Road Trippin' in the S4. Thoughts on Protection?

[nealRlett]

Taking the S4 on another road trip and wanted to know what fellow Audizine members use for front-end protection, if any?
Last road trip I did, I collected a few small paint chip's from trucks and stuff.

So far I have heard of:
the clear bra ( too late for that),
the infamous car bra ( little funky and may scratch paint),
the paintable/ peel-remove bra (seems like a pain in the ass)
the painters-tape bra ( a bit ghetto-fab and blue, but cheap)


what are you guys running these days? if anything?


thanks.

[CaptDistraction]

painter's tape. Only one that really won't damage the paint imo.

[nealRlett]

painter's tape. Only one that really won't damage the paint imo.

very true, just wish it came in black!!!

[GFRRS3]

http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_p...me=&item=83148

BLACK!!

[nealRlett]

http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_p...me=&item=83148

BLACK!!

lol. thanks. Found this and even called them to see if it came any wider than 1 inch. This is plan "A" at this point unless anyone knows of any other ideas. thanks

[cellg8]

Might as well get one installed now and use it forever! Good thing your car is black and don't have to worry about it turning yellow (if you decide to get something that would change color over time)...

[oatzel]

i never bother.

[Auditude2.0T]

paint your car sprint blue to match the paint.

[lmmike]

Go naked. I have an 05 s4 with 97k miles. Still looks amazing, just don't tailgate the big trucks. If you leave room to see the crap in the road you don't need the protection. Have fun on the trip, these cars are amazing and very tempting not to open up when there aren't any cars around.

[Storm33]

A quick and easy solution for bugs is Pam cooking spray. Just spray a coat of Pam on your front end (except the headlamps) and all of the bugs will wash right off. I know you were asking about rock chips, but I've personally had more trouble with bugs on long trips than anything else.

Hope that helps!

[channad]

just leave it...nothing will reverse age...live with it

[whartung]

haha i'm driving cross country and I have a sprint blue. I'm kinda in channad's boat on this one, just live with it, but its like a new ipod. I'm really damn protective of it until it gets its first scratch. Should I actually tape up the front of the car? I think my buddy doing the drive with me would think i was crazy when i showed up in my sick ass car with 20 dollars worth of painters tape stuck to the front...

[nealRlett]

thanks for all the input. It's a tough decision because I would rather drive it naked, like it should be. However, the front bumper was replaced and repainted (damn Audi delivery truck) and now I am concerned with the non- factory paint, especially when driving in the snow. The first 3 months I had the car I didn't care at all because Audi said they owed me a front bumper. However, the trip to Lake Tahoe showed some chips. Especially on a black car. I always leave 2-3 seconds behind any car on the highway but if you leave too much space,you get cut-off. Got some great ideas here. Some pretty funny ones too.

[10MPG]

painters paint ftw.

tape up the whole car and if anyone asks, just tell him that you are doing some test driving for a top secret 2010 modeling

[nealRlett]

painters paint ftw.

tape up the whole car and if anyone asks, just tell him that you are doing some test driving for a top secret 2010 modeling

good thing the car is black for that! better de-badge the V8 emblems now.

[whartung]

I seriously think i'm going to give my car a painters tape bra for the drive. I think one of the funniest parts will be when i take it off and the grill, lights, and 3/4s of the car are covered in dead bugs and dirt while the 1/4 up front is spick and span

[jester7677]

Clear bra, even now, or i wouldn't bother...

[drewaudis4]

I have a clear bra and I hate it. Came with the car. It really shows on the edges.. it looks white not transparent.

[b spot]

I have a clear bra and I hate it. Came with the car. It really shows on the edges.. it looks white not transparent.

My buddy was saying simoniz wipes work wonders to get it's transparency back.

I have the same problem, car came with it, and I'm not a fan either.

Cars are meant to be driven. You bought a nice looking car, now drive it around so people can see it, not covered in tape.

[whartung]

yeah it would be a little ridiculous. but dude, if avoiding paint chips is as easy as putting tape on the front end, why not? However, painters tape has a tendency to pull of varnish or paint if left on countertops or walls for too long. you think theres a chance it could do the same to car paint?

[HOFFY11]

everyone tapes them !..then writes all over them in tape too!

[Stormin]

everyone tapes them !..then writes all over them in tape too!

We're doing this for the short trip down to Oregon we have next month.

(Well everyone but me, I have a clear bra)

[dpdaudi]

Last time I took a road trip, someone lost a load of sheet metal in front of us in a construction zone(nowhere to go.) Unfortunately I lost my front fog grille, paint off the bumper, and it tore off my engine shield. I guess it could have been worse.....

[Stormin]

In this state, they would have been paying to fix your car for failing to secure their load properly...

[oatzel]

painters paint ftw.

tape up the whole car and if anyone asks, just tell him that you are doing some test driving for a top secret 2010 modeling

anyone have the post to the guys that did tape the entire car. may have been a vortex post. couple years ago probably. very funny

[skunkoncrunk]

Tape. Who cares if the tape doesn't match the car. I would rather have the protection on long trips.

[b spot]

Tape. Who cares if the tape doesn't match the car. I would rather have the protection on long trips.

Won't your car get destroyed in the city anyways? I've caught way more rocks in the city than on the highway, and I put way more kilometers on in the city, and I think we all agree it would be retarded to leave the tape on full time.

[whartung]

it would be retarded to leave the tape on full time. However, does leaving it on for four or five days risk the paint due to the painters tape like, permanently adhering to the car due to heat, time, pressure, etc?

[Ill 3.0]

I've left tape on a few days with no problems. But rain might be an issue, kind of sucks to have tape start to peel off on the highway.

[eddier]

Last time I took a road trip, someone lost a load of sheet metal in front of us in a construction zone(nowhere to go.) Unfortunately I lost my front fog grille, paint off the bumper, and it tore off my engine shield. I guess it could have been worse.....

im not sure painters tape would have saved you.

[whartung]

^^^ kevlar maybe...

[Jibberific]

Here's my car all taped up. It worked great on the trip. This is almost a full roll of painter's tape. And yes i got some funny looks from strangers, but they just said oh you must be on a road trip. I wound up leaving it on for about 2 days and it only left a tiny bit of the adhesive behind (it was 100 degrees). Some goo-gone took it right off though.The only thing i didn't like was how the tape couldn't go on flat because of the curves. it was all wrinkly.

[whartung]

thats goofy as hell. I might just take the no-tailgating route and avoid getting rock chips that way...

[Jibberific]

Ha. well, good luck then. Enjoy driving your B7 with a thousand chips in the front. A hood full of craters looks a bit goofier than a temporary layer of tape.

[DGS4]

I take the S4 on a 10 hour road trip every year bare front. Never had a problem except for scraping the bugs off the front.