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Paint Protection and FE/MPG

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by jbleee, Mar 22, 2011.

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  1. jbleee

    jbleee New Member

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    The clear bra is great so far, however I had one small chip and should have at least touched it up before the bra went on. You cannot tell there is even any film unless you walk up to the car and put your face up to it.

    Recommended if you live in wet environments, or places that will gravel the roads a few times during winter.
     
    #21 jbleee, Mar 26, 2011
  2. jbleee

    jbleee New Member

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    bump for more answers on if paint protection, (3M clear bra) adversely affects FE/MPG or if its to negligible to be concerned over. I feel like it would be equivalent to the MPG decrease if you have not washed your car for months.
     
    #22 jbleee, Mar 29, 2011
  3. rrolff

    rrolff Prius Surgeon

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    When I wax my car (it's really a synthetic 3M compound for aerospace), I find - based on a dirty unwashed car - I get anywhere from a 2.72 and 3.14 increase in MPG....
     
    #23 rrolff, Mar 29, 2011
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I appreciate waxing our car, for the look, the protection, but I can't see a 3 mpg improvement happening. Or any improvement, for that matter.
     
    #24 Mendel Leisk, Mar 29, 2011
  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    He tests his vehicle in the JPL wind tunnel so he totally knows what he is talking about! He is our expert aerodynamic tester guy! He recently found that gluing Wheaties flakes to the body of the car does not make you a winner nor does it increase mpg. I'm glad I kept my receipt for all those boxes of cereal I ordered.

    /joke mode off
     
    #25 F8L, Mar 29, 2011
  6. Golfman

    Golfman New Member

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    I was at the dealer today and asked the price of the clear bra and was giver a price of $699. I think I can buy a lot of touchup paint for that price.
     
    #26 Golfman, Mar 29, 2011
  7. Joe166

    Joe166 New Member

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    If you went to a Toyota dealer to get it, they saw you coming. There are lots of places that do it a lot cheaper (and that is probably where your dealer would take it too.)
     
    #27 Joe166, Mar 29, 2011
  8. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    You'll be sorry....... Touch up paint cannot fix what the clear bra protects. Trust me on this one. I've wetsanded many a car in my days. :)
     
    #28 F8L, Mar 30, 2011
  9. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    You'll be sorry....... Touch up paint cannot fix what the clear bra protects. Trust me on this one. I've wetsanded many a car in my days. :)
     
    #29 F8L, Mar 30, 2011
  10. rrolff

    rrolff Prius Surgeon

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    It's not really a wax - it's a 3M synthetic compound used in the aerospace industry.
     
    #30 rrolff, Mar 30, 2011
  11. jbleee

    jbleee New Member

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    So your numbers probably wouldn't be suitable for consumer synthetic car wax, Mequires NXT, Eagle Nano etc. Interesting though..Im going to conclude that clear bras dont adversely affect FE.

    And the clear bra is doing its job, however, i didnt not protect the hood and am already finding tiny little chips with under 2k miles on the hood of my Prius..Oh well cant protect the whole car, just image how bad the bumper/grill will look with a few thousand more miles
     
    #31 jbleee, Apr 1, 2011
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Well, I might get flamed for this, but personal experience:

    We always keep a generous following distance, and to date, with a bit over 5000km's, haven't seen a single chip on the front. You can catch stuff anyways, even from oncoming traffic, but so far so good.
     
    #32 Mendel Leisk, Apr 1, 2011
  13. clearbraj

    clearbraj Junior Member

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    Yes! Clear bra will improve your MPG!! You can draft behind any vehicle and not worry about paint chips, sand abrasion etc. I would recommend the lights be protected should you drive like Kurt Bush.:)
    Little humor here.
     
    #33 clearbraj, Apr 7, 2011
  14. dustoff003

    dustoff003 Blizzard Brigade #003

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    Do not forget about the windshield tear-off's.
     
    #34 dustoff003, Apr 7, 2011
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