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hood protectors....do they work?

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by echinacea, Mar 18, 2010.

  1. Mar 18, 2010 at 7:05 PM
    #1
    echinacea

    echinacea [OP] squiggy

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    a friend of mine had one on his silverado....i was always asking him whats that doohickey for.

    do they work? i think it kind of looks goofy having a plastic piece out there messing up the nice lines of the truck but depending on the color you may not even notice
     
  2. Mar 18, 2010 at 7:25 PM
    #2
    skistoy

    skistoy Make mine a Double!

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    they work for protecting the part of the hood directly behind the deflector, thats about it.
    but then they do vibrate and usually cause damage where they are attached.
    So you make the call.
     
  3. Mar 18, 2010 at 7:32 PM
    #3
    echinacea

    echinacea [OP] squiggy

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    im out!

    thanks for the info...will be getting mine in a couple weeks and ironing out the little stuff that im not too sure about
     
  4. Mar 18, 2010 at 8:50 PM
    #4
    BeardedWeirdo

    BeardedWeirdo Junior Mint

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    Clear bra is the best front end protection IMO.
     
  5. Mar 18, 2010 at 8:56 PM
    #5
    Taco4x4NC

    Taco4x4NC Well-Known Member

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    Bug guards are not worth the plastic they are made from. eye candy is all they are.

    This is whats covering the front of my 2010 Tacoma 4x4/ DC/LB VentureShield.com
    I paid 400.00 to have it installed. Well worth the $$$. Even the roof pillars and headlights are covered. Had the wifes Honda Accord done as well. I highly reccomend this material now called venturetape.
    Make sure you find an expert installer. Check with a local Mecedes Benz, Porche or any highend car dealer. This protective film is applied frequently to these cars. They usually send the cars out for this film and tinting at the same time.

    If you click on the website you can research the pattern for whatever vehicle you want it for. Not sure what the "bug guards" are selling for, never looked em up. But I suspect maybe $100.00 plus from the stealer? So for 3 more bills you can protect the entire front painted area including the headlights from rock chips. A mod that serves a reals purpose and you can barely see that its been applied. JMHO. Whats really nice is you can drive down the interstate with confidence that your paint is protected from the sand blasting effect when you on the superslab. For what its worth. Bug guards and bull bars..yesterdays newspaper. Ok, rant over....
     
  6. Mar 18, 2010 at 10:11 PM
    #6
    nuckinfuts

    nuckinfuts NyQuil on the rocks.

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    I had one for a bit, it didn't do much good. The bugs hit higher on the windshield, I guess you could argue that's a plus. As for the minus, it was a bitch to clean underneath it, didn't really like the looks of it, and it damaged the paint on the front edge of the hood.
    I'll never buy one again.
     
  7. Mar 18, 2010 at 10:15 PM
    #7
    smuggiesrider

    smuggiesrider Well-Known Member

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    IMO they are gimmicks!
     
  8. Mar 18, 2010 at 10:32 PM
    #8
    NWtacoma

    NWtacoma Well-Known Member

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    worthless pieces of crap they are!
     
  9. Mar 19, 2010 at 5:04 AM
    #9
    Breadbox

    Breadbox Well-Known Member

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    Uh, I think they work? I've had them on 3 trucks now. Anytime I've not had them I've had many more broken windshields...as for bugs they do help more than if without too...

    :bananadead:
     
  10. Mar 19, 2010 at 5:22 AM
    #10
    knayrb

    knayrb Well-Known Member

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    I have to kindly disagree. I have 174,000 miles on my black 1997 4Runner and there is hardly a rock chip on the hood. Everywhere else on the front there are small pock marks. They work IMO.
     
