector providing more protection.

[miggiddy]

Originally posted by RedRaptor


I\'ve seen the same hood deflector for the Orange Mica Sport GT in the Avante TO showroom. I really like the look of it and thought I would get one for my Sport GT. Until someone at M3F mentioned a really good point. Depending on how the deflector attaches to your hood, the point of contact will actually chip your hood paint because when the car is going at high velocity, the deflector will vibrate against your hood which in turn will chip the paint on your hood.

It made sense...but I was a little skeptical until I checked the family van (2001 Ford Windstar with Hood Deflector). I lifted the deflector off the hood a little and noticed that there indeed was chipped paint exposing bare metal at the points where the deflector made contact with the hood. I also noticed that there is a lot of dirt and grime underneath the deflector on the hood.

I have to tell my dad so we can clean up the arenas with chipped paint and use some touch up paint before it starts to rust. Good thing we have Rustcheck on the Windstar.

So for my car, I elected to go the Clear Bra way. Its double the cost of a hood deflector but its easy to clean and has more coverage for protection (front fenders & mirrors). The actual hood portion of the clear bra actually rides up the hood higher than the hood deflector providing more protection.



The package included these rubber bumbers so that it doesn\'t make contact with the car. I haven\'t noticed anything...yet ofcourse, but I\'m pretty confident that it is not.

I\'ll try to get close up pics

[FLIPDADY]

Well I know there are a few manufacturers of hood deflectors on the market that use metal clips under the deflector. Those damage the paint for sure. The Mazda one\'s have a plastic clip that slides onto the hood. Easy installation and easy removal with no damage to your hood whatsoever. I\'m not a big fan of clear bra\'s mainly because my brother\'s friend had a silver Probe with the strip on it and it turned yellow after a while. Plus it\'s a permanent fixture on your hood. You can always take the deflector off when washing the car.

Don\'t forget you have the nice Mazda logo on it too!

[///M]

It\'s OEM Mazda? Cool. I\'m definately intersted. How much do they cost?

I saw some Ventvisor ones hanging around in the parts dept...

[Newlook]

Originally posted by autoexe


It\'s OEM Mazda? Cool. I\'m definately intersted. How much do they cost?

I saw some Ventvisor ones hanging around in the parts dept...

Have you read Xenon\'s post in the Buy/Sell section?

I think it\'s ~$60 if you buy it from the dealer.

[///M]

He\'s selling one for the sedan.

[bubba1983]

anybody know of a write up, with pics for install...i read teh booklet thing for it, but those brown sticky things are still confusing me...