[KYgolfer]

I’ve got around 400 miles on my 2022 SPWB and already got a few tiny nicks on the rear flares from rock debris. I’ve got an appt on Monday to get paint protection film installed on all four flares plus the front bumper. I’ve got also got ZL1 splash guards coming.

How bad are your flares? Did you install protection or just living with it as part of playing the game?

 

[87GN]

No rash but something struck the front of my left rear flare hard enough to go the the PPF and possibly nick the paint. I have to set up appointment with the installer for repair. He asked me how many mph over 100 I was going.

 

[KYgolfer]

No rash but something struck the front of my left rear flare hard enough to go the the PPF and possibly nick the paint. I have to set up appointment with the installer for repair. He asked me how many mph over 100 I was going.

So…how many mph over were you going? 😂

 

[Boxman]

I’ve got around 400 miles on my 2022 SPWB and already got a few tiny nicks on the rear flares from rock debris. I’ve got an appt on Monday to get paint protection film installed on all four flares plus the front bumper. I’ve got also got ZL1 splash guards coming.

How bad are your flares? Did you install protection or just living with it as part of playing the game?

I had the ZL 1 rock guards and PPF installed (front clip, hood, front fenders, flares) within a few days of taking delivery of my SPWB at the end of January of 2021. I'm now at just over 7,800 miles on the odometer and the PPF on the rear flares is peppered a bit. You have to be within a foot or so of the car and look close to see with the naked eye specks on the rear flares' PPF where they took tiny impacts from gravel, dirt, debris, etc. I can feel a not-quite sandpaper texture on the PPF from those hits when I run my hand over it the lower forward facing portion of each. I'm guessing the rock guards have done a good job of preventing any large impacts to the rear flares, and the PPF seems to be withstanding what eventually does impact the rear flares without any damage (so far) to the underlying paint. As I said on another thread, one might as well consider the PPF on the rear flares to be a wear item requiring replacement far sooner than one might have the other PPF on the car replaced. I'll likely have the PPF on the rear flares replaced with new PPF after the end of this summer.

 

[Bill Dobbins]

The first thing I did was put ZL1 Addons’ side skirts.





Bill D

 

[70iselin]

It’s a shame that they don’t have better protection for this being that this is a problem.

 

[icecoldmn]

My ppf has a few small marks in 2000 miles, I had 27 miles on the car when the ppf went on.

I’ll likely replace it every 5-7 years depending on wear, not like it is super expensive to have done

 

[Chewbaca-73]

I’ve got around 400 miles on my 2022 SPWB and already got a few tiny nicks on the rear flares from rock debris. I’ve got an appt on Monday to get paint protection film installed on all four flares plus the front bumper. I’ve got also got ZL1 splash guards coming.

How bad are your flares? Did you install protection or just living with it as part of playing the game?

I
had PPF installed on the rears along with the entire front of the car, mirrors, a-frame, top 6 inches of roof and door handles

 

[Zodiac]

The road rash on the widebody fenders combined with the cost to replace the 6 piston brakes is what made me decide on the regular body. Being it’s my daily driver I felt overall cost to own would be much higher.

 

[Boxman]

Was washing the beast this morning, so I took a couple of photos of the rear flares for reference. Again, my SPWB is equipped with the ZL1 Rock Guards on all four corners. Amidst the reflections, metallic flecks in the Octane Red paint, etc., if you look close you can see the "peppering" of the PPF on both flares, which shows up in the photos as white specks. I can only imagine what the flares would look like without the rock guards and left only with the relatively small area of OEM PPF protection provided from the factory.

Driver Side Rear Flare

Passenger Side Rear Flare

 

[MEKrunner]

Was washing the beast this morning, so I took a couple of photos of the rear flares for reference. Again, my SPWB is equipped with the ZL1 Rock Guards on all four corners. Amidst the reflections, metallic flecks in the Octane Red paint, etc., if you look close you can see the "peppering" of the PPF on both flares, which shows up in the photos as white specks. I can only imagine what the flares would look like without the rock guards and left only with the relatively small area of OEM PPF protection provided from the factory.

Driver Side Rear Flare
View attachment 1051353
Passenger Side Rear Flare
View attachment 1051354

So you go and change out your PPF every year or two, and it will look like new again? That's pretty awesome if that is the case.

 

[ScottishChallenger]

The first thing I did was put ZL1 Addons’ side skirts.





