[Shiloh]

Has anyone else had any problems with tears in the clear protection film in front of their rear wheels? I've only got 1400 miles on my car and both sides have 8-10 nicks and tears in them from rocks, I guess. They're pretty obvious when you get only a few feet away. I tried to take a picture but it just doesn't come out well. Maybe with a better camera. What do you all think?

 

[rdslon01]

What type of "protection film" do you have? Who installed it?

 

[jsvette]

I believe Shiloh is referring to the factory installed protective clear film that all Stingrays come with just in front of the rear wheels. I believe if you do a search you will find SongCat posted some comments about a similar problem on his car. From what I can see it is more of a problem with the Z51 than the base model as a result of the wheel/tire difference. It occurs from debris thrown up from the road.

 

[Shiloh]

Jsvette is correct. I looked but didn't find anything. I'm thinking about removing it as it already looks pretty terrible.

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[Redc7]

Think about the damage to your paint if you didn't have it. These clear protection films can come in different thicknesses so I would replace it with something thicker and more forgiving like XPEL.

 

[rdslon01]

^Words of wisdom.

 

[texas_venom]

Don't remove it. Your paint will get destroyed without anything on it. We have been removing the factory pieces and replacing them with a full rocker panels piece. Also you will want to get the lower doors done where they angle down... they will get chipped quickly as well. Find a clear bra installer in your area and get them replaced.

 

[Rich427]

If the film is no longer acceptable to you, then I would have it removed and have the Xpel installed with a little greater coverage than the stock film. BUT, the first thing I would do is install a set of GM splash guards on all four corners. They are cheap (about $60 per axle), simple to install, are hardly noticeable after installation, and provide just enough coverage to prevent most of these issues. Do a search in this forum on splash guards and you will find a thread that a number of us have contributed our experience with this product.

 

[Shiloh]

Thanks for all the comments. I purchased the splash guards for all wheels and will try to clean up the factory protection film before replacing with anything.

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[Buzzardz_vette]

If the film is no longer acceptable to you, then I would have it removed and have the Xpel installed with a little greater coverage than the stock film. BUT, the first thing I would do is install a set of GM splash guards on all four corners. They are cheap (about $60 per axle), simple to install, are hardly noticeable after installation, and provide just enough coverage to prevent most of these issues. Do a search in this forum on splash guards and you will find a thread that a number of us have contributed our experience with this product.

Totally agree. I installed the splash guards and they have help a lot. Definitely replace the protection with something like Xpel if you remove the factory ones. The guards help, but they won't stop every pebble from hitting your car.

 

[Redc7]

True splash guards help but only when going straight down the road going around corners the fronts can still kick up a lot of crap so you still need the clear guard as well.