get your mind out of the gutter. you know what i mean.

i was accelerating on an on-ramp last weekend (i'm sure no one else does this) and closed in on a truck that shot some rocks at me. one skipped up my hood and hit my windshield. left a "microscopic" nick on my hood... but i know it's there!!!

anyway...

who makes them?
plusses and minuses different brands (for fit, cost, ease of install/removal)
approximate cost

-marc

 

Marc,

I own a Colgan bra. Its nice. Only experienced a single issue with it... However, that issue cropped up a few times initially & was a bit of a pain -- that being that the driver's side, top-most, fender clip would become dislodged at high speeds...a true pain in the a$$ to pass the world, then have to pull over to re-attach a flappin' bra.

Just do a search for Colgan bra...heck, I've done it for ya...just click here:Colgan Bra Search and you'll probably get all your answers you're seeking...

Also, I just took mine off for the first time I'd say since around Dec 20th and there were no paint, gravel, scratch type issues to address. However, when I've washed the car in the interim, I've always been sure to flush a lot of water under the bra to attempt to flush out small debris, etc. And if you're curious as to why I've not removed the bra each time I've washed, well I also own a Coastal-Metals grill insert -- and that has to be removed to remove the bra. Not a biggie issue, but enough of one that I don't remove the bra every time I'm rinsing off road grime.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by w1ngman
[B]Marc,

I own a Colgan bra.

 

I've got the Colgan Bra also. I use it on long trips. I've never had one before, so it took me a long time to figure it out. Once I finally got it hooked up correctly, it worked great. The instructions were xeroxed and the pictures were un-recognizable. If you don't get it on correctly, the part above the headlights balloons out a little.

 

Might look into stoneguard....it is a thin adhesive plastic film (by 3m I think) that goes on the nose. Sand and dirt cant get under it and scratch up the paint like a bra plus you don't have to fight removing it to wash the car.

Do a search on it...there were several threads on it for a while. One negative I remember was a few people who put it over their headlights had a problem with the lens cracking....don't know of they ever decided that the stoneguard was at fault or not.....it may be spelt stonegard

 

no, I usually borrow my sister's

 

w1ngman, I think that I would be talking to Colgan about your defective bra? I'm trying to imagine how in the world that tab can come loose while you are driving. Mine fits very snuggly and I have a devil of a time to get it in and out with the hood open???

It might be worth a phone call.

Bob

 

Marc, check my sig...& click on The Bruised Banana. That is my pic site & I have a good number of pics of my Spa with the Colgan on it.

Although my grill insert is powder coated black and therefore not very visible in the pics...rest assured its there. I found removal & reinsertion of the grill to be no big deal when I recently removed my bra. Two screws...ehh!...no real hardship there, honest. With the bra fitted, the grill does not insert "all the way back" into the maw of the S2000, but it comes within I'd say 1/2 inch or less of doing so. And the fit is tight to be sure, but its also evident that it is secure where it mounts & fits against the bra...so no biggie for me there either.

Also, to your question about vinyl back & moisture, etc. Colgan has a nice backing that seems to do a decent job of not allowing (at least in my experience) moisture to simply "lay there" and mildew. Now granted, vinyl doesn't breath, but again, the fabric backing seems to at least keep the vinyl directly off of the paint's surface.

I truely doubt mine is a design flaw that caused the release over the driver's fender on that single bracket (1 of 4, I believe it is, per side). More likely, just the bra needing to mate-to-fit my car out of the box. Keep in mind, although this has been a mild winter here in VA, nonetheless its cool and the vinyl probably has needed some time to form-fit/shape to the car. Again, I attempted to word it to relay that *initially* I suffered through this problem a few times. Hasn't happened any recently...& I've given it more than a few workouts. Probably just needed time to fit to the car. And that, I should think, would also answer boiler's question/advice...don't think its a design flaw, just needed time...

'smyroad, not sure if your Colgan is like mine, but with my "newest"(?) version, as I've come to gather, Colgan added a nicely taylored vertical strip of vinyl between the low & high beams on each headlamp to reduce ballooning. I've experienced no ballooning myself. Some have joked that I'm just too short to see over the nose of my car (and that might be true) but I've witnessed no stretching of the vinyl, etc. to lead me to believe that ballooning is occuring at high speeds. Only other point I'll make (and this is a personal interpretation of "the look" of the bra with the vertical vinyl strip between the lights)...is that looking at the car straight on, it looks as tho' its "eyes" are cross-eyed. Yes, I'm stranged...and I know it.

tpn has a point about stonegard...and many members here like it. I've seen the product on a number of cars. My biggest concerns? Once its on the car...its kinda on-the-car, if you know what I mean. Also, where the edge of the stonegard product ends,...well, let's just say its easy to see the "seam" against the paintjob as dirt sets there 'bout as pretty as a mechanics fingernails IMO.

What else... Oh yeah, as much as I like my Colgan...and I *do*...taking it off offered me a refreshing look at my gorgeous S2000's front end again. Much like (and no offense here ladies) the removal of a female's bra. What's underneath is ultimately much more attractive than that which protects it. Again, remember to check my pic site marc for some ideas on what the Colgan looks like...

 

w1ngman,

thanks for the comprehensive analyis of your colgan. i really do appreciate the effort you expended in composing the post. all i can say is that if you're equally passionate about your wife/gf's bra, she is a lucky lady indeed (no offense to female board members -- but isn't this a fact??? )

i think i'll go with the colgan at least for the time being. for $100 bucks or so it's worth it to protect my "virgin" front end. i'll look into the stongard at my leisure and see some installs in-person, then make a determination.

thanks again for your help. i'm new to the s2k board (not even 30 days old) and i can't believe the level of supportiveness and openess folks like you extend to perfect strangers. in hawaiian, it's called "kokua". I guess it s2kokua here at s2ki!!!

- marc

 

Guys (and gals), be careful with the Colgan bra. I sent mine back in to get the update (the extra piece sewn in on the headlights) and used it twice after I got it back. The third time I put it on, the top most driver's side clip scratched the s##t out of my paint. I think the metal clip inside poked through the felt lining. Maybe mine is defective, but I'm not going to risk sending it back to Colgan to get it fixed only to later find out the problem *may* return.