Some serious bra talk

Jack 06 · 02-09-2006, 03:59 PM

I'm probably the biggest supporter :P of vinyl bras at PriusChat. I currently have them on my '06 (put it on yesterday) and '04, my '97 Paseo, and previously had them on my '02 and '01 Priuses.

Yes, using one requires some maintenance, but not that big a deal to me (and I'm 64). And yes, the FIRST time you put the larger piece on, it'll take maybe half an hour.

To me, it's all a "bottom line" thing. Do you ordinarily trade/sell a car after 2-5 years? If so, what's the part of the car that usually looks the worst, no matter how well you clean it? I drive a lot (20-25K mi/yr), and for me a front end full of pock marks detracts from resale/trade-in value. What's it cost to have the front end re-painted (and probably not matched perfectly)? Several hundred dollars. If you carefully try to use touch-up paint on, say, 50-100 pock marks, it'll be noticeable no matter how well you do it.

So it's the $120 cost of the bra + some maintenance vs. a loss of several hundred later on (in either re-painting OR reduced resale value).

Do I think the bra makes my car look cooler? Not automatically. I didn't like the way it looked so much on my white '01. On my red '06 (and red Paseo convertible) I like it.

Believe me, these "official" Toyota bras are TOUGH. The vinyl is thick, and the flannel backing makes the whole thing almost a little cushion-y, even when it's snugly on the car. They're measured and cut almost perfectly, and the fasteners are great.

When on the car, the bra is easier to clean, no matter how thick the bug splatter, than the sheet metal on the car would be. I use the plastic scrubby back part of a dish sponge.

The scary stuff you hear about possible paint damage if dirt gets trapped under the flannel and there's any grinding action from the bra shifting slightly while in use is VERY remote, and avoidable. First, such damage is a much greater possibility on the much smaller, upper part that fits on the bottom few inches of the hood. Because of the slope of the hood, small dirt particles CAN wash down the hood and work their way under the edge of the bra when it rains. But that edge hugs the sheet metal tightly, so if any water/dirt does get under, it's only the top inch or so. And this can be checked easily by simply putting your finger under the edge and lifting up slightly to see if anything has gotten underneath.

The good news is that the small hood piece can be removed/put back on in about 30 seconds (only 4 fastening hooks), so there's no good reason NOT to take it off every 2-3 car washes, as 2hybrids and galaxee indicate. It's smart to re-apply a little polish/wax to that botton few inches of the hood as "insurance".

In my experience, there are two cases where you're more susceptible to paint damage, and it DID happen to me once. One is if you get an "off-market" bra that's not sold through dealerships. The biggest maker of these is LeBra. And they're not really bad, either; just not cut to fit as tightly as possible. The other problem is if the particular car you're putting a bra on has any styling "sculpted" indentations on the hood that easily allows water/dirt to run all the way down the hood under the bra. I bought a LeBra for a Honda Odyssey van with a slightly sculpted hood and had a few paint scratches. Even then, the scratches weren't as deep or as bad as pock marks would have been.

For all that, I'm open to a clear bra application on some future car, but I wouldn't pay over $200, which means I'd have to suck it up and do it myself. For now, I'm good with the vinyl bras. And I HAVE wondered why more---many more---owners (of ALL cars) don't use them. All I can figure is that people are AFRAID of putting them on, and ASSUME that they're "more trouble than they're worth". Too bad.

If galaxee or 2hybrids reads this and disagrees with anything, think I left anything out or overstated something, please note it. I haven't usually gone into this amount of detail. Just trying to help someone make a good decision.

Jack 06 · 02-09-2006, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by richard schumacher@Feb 9 2006, 12:05 PM
Support for Bra Talk ® is provided by the Natural Endowment of the Eumenides, the Victoria's Secret Foundation, and viewers like you.

[snapback]206461[/snapback]

w00t

landstander · 02-09-2006, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by richard schumacher@Feb 9 2006, 01:05 PM
Support for Bra Talk ® is provided by the Natural Endowment of the Eumenides, the Victoria's Secret Foundation, and viewers like you.

[snapback]206461[/snapback]

I prefer my priuses (prii?) topless! w00t!!!

jbarnhart · 02-09-2006, 05:42 PM

Jack -- didn't you mention the official Prius bra doesn't fit the '06?? How did you get yours on? And what about the wonderful California front license plate?

Catskillguy · 02-09-2006, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jbarnhart@Feb 9 2006, 06:42 PM
Jack -- didn't you mention the official Prius bra doesn't fit the '06?? How did you get yours on? And what about the wonderful California front license plate?

[snapback]206644[/snapback]

OHHH... NY has the mandatory front license plate also...

sunnysandiegan · 02-10-2006, 02:53 AM

I am going with the 3M clear stuff and I got the dealer to pay for it. I'll post about my experiences later.

Astrotoy7 · 02-10-2006, 08:32 AM

I do not believe in car bras at all. Topless Prii all the way :P

Roger3125 · 02-10-2006, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sunnysandiegan@Feb 10 2006, 02:53 AM
I am going with the 3M clear stuff and I got the dealer to pay for it. I'll post about my experiences later.

[snapback]206949[/snapback]

Please post photos too if you can. That would be great!

galaxee · 02-10-2006, 12:16 PM

the toyota bra has a front license plate cutout for those of you unfortunate enough to haev a front plate. i don't know about aftermarket bras.

Emma · 02-10-2006, 01:39 PM

I had a bra on my Honda Civic for about eight years, until it started to disintegrate. It was a Honda bra.

