Do you worry about scratches under the front bumper?
 

I have one, but its not visible; but it drives me crazy. Am I being OCD? Should I just let it go, or cover it up when I get home? I have touch up paint.

I pulled too far into a parking spot the week after I got the car and scratched up the bottom of the bumper. It annoyed me for a bit, but out of sight, out of mind.

I don't pull all the way forward in spots now. The car's small enough that you don't need to.

Dude, I'm in the same boat... I was SUPER pissed to get that blimish on my car when it happened! I've learned to live with it though since it isn't visible! I'm sure if I got it repainted I'd be scratching it again. If I did anything I'd probably just try putting something else protective but it probably wouldn't help...

Where I live, it's impossible NOT to scrape under your bumper. I've hit twice so far, and as someone said, out of sight out of mind.

They're WAY the hell under there, and I'm not bringing my car to shows; I don't care.

not only is my lower bumper scraped but ive already got decent scratches from hitting/swallowing pylons


zero fucks given

http://darklygaming.com/forum/styles...lies/story.png

Meh. I have the same scratch, you can't even see it. Autocross is probably going to make it a little bit janky under there anyway eventually. I just walk through the grid and count all the cars with zip-tied front lips and cracked fender liners and then I don't feel so bad about it.

Ha at first I thought I stumbled into the twilight zone cause this has been my main concern since yesterday -_-.

I did the same thing last week, I was raging so hard about it because I've tried to keep my car in good condition. It sucks, but as states, it's out of sight and out of mind. Certainly I'm not happy about it, but it's whatever. I think I'm going to save up and get a carbon lip to cover up any imperfections my bumper has at the moment. Get mad about it but use it as a lesson not to do it again.

At the autocross events here in Huntsville many of the S2000 owners put blue masking tape around the corners of thier bumpers to minimize those types of chips. I'm not really sure of how successful that is but I'm likely to try it at my next event.

As far as curbs go... I'm more afraid of snagging under the bumper and pulling loose the bolts that hold on the air dam. (I did this in my BMW) Because of this I park a minimum of six inches away from curbs when pulling in forward.

Scott

it's super effective, the majority of Pylon damage is from the fact that 99% of the pylons are dirty as fuck, full of dust and grime that scrapes your paint whenever they make contact.

the other problem is that when you side-swipe a pylon at a high enough speed you get the rubber burn marks that have a permanent effect on your paint.

i'm an idiot that's been forgetting his masking tape when i went out, and i'm not a big enough asshole to borrow someone's tape to use on an entire bumper, so i took the bullet and got some scratches.

Thanks for the feedback! I will definitely be using it then on my next outing!

Scott

If you've already got the touch up paint, why wouldn't you cover up the scratch?

On a related note, I pulled into a parking lot over the weekend and forgot there was a concrete bar at the front of the space. Luckily the lip just barely cleared, but I would have been upset if I had scratched it.

meh. I don't care. I knew going in it was bound to happen...as well as the plethora of little nicks and scratches that are inbound over the years.

It's my daily driver.....it's just going to happen. Fretting about it would be a colossal waste of energy.

keep in mind ONE thing though, make sure your bumper is initially clean and free of dirst/dust

otherwise you'll be scrubbing the dirt into the paint when you apply the masking tape making it only worse

same goes for applying car numbers, either make sure your car is clean/waxed or put your numbers on your window

I am sorry for making a thread, I didn't mean to upset anyone, I just wanted to know if I was being to OCD. I mean it really bothers me, but I want to just accept it.

I got it exiting a down sloped driveway to fast this morning, It is right underneath my driver side front bumper. I guess you guys know the area. There's a nice patch of painted bumper.

I'm not against your thread, I was just responding to the other fellow's post. But there have been a lot of much more unnecessary threads started here in this subforum. Though I really don't think there are many moderators to control misplaced threads, or people yelling at each other, etc.

I've got a scrape, I can't see it unless I get under the car so I'm ok with it.

