Ok, we all know how crappy the paint is on the 350Z, because of all of the horror stories about paint chips on the hood and front bumper.

Well, I'm at my local Nissan dealership, getting my oil changed, and I realize something............with the exception of ONE Murano on the showroom floor, not one vehicle on the whole lot has a clear bra on it EXCEPT for EVERY single 350Z!!!!! Six of them to be exact! I found that extremely strange. When I asked the salesman about it, he just said it's because it's an expensive "nice" car. I asked him about the 10+ Maximas sitting there, all pretty and over $32,000 a pop! He didn't have an answer.

I may be over reacting, but I find it EXTREMELY curious that no other cars on the lot had a clear bra except the 350Z.

One reason might be that yes, they are nice cars, and want to protect them. Another might be that Nissan KNOWS the paint on the 350Z is crap and the dealerships are installing them!!!!!!!

All I know is that I didn't do my homework and didn't get a clear bra, so now, whenever I wash my Redline beauty, I always seem to breeze by the front end so I don't end up getting sick to my stomach!!!!!!

Ok, venting session over! lol

 

I've had zero problems with paint chipping on my 04 Z. You can put your pace 2 inches from my front bumper and there isnt a single blemish. How you might ask? I never tailgate anyone. I dont drive behind SUV's or trucks of any kind. I keep a nice distance from cars in front of me. Simple, dont ride peoples asses, keep a decent amount of distance from the car in front and you wont have any problems.

 

i only have like 3 small chips on my front bumper on my '03

 

Well, it looks like someone took a sandblaster to the front of my car!!!!!! Haven't changed my driving style at all, and never had this problem with any other car. Maybe I'll just take my Z to a Chevy dealership and have them spray it red for me!!!!!

 

Mine looks like the face of the moon.

 

Did you ever think that maybe the reason the Z has thinner paint on it was to help keep the weight down? Personally, I'd rather have a few extra pounds of paint on my front bumper - it's a pitted mess.

 

Never thought of that Dave, but you might be right. It's funny you say that, because I was watching an episode of Top Gear the other night, comparing the supercars of today and supercars of yester-year, and they mentioned that to keep the weight down on the Ferrari F-40, the paint was soooo thin, you could see the carbon fiber mesh through the paint!!!!!!

 

oh by the way this has been posted on before f.y.i. click on this and read the second post, it should give u some insight on the matter https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....t=paint+bumper

 

Yeah, I know that it's been gone over before. My quick search yielded 271 posts!!!!!

I just think it's BS that Nissan just wants us to accept the fact that the bumper on your new $34000 car is going to look like crap before your first scheduled oil change.

I'll admit though, that I didn't read into many of those posts. Thanks for the link NewZland. Didn't think about the front end being made of a different material than I'm used to.

 

hey no problem bro i wasn't trying to flame you or anything

 

No no. Didn't think you were at all.

After all is said and done, a year and a half later, I STILL turn around and look at my Z when I'm walking away from it in a parking lot.

And THAT'S what it's all about.

 

well, i dont have many rock chips on the hood nor the bumper due to the 3m thing, but my fenders are a complete mess.. i have rockchips from beginning of one side to the end of next... i dont know why, maybe my tires are kicking up too much rocsk or something.. i should go and ask the dealership.. anyone have the same problem??

 

haha yeah dude...i've had my Z for about 4 months now and i get sad when i leave my car in the lot going to class...i look back at it at least 3 times LOL...

 

It could be due to the airodynamic shape of the Z. It might just cause little rocks to kind skip over the car like an airplane wing. If you had it in a wind tunnel you would see how the air flows over the front and top of the vehicle. I think the pointed front kind of sucks the rocks into the air stream that is forced over the front and top of the Z.

 

donno if this has been said. but maybe the 350z gets more rock chips because its lower to the ground? Also the front bumper is sortof large..

 

350z owners are more likely to care about having a clear bra than any other nissan car owner...

 

Dealer add-ons are a big money maker. Whereas the dealer might pocket 10 percent of the MSRP, add-ons have about a 100 percent markup. Add-ons such as clear bra and window etching make it possible for the dealer to sell the Z at cost, and still pocket a reasonable profit.

 

New painting techniques are water based and environmentally safe. No longer is there a need for multiple layers of enamel with sanding between each coat. New paint resembles “dye” rather than the paint of days gone by. Its less prone to peeling, fading and orange peel, and is protected by a clear coat.

For sure, its more “fragile” than the paint from 5 years ago.

 

I have been thinking about getting a clear bra for my Z after i have the front repainted because, like many of you, I too get sick to my stomach when i look at the front end. Its horrible. Anyway, my question is, when you wax the car? will it look uneven since you'd be waxing over top the clear bra? Would it be noticable at all?

 

Those of you that have no clear bra, and have had your car a year or 2 and claiming no chips, let me see it, i'll point out plenty to you. If you don't drive much freeway, or many miles, maybe you don't have many chips, otherwise, I bet there are plenty. Unless they improved the paint a ton from 03 on, which I really doubt. I drive my Z once a week, all freeway, and ive had a clear bra from day one. 2 and half years old, 13k miles and i've chipped up half the clear bra already. If it weren't there, the bumper would be completely destroyed. On the other hand, my Ford has 140k miles without and protection, and aside from a few chips on the bumper, the paint job is outstanding. I wish I had that paint job on the Z.