Are they making them differently these days (I bought mine Honda one back in '94 when I got the car new)? I never had a problem putting mine on or taking it off and did so every time I washed the car (except the rare occasions I didn't wash it myself). It was a breeze to get on and off. Even if I was being excessively OCD about the side pieces matching up perfectly with the hood piece, it only took me about 5 minutes to put it back on.

02-10-2006, 01:39 PM	#20
Emma Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Lake Erie Region - USA Posts: 122 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	I had a bra on my Honda Civic for about eight years, until it started to disintegrate. It was a Honda bra. Are they making them differently these days (I bought mine Honda one back in '94 when I got the car new)? I never had a problem putting mine on or taking it off and did so every time I washed the car (except the rare occasions I didn't wash it myself). It was a breeze to get on and off. Even if I was being excessively OCD about the side pieces matching up perfectly with the hood piece, it only took me about 5 minutes to put it back on. __________________ 2006 Barcelona Red Metallic (HK #6) February 8, 2006

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02-09-2006, 03:59 PM	#11
Jack 06 Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Winters, CA: Prius capital of US. 30 miles W of Sacramento Posts: 2,567 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	I'm probably the biggest supporter :P of vinyl bras at PriusChat. I currently have them on my '06 (put it on yesterday) and '04, my '97 Paseo, and previously had them on my '02 and '01 Priuses. Yes, using one requires some maintenance, but not that big a deal to me (and I'm 64). And yes, the FIRST time you put the larger piece on, it'll take maybe half an hour. To me, it's all a "bottom line" thing. Do you ordinarily trade/sell a car after 2-5 years? If so, what's the part of the car that usually looks the worst, no matter how well you clean it? I drive a lot (20-25K mi/yr), and for me a front end full of pock marks detracts from resale/trade-in value. What's it cost to have the front end re-painted (and probably not matched perfectly)? Several hundred dollars. If you carefully try to use touch-up paint on, say, 50-100 pock marks, it'll be noticeable no matter how well you do it. So it's the $120 cost of the bra + some maintenance vs. a loss of several hundred later on (in either re-painting OR reduced resale value). Do I think the bra makes my car look cooler? Not automatically. I didn't like the way it looked so much on my white '01. On my red '06 (and red Paseo convertible) I like it. Believe me, these "official" Toyota bras are TOUGH. The vinyl is thick, and the flannel backing makes the whole thing almost a little cushion-y, even when it's snugly on the car. They're measured and cut almost perfectly, and the fasteners are great. When on the car, the bra is easier to clean, no matter how thick the bug splatter, than the sheet metal on the car would be. I use the plastic scrubby back part of a dish sponge. The scary stuff you hear about possible paint damage if dirt gets trapped under the flannel and there's any grinding action from the bra shifting slightly while in use is VERY remote, and avoidable. First, such damage is a much greater possibility on the much smaller, upper part that fits on the bottom few inches of the hood. Because of the slope of the hood, small dirt particles CAN wash down the hood and work their way under the edge of the bra when it rains. But that edge hugs the sheet metal tightly, so if any water/dirt does get under, it's only the top inch or so. And this can be checked easily by simply putting your finger under the edge and lifting up slightly to see if anything has gotten underneath. The good news is that the small hood piece can be removed/put back on in about 30 seconds (only 4 fastening hooks), so there's no good reason NOT to take it off every 2-3 car washes, as 2hybrids and galaxee indicate. It's smart to re-apply a little polish/wax to that botton few inches of the hood as "insurance". In my experience, there are two cases where you're more susceptible to paint damage, and it DID happen to me once. One is if you get an "off-market" bra that's not sold through dealerships. The biggest maker of these is LeBra. And they're not really bad, either; just not cut to fit as tightly as possible. The other problem is if the particular car you're putting a bra on has any styling "sculpted" indentations on the hood that easily allows water/dirt to run all the way down the hood under the bra. I bought a LeBra for a Honda Odyssey van with a slightly sculpted hood and had a few paint scratches. Even then, the scratches weren't as deep or as bad as pock marks would have been. For all that, I'm open to a clear bra application on some future car, but I wouldn't pay over $200, which means I'd have to suck it up and do it myself. For now, I'm good with the vinyl bras. And I HAVE wondered why more---many more---owners (of ALL cars) don't use them. All I can figure is that people are AFRAID of putting them on, and ASSUME that they're "more trouble than they're worth". Too bad. If galaxee or 2hybrids reads this and disagrees with anything, think I left anything out or overstated something, please note it. I haven't usually gone into this amount of detail. Just trying to help someone make a good decision.

02-09-2006, 05:42 PM	#14
jbarnhart Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Santa Clara, CA Posts: 629 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 1	Jack -- didn't you mention the official Prius bra doesn't fit the '06?? How did you get yours on? And what about the wonderful California front license plate?

02-10-2006, 02:53 AM	#16
sunnysandiegan Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 248 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	I am going with the 3M clear stuff and I got the dealer to pay for it. I'll post about my experiences later.

02-10-2006, 08:32 AM	#17
Astrotoy7 Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 108 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	I do not believe in car bras at all. Topless Prii all the way :P

02-10-2006, 12:16 PM	#19
galaxee resident lab rat Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: boilermaker territory Posts: 9,675 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: N/A Package: #5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 94 Times in 37 Posts Friends: 26	the toyota bra has a front license plate cutout for those of you unfortunate enough to haev a front plate. i don't know about aftermarket bras.