I like the look of a regular bra myself. Hopefully the Colgan is better quality than the LeBra turned out to be though.

 

Hey Paul,

I just received my replacement bra from Colgan today. There are four additional elastic attachments from the original piece....two on the top edge of the bumper cover and two more (for a total of four) on the bottom edge. Their customer service rep said that the designer thought that the bra might have sagged, causing the flutter and subsequent loss of the bottom attachments. He noted that it wasn't a 100% certainty, though. Regardless, the new design should be an improvement.

I too only use a bra for trips and highway driving. I have yet to see any paint damage from a Colgan bra. If you're considering a removeable cover, Colgan is the top of the line.

 

Thanks for the update Rich. Mine has four straps on the bottom and two straps on the top, so I must have the newer design.

I finally tried installing mine today and ran into a significant problem. I can only get the wheel well hooks to stay attached on one side, and even on that side a minimum amount of force will pop them off. I cannot imagine that they would stay put with any wind force.

I plan on giving Colgan a call tomorrow evening to see if I did something wrong. To me, it seems like the hooks should hook all the way around the edge of the sheet metal/plastic, but they just rest on top since most of them can't wrap between the sheet metal and the wheel well liner. There was a note in the box saying that the hooks were pre-bent for the application, so I'm a little hesitant to start bending them.

 

Please let us know what they say. I plan on buying one too.Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would put one of these ugly things on a great looking car but for road trips only and love bugs won me over.

 

Paul,

The hooks do not slip all the way around the metal lip (between the lip & plastic fender well). The proper method for attaching the bra is to (1) center and slip the felt covered tabs under the grill and headlights (2) slip the pockets over the top of the fender edge and attach the top fender and grill upright (?) hooks (3) start with the top wheel well hook and alternate side to side after each hook (4) attach the two top and four bottom vinyl covered/elastic hooks.

The bra will be tight and it should be somewhat difficult to attach the wheel well hooks (laying the bra in the sun for 15 minutes or so will help it stretch some). It's OK to tweak the pre bent hooks some but they really only catch on the lip edges.

It will take some wrestling the first time or two that you put it on but will get easier once it stretches a little and you get familiar with it. Let me know how you make out.

 

Rich,

Thanks for the advice. I had done everything you said in the same order this morning. After seeing your message, I tried it again and got everything hooked up properly. Thank you very much for your advice!

I think that the real difference was the ambient temperature. I had let the bra sit in the sun this morning for 30 minutes, but the ambient temperature was 65 degrees. This afternoon, the temperature was 75 degrees. The other thing that may have helped is that I left the car in the sun all afternoon to help the window tinting set.

The bottom part of the bra definitely stretched further down the wheel well this afternoon than it had this morning. I did have to tweak the hooks a little to get them to fasten, but both sides seemed to be solid.

First pic:

[attachmentid=19739]

 

Second pic:
[attachmentid=19740]

 

Last pic:
[attachmentid=19741]

 

looks good. Let us know how it does after driving a little bit at highway speeds.

 

And here I thought that a Bra was an under garment ? but not in this case I now have to find time to put mine on for a look then off untill the road trip cross Canada ? or half way anyways.

 

Great! Looks like you've got it! Happy to help.

 

Your bra looks good , you guys get what you want, Ill never put one on any car of mine again.I had one on a black Mazda pick up I had and I saw it ruin the paint underneath. Problem with a bra and reason they will screw up your paint is: !) anything touching your paint surface vibrates,moves at high speed, add dust and dirt you cant see behind the bra and your basicly micro sanding the paint surface,2) black bra gets very hot here in Flarida , basicly bakes the paint. My black truck had the paint buffed down past the clear coat to the primer under neath. I kept the bra on all the time so that was the result.

As far as I can see the only option for paint protection is a clear bra. I did a search on clear paint protection and found many companies on the web like Stongard, Expel, I dont even remeber them all.The one I found has the whole front end, side rocker panels included like under $400. Goes on like window tint, no adhesive, invisible, like 7 year life expextancy, UV protection, invisible unless you get right up close, wash and wax like any other car, protects from stones and love bugs, easy to clean off. I'm planning on adding some right behind my tires in place of mud flaps also. I dont see how anything else can beat it.

I'm waiting for some money then I'm buying it and having the guy that installed my window tint install it on my car. I figure he will be better at it than me sinse it goes on just like tint.Thats my plan and I'm sticking to it!!!

 

I appreciate your opinion but don't share it. I've owned several cars here that had front end masks on them and have NEVER experienced any kind of issue with paint under the mask. My cars and I live in Arizona where I can assure you it gets significantly hotter than in most parts of Florida. Personally I'd sooner suspect heat combined with humidity are more a factor in your case than heat alone.

 

I had a bra on my black '89 GT for 5 years in Texas and never had any paint issues. I got tired of it and threw it away, then moved to Colorado for two years. 90% of the paint damage on the car happened in those two years from the sand they use on the roads in the winter time. The front end looked like it had been sandblasted by the time I moved back to Texas.

I'm not too fond of the look of the bra now, but it'll do the job for road trips.

 

I figure that as long as you were to use one acordingly that it will be ok now say you leave it on always of course you will have fading , rubbing ,issues just as you would with a car cover, leave it long enough and let the wind flap it around and it will not be pretty.

 

I think they are ugly also. Not a fan of any bra if you catch the drift but some things are better covered up! I have changed my small mind and will use one only on trips. Some things are better than love bugs and sand blasting. I will order the Colgan after reading this thread. THANKS

 

I'll put an ugly bra on the front end of my car to save the paint from those disgusting, irritating, useless love bugs we have here! I drove from my house to Bartow, about 35min east of here to show a buddy my latest mods. My windshield was pelted with the things, and my front bumper was a mess. You'd never know that before I left my house the car was immaculate. I spent a good 30min getting them off, then drove home to spend 45min getting them off again I just bought the $68 LeBra from autoanything.com and hope it gets here FAST. I'll use the bra in May and September only, or on long road trips.

 

I am curious and half cut but when you buy a new Mustang in the USA does your dealer give you a card to order acessories for it that entitles you to a 30 % discount ? ares do here ?

 

OK, I've got some highway miles behind me now. From the driver seat, you can just barely see the tops of the fins that stick up on the hood, and they didn't move at all. I had the radio off and could not hear any unusual noises like flapping. I did a 40 mile trip, and topped out at ~85 mph.

I checked it before and after I left, and the bra did not appear to have moved at all. The wheel well attachments were my biggest concern, but they were all solid when I checked after the trip. So far, so good.

 

I have purchased several new cars and a dealer has never given me a discount card. When I was in business I could get 40% at dealers and parts houses.