Front End Bra for My Prius?

pros: no scrubbing the front end to remove all the bugs. no paint chips on the front bumper. looks nice (well IMO)
cons: the top part doesn't exactly fit like a glove. leaves and stuff get in there, so i take it off every now and then to clean it out when i wash the car. it does get kind of faded, i shine it up with mother's back to black when it starts to look dingy. i guess that's mainly an issue if your car is black though. silver might not cause the dinginess to stand out as much.

as far as the paint fade, it's still under debate as to whether or not that's an issue at all. i've seen posts here saying a bra didn't cause different paint fade even after years. i don't really care either.

 

I am the owner of a 2006 Prius and I have always purchased a bra for every car I have owned. I have yet to see any paint fade because of the bra.

Just make sure when it gets wet you take it off immediately. Do not drive in the rain with the bra on.

As for the Prius bra, I put it in the dryer for about 3 minutes before I installed it for the first time on the hood. The heat made the material soft so it would stretch easily. It did not damge the bra.

It took some stretching to get the bra perfect. In fact it was some job getting the bra on for the first time. It seems very snug. As for the lower bra, I don't know if I will put it on. My wife does not like the look of the car with a big black bra covering the front end. Hopefully I might convince her it is needed.

Also, I just purchased side moulding for the car. The side of the car looks like it is a good target for a door ding.

 

I just got one. My intention is to modify it with grill covers from black vinyl that I will add during the winter to allow the car to warm up and stay warm. I think I can rig up something adjustable that will allow me to quickly and easily modify the air flow according to temperature. Not much use in the desert but in the Northland might make a good looking near OEM, easily adjustable way for the car to warm up faster and stay warm and keep me warmer as well.
Thanks the dryer hint. It is cold here now and I am willing to bet that will impede any stretching during the install.
Has any one noted a milage hit with the Bra?

 

Are you referring to any bra or a specific bra? I am curious about the 'clear' bras/masks. Are these removable for cleaning, etc?

TIA

 

No. We're talking only about the black vinyl 2-piece bra that fits over the lower few inches of the hood and almost all of the front bumper/grille. Attach with elastic straps, plastic hooks and rubber strips that wedge in between the headlights and fender.

I've had 'em on all three of my Priuses and two other recent cars. The front end on my '04 looks like new (39K mi.).

No, no effect on MPG.

 

Thanks Jack!

 

Most dealers sell them for $150-175. You can get one from toyotapart.com for $112 (last time I bought) + shipping (sometimes free!). toyotapart.com is a Toyota dealer (Metro Toyota) in Kalamazoo, MI that sells all Toyota parts as cheaply as I've seen anywhere.

 

I've always had a vinyl bra on my cars before the Prius, but they were always a pain to deal with. You have to take them off to wash the car, then you have to wash the Bra, and you can't put the bra back on until it's dry. Plus, you can't put the bra on a dirty car. so, you wash the front of the car a second time when the bra finally dries.

This time I had a 3M clear "bra" put on instead of the vinyl ones. It's soooo much better. I'll never go back to the old black vinyl ones!

 

The upper (hood) piece takes about 2 minutes, a snap. The lower one is the toughie---but even then, I did it the first time in about an hour (endlessly re-reading the instructions, so as not to mess it up). Now I can get the lower piece back on in about 10 minutes!

I disagree that you need to remove the bra every time you wash the car. Depends on how often you wash it. A little dirt/debris will wash/slide down into the top inch or so of the hood piece. It's that inch or so you have to watch, as you don't want the slightest shifting of it (and there rarely is any shifting) to rub the particles into your paint. Since it's so easy to take off, that piece can be taken off every wash.

You brush out the inside (felt-type backing) with a small, stiff brush. Then you moisten and scrub a little that top inch or so that got dirty. If you turn it inside out, it dries quickly---about 20 min. Or you can blow-dry it in a few min.

The bottom part, naturally, needs more cleaning when you take it off. I take mine off about 3 times a year.

I'm typing this after narf has advocated the 3M clear bra. I've never seen one close up. It might be a good option, and would certainly be easier to maintain. My biggest reservation about it is whether it can repel bigger and/or faster-traveling stones (e.g., off the back of a gravel truck driving ahead of you) without breaking through both the coating and the paint. Maybe narf can speak to that, if he/she comes back here.