Bill D

@Bill Dobbins So the side extensions make much difference? I already have the ZL1 rock guards

 

[87GN]

So you go and change out your PPF every year or two, and it will look like new again? That's pretty awesome if that is the case.

Non self healing film can be polished. May void warranty but much cheaper than replacement.

 

[Bill Dobbins]

@Bill Dobbins So the side extensions make much difference? I already have the ZL1 rock guards

Yes! You just have to be careful of speed bumps and driveways if you lowered your car.

 

[RWL11]

Here's a pic of my muddy flares after driving real slow thru a muddy farmers market parking lot. I have the PPF going up about equal the the letter P in P Zero. Even with the Zl1 Rock Guards and their side extenders, stuff still flings up there. I also did the front of the front flares, just in case.

 

[Boxman]

So you go and change out your PPF every year or two, and it will look like new again? That's pretty awesome if that is the case.

That's the hope! As long as nothing fully penetrates the PPF and damages the paint. Time will tell. Given the state of disrepair of the parkways and roads on Long Island (and New York, in general), I will consider myself lucky if that is the case.

With respect to replacing the PPF on that timeframe, it would (hopefully) be limited to the replacing the protection on the rear flares. The PPF applied to my car is "self-healing" STEK, so polishing (as 87GN referred to) to remove/mitigate the peppering isn't an option.

 

[TravisPNW]

I installed the rock guards this weekend. The side skirts have been on order for over 2 weeks... I'm hoping they ship this week.

As for PPF... after some thought the last couple weeks I don't think I'm going that route. My car had a paint chip from shipping on both the driver's door edge and the edge nearest the windshield on the driver's side. The dealer offered to have them professionally touched up... but my detailer told me to order the touch up paint she recommended and she'd take care of it... so I did... with the dealer paying for it. ($35)

I saw a couple small chips on the rear fender flares last week... and my detailer touched them up along with a small chip on the lower front bumper. I can't even find them now without sticking my face an inch from the car. Point being It's not something I'm gonna stress over. My '15 R/T had probably a half dozen rock chips on the front over the course of 7 years... my detailer touched them up and I called it good. It had no effect at all on trade value... and while I actually do care about protecting the car which is why I bought the rock guards and side skirts and is also why I wash and wax it weekly... I am not going to spend thousands to encase my car in a plastic bubble. I feel the same way about ceramic coating. You drive a car on a highway and rock chips will happen. It's just the way it is.

My boss has PPF on his truck and the lines are clearly visible and honestly I don't like it.

I'm keeping a solid layer of wax on mine and I avoid tailgating other vehicles. I go out of my way to keep the lane in front of me clear. Does it happen all the time? Of course not... but I still try to drive in a way where I am not inviting rock chips to happen. I'm half thinking I may even sell/trade this one in on a '23 order (that definitely won't be black LOL) and if I did that the dealership isn't going to care that I don't have PPF or a ceramic coat... just like they didn't care when I traded the '15 R/T in on this one. I also go out of my way to park where I am not going to get door jacked... because that would annoy me to no end due to the fact door dings are always from some dip&#^t not respecting my property and because the repairs are somewhat expensive. I do know a good PDR guy that I hope I never have to use. knocks on wood I don't OCD about rock chips nearly as much... because I have a pro detailer that can touch them up and it's a much cheaper fix than PDR.

Anyway, I'm putting my faith in the rock guards... side skirts... and a solid wax boundary layer.

Flame on. 😆

 

[Poncherello]

I don't have any on my car yet. I put the ZL1 rock guards on and a coat of ceramic but no ppf. Everything is food so far

 

[TravisPNW]

I don't have any on my car yet. I put the ZL1 rock guards on and a coat of ceramic but no ppf. Everything is food so far

Nice... that's what I'm counting on too when I said I'm skipping PPF. I have a couple minor chips that have been touched up... and just added the rock guards and I'm still waiting on skirts to arrive. I'm not gonna OCD over it... just doing this ZL1 stuff... keeping her clean and waxed and hoping for the best with minimal rock chip issues.

 

[Slowpoke392]

There's no way I’d go without the ppf on a WB. These cars are literally sand blasting the rear flares at all times. Wax will never cut it. It's not a million bucks, the lines are barely visible if the installer is halfway decent. Ive had to point mine out to people.