Examples Of Stone Damage...PICs

Where's that, behind the front wheels? Seems fair to expect some damage there without mud flaps.

Any idea of the mileage?

Paul

That's the area just in front of the rear wheels. The linked page says that the damage was done by driving 6 miles on a dirt road.

well then it's useless to get the 3M if it's not going to ENTIRELY protect the area which it is supposed to. This is discouraging.

he should wash the car, then post pics too. Maybe that is just dust/dirt that's accumulated on the body. That dirt is all over the bottom.

I would expect this on a car driven enthusiastically on gravel. Who here plans to use their Elise in SCCA Pro Rally?

shay2nak said:

he should wash the car, then post pics too. Maybe that is just dust/dirt that's accumulated on the body. That dirt is all over the bottom.

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Read the link:

I have washed the area a few times and this is how it dries!

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The white is the fibreglass material! The light colur down the side is not dirt, its very fine stone chips - I have washed the area a few times and this is how it dries!

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holy sh*t, batman! These pics are of his car WASHED! LOL! Damn, that is horrible.

the 3M looks dirty because the gravel has sanded that sh*t down!

Note to self: DON'T DRIVE ON GRAVEL UNLESS THE CAR DRIVEN IS AN EVO OR STi.

The starshield covers significantly more area. The area between the wheels is covered all the way to the bottom, folds over on to the lower sill and a separate stripon the upper sill. The material wraps around the wheel arch edge as well, the painted surfaces are very well covered here, this damage would not occur on a starshield car.

Anyone else still waffling on starshield now? FYI> the film on the car pictured is the standard film fitted to ALL elises.
C\
Chris

Yep -- that was my reaction too.

zvezdah1 said:

The starshield covers significantly more area. The area between the wheels is covered all the way to the bottom, folds over on to the lower sill and a separate stripon the upper sill. The material wraps around the wheel arch edge as well, the painted surfaces are very well covered here, this damage would not occur on a starshield car.

Anyone else still waffling on starshield now? FYI> the film on the car pictured is the standard film fitted to ALL elises.
C\
Chris

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That's what it's called, Starshield? This is the $1000 option fitted at the port?

I rest my bloody case

Note to self: Do NOT ralley my Lotus Elise

oh brother. If people are discouraged about clear bra because of this isolated incident then I hope your car looks just like this all over when you get it. Fact is he was offroading in a car that sits on the ground practically. That protected part seriously looks dirty but if that's damage from rocks then he was definitely doing some spirited driving in some gravel. I can guarentee that any car with starshield under normal driving circumstances will NEVER look like that.

Also if that is just a sand blast effect on the film then take the film off and put some new film on that area. A little spot like that would be fairly cheap and look new there again. The point of the clear bra is to protect the paint! Im sure the paint underneath is fine.

Shay,
Yep starshield is the port fitted film coverage.
Chris

Last weekend I had the opportunity to check out a federal Elise fitted with the starshield and it was very nice ! As reported by others, you really don't notice it unless you're looking for the line where the film ends, or unless you're really close. The install job looked great ! This was an arctic silver car, and it gave me a secure feeling about the starshield because that's the color I've ordered. And I can confirm that the coverage provided by the port-installed starshield is quite a bit more than what this car (shown above) had.

I agree with others that the damage shown is "above and beyond" what the film should be expected to protect against, anyone driving through gravel at what must have been substantial speeds pretty much deserves what they get. You play, you pay.

I wouldn't get to worked up about those pictures. That is not typical of Elise ownership. Stonechips are par for the course but not to that extent unless you decide to cane it down a gravel road.

so Starshield is a must?

let's assume i would not to be driving on gravel (although i would be likely to get off-course occasionally)

i really would not want to have to get yet another option.

is there a concensus on this?

i can endure an occasional paint chip.