 

I, for one, would love to read any comments for or against the clear bra/mask.

 

Karin,

I've had the clear bra on my car for 2 months (since I bought it). I love it so far. It's very discreet. You wouldn't know it was there unless you were within 3 feet and looking for it! That might be an exaggeration, my eyes aren't what they used to be, but still you have to be looking to notice it.

Mine covers the front of the hood and the side mirrors. There's another option that you can get that costs a little more where the clear mask (that's what Toyota calls it) is applied to the headlights as well. I don't have that option.

 

I've never had a problem with the vinyl bras on my cars.. I only use the hood portion (the bra) and leave the bumper part (the drawers) off as I don't like the look of the cover on the bumper, and being closer to the road, it's the portion that typically gets dirt and grit trapped underneath (anyone want to buy a brand new, unused bumper protector portion for a Classic Prius?)

I used to take the bra off every time I washed the car, etc, but after a while, I noticed that beyond a couple of bits of leaves, the bra keeps the covered area pretty darned clean, so I started going through the car washes with it left on.. If you go and inspect it afterwards, you'll find that very little water actually gets under there, same with driving in the rain.. Once or twice a year I'd do the full hand wash, and I'd take off the bra and do the full wax and polish treatment, but otherwise the bra stayed on 24/7.. My last car, a Corolla, had its bra on pretty much continuously for 14 years and honestly, there's no visible fading between the covered and uncovered portions.. The difference you can see is that the covered portion is still smooth and scratch free, looking like the day I bought the car, whereas the rest of the paint had some fine swirls and scratches from 14 years of exposure to the environment..

I looked at the clear bra stuff, but unfortunately, I couldn't use it on my Classic without first getting a new paintjob for the hood as it was way too pitted from its first few years under its previous owner without a bra.. There's also different brands of clear bra stuff available and some of it is better than others.. I was at the dealership a few months back and they had a Camry on the floor with an aftermarket dealer-applied bra, but the corners were peeled back from people picking at it and there was a very visible edge that caught the light..

The Classic has a bit of what I believe is a variety of clear-bra material on the bottom of the rear doors, just in front of the wheel wells- anyone know what brand Toyota used for this?? This stuff has proven very durable- no peeling, the edges are not too pronounced, etc..

 

Lots of good info and advice. I am going to use both parts as part of my plan to develop an adjustable radiator blocker that I can take off in the spring. So it looks like bra and bloomers. Thanks to everyone!

 

Thanks Tripp!

 

I have used an aftermarket "LeBra" on my Integra for about the past 7 years with no visible fading. The old stories of fading or ruining the paint are the result of neglect.

The decision should ultimately be whether you like the "look" and if you are prepared to do a little work to maintain it. Here are the rules I followed;

1. Apply a good waxing to the bumper for added protection. "Meguiars" 3-step has worked well for me over the years.
2. Remove it every 4 to 6 weeks and wash to remove dirt/sand buildup. Re-apply wax to bumper before reinstallation.
3. NEVER leave it on in the winter - salt is a killer (though probably not applicable in NM B) )

I also never remove it when it rains. Interestingly, when the car (and bra) was newer, I would occasionally notice the paint fade considerably after a good rain, and the bright red paint would turn pink (!) in spots where the bra was more fitted. However, simply removing the bra and leaving the car in the sun for a few hours "cured" the paint back to the original color. Strangely, it doesn't seem to do this anymore...? :huh:

Of course as others have mentioned, the clear bra is another option as well as the plastic hood deflector.

Personally, I will probably go with the hood deflector myself on my next car, primarily because my responsibilities have changed since I bought the car years ago and no longer have as much time to invest in upkeep... but that's just me!

Sorry for the long post...

- Kevin

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Howard @ Dec 19 2005, 07:17 PM) [snapback]175845[/snapback]</div>

....Howard,
...i was wondering about you taking off the bra before driving in the rain...
....do you still take the bra off when its raining?
...what damage would occur if you drove in the rain with a bra?.
...i thought this would'nt be a problem..
..thanx daniel