Question about taping headlights

[300hpMR2]

I plan on participating in a driving event next week. It will be my first time so bear with me.

I plan on taping up the front of my car to help ward off rock chips. As far as the headlights go, do people tape them up as well? I already have Starshield like stuff on them. Any issues with the light housings overheating from all that insulation? Do people pull the fuse so that the lights are not on?

Thanks in advance.

[chuck_risen]

Originally Posted by 300hpMR2

I plan on participating in a driving event next week. It will be my first time so bear with me.

I plan on taping up the front of my car to help ward off rock chips. As far as the headlights go, do people tape them up as well? I already have Starshield like stuff on them. Any issues with the light housings overheating from all that insulation? Do people pull the fuse so that the lights are not on?

Thanks in advance.

You might also want to be worried about baking on that tape to the outside of your headlights. I would pull the fuse to be safe if I covered them with anything.

[ZJChaser]

taping really isn't needed. they are plastic, not glass.......but no the DRLs dont hurt anything

[Simba]

Use blue or green painter's tape, it comes off without any residue, or scotchcal vinyl if you want to get fancy. You won't have any heat issues.

You DO want to protect the covers, though. The plastic most certainly can get dinged up from rocks and other track gunk. Also put a strip over the areas the starshield doesn't cover (murphy's law dictates that's where the rocks will land), and pay particular attention to the area in front of the rear wheels. It's a magnet for rocks.

It's also not a bad idea to get a tearoff for the windshield. $60 for the tearoff is a good deal cheaper than $900 for a new windshield.

[Pengineer91]

...and pay particular attention to the area in front of the rear wheels...

+1

Even of the track is free from grit/rocks, all the shredded rubber from your and other car's tires will want to hit there. At my last HPDE, there wasn't a mark on the front, but I pulled rubber bits out of the side grills.

[Mr. Know]

I don't tape my headlights, but I do put two strips of tape across the turn signals with a good part of it onto the star shield. Elises and Exiges are known to pop a turn signal if they hit a hard bump in a high G corner. Taping them ensures they don't end up on the track, or damage the body should they pop. As far as taping other surfaces, that's why I've got Starshield.

[Shawn C]

If its just one track day I wouldn't worry about it. A)If you plan to buy some photos of the event it looks allot nicer when you dont have blue tape all over your car.
B) You probably encounter more debris on the highway on an afternoon drive than you will on the track in a novice run group. Most tracks are pretty clean. If you get black rubber marks, Which you will just wipe them off with simple green or D-20