2007 Hood Protector

Ok after driving down to my girl friend's folks this weekend my truck is battered with bug gunk. I expect it on the grill but I got too used to having my hood and windshield clear on my old truck.

Other than the overprice original, anyone have any recommendations? It would be nice to have a no-drill / no-bumper / off the hood design.

 

The one I purchased is made by AERO. It doesn't mount with the same type clips as the Toyota OEM. The OEM seemed to have caused many problems with scratching and chipping of the paint by the inherit design of the clips. Rather, the no-drill AERO mounts from underneath the hood where there are no mounting clips to interfere or damage the paint. Also, I believe the AERO wraps a little tighter to the hood...giving it a sleeker look IMO.

http://www.performanceproducts4trucks.com/productpage.aspx?cid=1&sid=231&pid=104609

 

I used to be a big fan of Lund bug guards, Had one on both of my old Fords, and one on my gen I Tacoma. I ordered a lund interceptor for my 07 painted to match the truck. 1. The paint was at least two shades off, and it was not a complete wrap, there were openings just off of the center where apparently Lund could not manage to get it to fit tight enough to the truck, so A. it let bugs through those openings, and B. it whistled something fierce at highway speed, so off it came again, and I think for now I will leave the nose bare, and just wash and wax regularly.

Though for what it's worth I really like Flyman's hood guard, and may look into that for myself.

By the way, Flyman, would you be able to take a pic of the underside of your hood to show the mounting hardware?

Thanks

 

Yes I too am curious to how it mounts. I had to drill on my 94' and put stick on vinyl tabs on the hood to keep it from damaging the paint. I really didn't like that.

 

Weathertech has a bug shield that attaches with plastic body clips. No drilling and looks great.

 

THE AERO GUARD IS UNDER-HOOD MOUNTED WITH FIVE SCREWS. TAKES ABOUT 2 MINUTES TO INSTALL/UNINSTALL.

 

Bug shields won't really make your truck stay any cleaner. Just keep a good coat of wax on your truck, get the bugs wet, and wash/wipe them off. For real bad bugs you can put a wet towel over your front end let it soak the bugs for several minutes.

 

Very true. You should see my windshield after one trip to the country.

 

@-flyman767:
Are those factory holes? Do they use some plastic anchor so your not screwing into bare metal? Does it stay off the hood or does it require rubber pads?

@-pb2themax:
That's what I was getting ready to say. These bug shields look more "pretty" than functional. They don't look as though they would create the necessary wind force to steer a bug away from the windshield.

I know I'm going to get crap on the grill, it's unavoidable. But I had 2 bug shields on my 94' that worked fantastic at keeping the bugs off the hood and windshield. It's not a matter of not wanting to clean it. It's a matter of wanting to be able to see on a long drive through the stix without pulling over at every gas station to scrape off bug guts.

 

I agree about the bug gut problem.... it's really getting old. i have guts on the windshield, the side mirrors, the grill and the windshield is covered in them. I live in SC where bugs are the size of small dogs and it's summer time. I have a feeling my truck is in for one messy summer..... If these guards actually work i will get one for my truck, but i dont want to spend the money if all it does is look sleek.

 

I can not speak to the effectiveness of the sleek looking bug guards on the Gen II Tacomas, as I did not have the lund P.O.S. on my truck long enough to see if it made a difference. However, the sleek looking bug guard that I had on my '04 tacoma, seemed to deflect the bugs away from the hood and the lower quarter of the windshield, but the upper 3/4 or so still collected plenty of guts.

As these things get more modern and aerodynamic it seems as if they work less. I agree with EvilBetty in that in the 90's they worked as advertised, I almost never had to clean the windshield of my 91 ford.

The more I think about it, for my money I prefer the looks of the new truck without the bug guard, so I guess I'm going to deal with the bugs and keep the lines of the truck the way I like them.

 

I got an auto vent shade bug deflector, it used the manufactored holes under the hood. it does come with a plastic anchor and screw.

 

How does it do at actually keeping bugs off the windshield.

 

Yes, m_taker1 mentioned, the AERO also uses the manufactures holes underneath the hood. I have to say, I've never been a real fan of the deflectors; however, after reading about several members having 'paint chipping' issues, was the main reason I decided to give it a try. I had one big chip prior to installing the deflector when the truck was only 1 month old. I decided to install the deflector and now its been approx 6 months with no additional chips. When I washed the truck yesterday, the grill was loaded with bugs but the hood and windshield was practically bug free. No chips/No bugs(very few anyway)...at least in the short term it seems like a success. Ultimately, time will tell.

 

I have always used the Autovent Shade, Bug Deflector II. It mounts with screws that match your hood and has a complete warranty, if it breaks, take it back and get another. You can buy them at a lot of places.

 

i agree on you on that one. my "Diva" is covered with dead lovebugs it is a real pain in the woohoo to remove. i decided to put bug shield (purchase at autozone) this coating only make it easier to remove the dead bugs on your vehicle, unfortunately, does not apply on the windshield i will try the towel trick though. thanks PB

 

I was in Wal-Mart yesterday and noticed Mr. Clean (I use the car wash gun with the filters and love it) has a bug removal product that claims to be safe on all surfaces...

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Clean-Remover-Stick-Refill/dp/B000GKIEIO

 

I found out I can get the factory hood protector for $69 brand new.

Are you saying that the OEM protector is of a design that could cause paint damage?

Anyone else using the OEM protector?

 

I've never seen or installed a factory Toyota OEM bug guard. However,from what I understand, rather then mounting from underneath like the AERO, the OEM uses clips on top of the hood which evidently wear into and scratch your paint. The AERO, purchased from performanceproducts.com cost about the same as your quoting for the OEM and will not scratch.

 

Interesting if that is so I won't be buying it.

Anyone have the OEM shield that can lend some light on this?