[Paul MD]

See this Aubergine Elise picture... (resides at GG website - copyright, kudos, genuflection to them)...

http://www.gglotus.org/gghotnews/visit3-25/aubergine.jpg

It has a clear bra fitted... see the line running from the front of the rad' opening down to the highlight on the left - that's the edge of the 3M material.

To all intents and purposes it's invisible and worth its weight in gold... well worth the investment - and clearly Lotus think so too. I'm surprised to see the line there - it's not standard - so this must be a custom install. Hoepfully our dealers will be able to oblige 'cos clearly the UK kit fits the US car as one would expect.

 

[Johnny B]

The clear bra is worth it. I put one on my Passat. Was easy, like doing window tint. But, the Passat doesn't have as many curves as the Elise, so I'll have her clear bra done by a pro.

 

[zvezdah1]

While at Lotus this past Thursday I watched a professional put this 3m stuff on the car (aubergine was one of the ones he did that day). Talked with him a bit about it. He said the front end was really tough because of the curves and such. He did an exc. job and you really had to look closely to see the lines.

I also noted, he worked with 12"(?) wide strips, not pre cut pieces. In doing the nose, he appeared to cover the lights as well and then trimmed the the material around the lights where the gaskets were. This gives added protection to the lights.

Quite nice.
Chris

 

[Johnny B]

Yes, you want it on the lights. The lenses are not cheap to replace. The pieces on my Passat's lenses are much thicker than whats on the paint. Hopefully that'll be the case for the production protection kit.

 

[atyclb]

zvez,

do you happen to know who did the job?

was it Mike at Dynashield?

He's very well thought of in the clearbra installation biz, and he's in Atlanta I believe.

 

[zvezdah1]

aty,
not really sure, but he did an exc. job!

Chris

 

[OneFastLotus]

Any ideas on the cost of materials and labor to install this before pick up at LOA? I wonder if LOA has someone as qualified to put the stuff on?

 

[khamai]

Here's a photo of the guy Chris mentioned applying the 3M protection film on an Elise.

 

[zvezdah1]

Jenn,
Don't know how much labor is, but the guy spent a good 4 hours or so on the one elise.

Here's a site that I buy the film from, used on motorcycles for years.

http://www.xpel.com/products/default.asp

Chris
PS> Damn Kiyoshi, you DID take some pics!

 

[ivan1]

Any idea why he was using strips instead of pre-cuts ;

I would hope the installation time would be less with pre-cut pieces, although I am sure the strips are less expensive...

 

[agent.5]

Any idea why he was using strips instead of pre-cuts ;

I would hope the installation time would be less with pre-cut pieces, although I am sure the strips are less expensive...

But the Xpel pre-cut price is pretty high. I am sure 3M wholesale price for the material is much much less. I would much prefer someone that know what that are doing to install the material using 3M raw tapes than any pre-cuts. I think you will get a better fit and more coverages.

 

[Modern Wedgie]

I would only have a professional put the clear bra on. Just like I would only have a professional put window tint on the car. It looks really really bad when it isnt done right.

 

[agent.5]

Does anyone know anybody (or know somebody who know somebody) that is "good" in the West Coast?

 

[zvezdah1]

YOu can buy the film from xpel in bulk (I buy it in 12" by how many ever feet I need).

No idea why he wasn't using a kit, probably much cheaper and he can trim the areas and doesn't have to worry about getting it exactly lined up as you would with precut.
Chris

 

[rtking]

There's a guy here in Los Angeles (Torrance actually) that has the pre-cut template for the Elise. It's based on the 111s and his templates comes from a partner European firm. The amount of coverage they've come-up with for the Elise is pretty amazing. The full front end is covered in a "kit", and the rocker panels are another kit, the rear fenders and wheel openings are another kit, and the roof structure is yet another kit.

It's interesting because he starts with raw stock of 3M film and has the computer do the cutting of the pattern on the spot. I had him do my Mustang Mach 1 and he did an outstanding job. I'll have him do my Elise too (when it comes in...)

Bob

 

[ulmpharmd]

Anyone know where we can get some nice car covers?

 

[ivan1]

http://store.sector111.com/covers.html

 

[ulmpharmd]

Thanks.

 

[HOCKYDOC]

Is the dealer add on -- "stone-chip protection kit" -- the same 3M pre-cut kit you guys are talking about in this post? If so, any idea what the dealers will charge, and do they have the experience to do it right?

 

[_JD_]

There's a guy here in Los Angeles (Torrance actually) that has the pre-cut template for the Elise.
Bob

Can you tell us the firm for reference?