  11. Mar 19, 2010 at 6:46 AM
    #11
    08TacomaKRV

    08TacomaKRV New Member

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    nerf bars, window visors, bug shield, tonneau cover
    I had one on my 08 and the v-clips ended up digging right through the paint on the hood all the way down to the metal. I had to contact the shield manufacturer and file a complaint to be reimbursed for the cost of repair to the hood. Luckily they agreed and paid the bill in full....$600

    Junk, stay away from them unless you can find one that absolutely does not contact your paint in any way.
     
  12. Mar 19, 2010 at 7:53 AM
    #12
    tuckr2

    tuckr2 Well-Known Member

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    I'm with Matt on this one. On my last several vehicles I have had one. I Haven't had any rock chips on the hood and only one windshield ding in about 8 years. My wife on the other hand hasn't had one on her last 3 vehicles. All had tons of dings on the hood and chips.
    One other benefit is parallel parking. You can better judge where the front end of the vehicle is for that nice tight fitting spot.
     
  13. Mar 19, 2010 at 8:20 PM
    #13
    stingercj7

    stingercj7 Member

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    Mine works great!
     
  14. Mar 20, 2010 at 12:31 AM
    #14
    george3

    george3 Well-Known Member

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    Sounds like flip a coin. Opinions from "works great! to worthless pieces of crap they are!"
     
  15. Mar 20, 2010 at 7:12 AM
    #15
    Frogdaddy

    Frogdaddy Well-Known Member

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    Not sure if anyone answered this because my AADD won't allow me to read an entire thread ;-) , is there something you can do to protect those areas from rubbing the paint when installed?
     
  16. Mar 20, 2010 at 7:42 AM
    #16
    luk8272

    luk8272 Poodoo

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    I have had them on all of my trucks and never once had them damage the hood. We have tons of bugs here in Louisiana they serve their purpose, and pay for themselves. This is an AVS.
    DSC02373_8b3131bd268164f65824ab413801c142d6089819.jpg
    DSC02374_169124e2bb283345aa8deebc22312862792f8b30.jpg
    Here is the space between it and the hood, it never touches.
    DSC02375_2a441b5be79d9c42ef22f2cc0ae4e3bca80af043.jpg
    A different view, I can pass my hand and cleaning mitt in there with ease.
    DSC02376_84a307e856de21e4e5a3d4c9929f5344ee4763f7.jpg
    DevilHorns2_9ab8b5e10a4ddb4f30da422d8cedffa6ea88f76b.jpg
     
  17. Mar 20, 2010 at 8:03 AM
    #17
    ickthus

    ickthus Well-Known Member

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    they work for rock strikes. two years 50,000 miles and not one chip, ding or crack. got mine in chrome. looks like it is part of the front end from the factory. the service guy at the steelership had to run out and get one for his truck it looked so good. but if i didn't like the looks , i guess i would buy a new wind shield every two or three years when the cracks got ugly and they bugged me.th_SSPX0324_8ccea9cf40de6dae7534878ea7616fde9dd4fcfb.jpgth_SSPX0323_bb5ebb334a0c5dae041a76c9f7501fb511cb8a7e.jpg
     
  18. Mar 21, 2010 at 4:35 AM
    #18
    Breadbox

    Breadbox Well-Known Member

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    Clear Mylar.
     
  19. Mar 21, 2010 at 6:09 AM
    #19
    Janster

    Janster Old & Forgetful

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    They're called a bug deflector. When you're on the highway going up to speed, it deflects the wind up and over your windshield and prevents bug splatter on your windshield. They do work for that .... and I'm considering getting one to protect the front 6" of my hood from rock chips. I have 2 good sized chips in my paint already. However, bug deflectors have to be installed underneath the hood and not ontop or have any contact with the paint.

    That AVS looks nice...and I wanna research about having one painted SWB (and if its even durable enough to pay the $ for the paint job).
     
  20. Mar 21, 2010 at 7:55 AM
    #20
    echinacea

    echinacea [OP] squiggy

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    what about that clear protective film on the front portion in lieu of the splatterguard? is that stuff very visible?
     

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