I am not planning on getting a Z for awhile, but I have been reading the site for some time now and have a question. I intend to get a super-black Z, and I was wondering what everyone's thoughts were on the bra. I had intended to get a regular black bra, akin to the kind that comes with the aerodynamics package, but I have heard alot of people hear saying how good clearbra is. I looked at the clearbra sight and got some info (thanks zland for the great sticky post aimed at new Z owners), but was wandering if the sight was hype or not. Is the clearbra better? If so, how much more expensive is it that a regular bra. And can a Nissan dealer install clearbra?

Thanks for the help guys.

 

I just purchased an 05 Super Black Z. I looked into getting a clear bra, but the only competant installers I found were quoting for $700. Other members have gotten it for ~$450 around the US. After much research, the clearbra definitely does work while keeping the front looking like there is nothing on it. But I also read stuff about the film yellowing over time with certain brands, taking damage itself while protecting the paint, and the residue that remains if you opt to remove it. I then did research on regular bras, which work very well as long as you keep it clean between the paint and bra, and take it off before rain or a car wash. I got a Colgan reg. bra (best brand, the original car bra maker since 1961) for $85 shipped at http://www.autoanything.com/car_truck_accessories.aspx. If you get it there, don't worry about the 3-25 shipping days, it got to me in 1 week. Plus I considered a black bra on black car is not a dramatic change in looks. I think both are great products that work, just depends on your budget. Hope this helps.

BTW: Definitely get something on to protect it regardless.

 

I'm on my second Z roadster. The first one did not have the clear bra. I had an OEM bra that I used. However, it was such a pain to put on that I only used it for extended trips. Just driving around 495 and such, I didn't bother to put it on, and I picked up rock chips because of it. Not a lot, but enough so that I knew they were there.

With the clear bra, there are no such worries. It's there all the time, plus my installer gives a lifetime warranty, so it really promotes peace of mind. It was expensive ($995 in the DC area to cover the hood, bumper, fenders, mirrors and door edges), but worth it (IMHO). I also had the trunk edge done and the upper portion of the rear bumper.

At this point, I can't imagine not having it.

 

Clearbra all the way. The regular bras are MUCh cheaper but are a pain to take on/off. You can't leave them on for extended periods of time or you'll get moisture trapped under there and screw up the paint anyway. The Clearbra for my '05 35th cost $550 installed. Thats hood, fenders, lights, mirrors. Be careful though, not all Clearbras are created equally. Be sure to get the high-quality 3M stuff guaranteed not to turn yellow, etc. I have used an installer I found on www.xpel.com for all of mine and I've never had a single issue. I always see people referring to "if you ever want to take it off"... I am still trying to figure out why you'd ever want to do this. Consider a high-quality professionally/properly installed clearbra a permanent addition to the vehicle until you decide to repaint the whole thing. It IS possible to remove a Clearbra however. I believe results would vary in terms of how smoothly you actually got it off. The fact of the matter is, you'd shouldn't have to do this. I had one on my '02 SpecV that took a big rock and protected the hood from a dent as well as a huge scratch I'm sure, but it did make a tiny gouge in the Clearbra material. It was only surface though and not through to the paint. Therefore, it did it's job perfectly. You couldn't see the chip in the clear material easily either. As far as caring for the Clearbra, you just wax it along with the rest of your car...

 

Well, it depends on whether she's wearing one with snaps or hooks. The snaps are easy, you just pull them off. The little hooks can get kind of tricky, you may want to practice a bit before... oh wait, my fault...

Go for the clear bra. A regular bra looks horrible and it's a pain in the you know where to put on and off.

 

What are the alternate products to ClearBra? I just got a quote for $900...I could repaint my bumper like 5 times for that.

 

I like the Colgen bra myself. I have the one that has a carbon fiber weve in it. My only regret is that I am forced to stick with the stock front end. I would really like the front lip spoiler. But, I could then sink my cash into sometine else...i.e. Rims, or tt,s/c.

But $900 is a small price to pay for protection. I noticed 2 chips in the hood last weekend. No clear bra or even my current bra would have stopped them.


Ultimate bra...Speedline body colored!!!

 

I got VentureShield on my SB 05 Roadster. Here's some pics and narrative of the install. It's been raining too much lately to get some good "glamour shots" now that it has cured completely...but it looks sharp. My only beef is that I got the "half bonnet", covering only half of the hood. The line across the middle is invisible...when it's clean. As my daily driver though, I have a hard time keeping her clean enough to hide that line all the time. It's not bad...I'm just ****.

http://davepaden.net/z/clearbra/

 

Oh, sorry ...I thought this was about something else.