I'm gonna sand off some of the bad plastic that I scraped on a curb yesterday (still getting used to the dimensions -_-) and put this on it to help prevent future incidents.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Scion-FR-S-U...9a2b12&vxp=mtr

I used to worry about scratches... After the first few, I tend not to give a darn anymore. No matter how hard you try, the car will blemish with more usage. And the only way to fully enjoy the car is to truly use it and not keep it as a garage queen.

I'm happy to get good overall use out of this car, and that's the best I can keep my attitude regarding this matter, without stressing myself out unnecessarily.

God I wish I could adopt this point of view.

I was really upset for like a day or two. But, since I don't see it daily, I forget about it.

Thanks for reminding me about it!:mad0260:

clear bra ?

Just use a "clear color" plasti-dip under your car and you wont have much to worry about it as much anymore. Speak of the devil you just gave me that idea just now, thanks for making this thread and forced open my mind.

I've got a steep incline into my driveway and scraped it up the first time pulling in. I'm a little disappointed there isn't some sort of easily replaceable rubber lip or something under there, but oh well. I plan on getting a new nose and/or some sort of body kit with a lip before I really turn it into a show car, so I'm not too concerned.

The underside of my front bumper is scraped to hell, and I really don't care. I can't see, except when I have the car up in the air. Sure every time I see it I think, "Man that sucks!" Then I lower it back down and stop caring. That's just me.

haha i plastidipped my lip and have scraped a few times luckily all it did was peel off the plastidip rather than leaving a scratch on the car:w00t:

edit: just saw what leemaster said.. u know whats up brotha

I don't worry too much about the scratches on the bottom that you can't see. However, I do what I can to avoid them. For the past 20 some years I've driven cars that were shorter in front and as a result I am a little paranoid about punching one of those parking lot curbs and caving in the nose.

Completely. Though this is my first car that has such a low front and and a low right height. Every time I park I check to see how it is just so I learn.

That said, it's 2012, why can't they install a small laser on the front that would beep when the bumper got within a foot of a curb like a back up camera. Set it at a slightly negative angle and it would not go off in traffic, etc. The technology is there, hell it's on old ass mp3 players...perhaps one day sports cars will do this.

To be honest, that looks like garage door seal. I would not pay $25 for it until I went to Home Depot and looked at a bag of foam or rubber garage seal. Look up the mod before you buy.

Looks like this from the side:
http://www.repairmygarage.com/images...or%20seals.jpg

yes i do!! but as long as you're careful it should be fine. i park a bit further if there are those cement blocks and js go slow on steep driveways haha i get nervous everytime i park and when im on steep driveways

I feel the same way OP...

Two weeks ago I scraped the passenger side plastic deflector on my 2012 Prius which is the lowest part of the car. It's also replaceable I think,but I just felt bad because I always avoid scraping the underbody, so it means I'm not babying the car as much.

The FR-S is a bit lower than our Prius with +package aero kit so I need to be a lot more careful on driveways...once I get behind the wheel of it.

I've scratched the underside of my front lip on steeper ramps a couple times but the thing that freaks me out is birds that stand on the road and hesitate before deciding to fly. I have hit a seagull and a pigeon before they managed to move out of harms way. No damage to the bumper but I'm sure there is bird cranium stuck to my skidplate.

It's inevitable and I just think thank fuck I have not lowered the car as my car as been along its far share of crappy roads.

I've hit a few curbs on the passenger side and scratched/cracked the lower part of the bumber... It sucks but the car is asphalt so you can't even really tell and I don't care either way. I'm not into babying cars, they are machines (sweet, sweet machines). First day I had the car my ex gf swung the door into a concrete pillar and made a small dent along the edge of the door... Shit is going to happen no use losing sleep over it.

http://i.imgur.com/DKwxF.jpeg

At least yours didn't have rebar sticking out of it. Mother fucker.

Honestly, the only paint chip that I worry about is anything that is on a metal part, ESPECIALLY the rear quarter panel.

Other than that... paint chips happen, Best solution is to use the clear plastidip or the 3M Scotchguard stuff they sell. :/

If it's your daily driver, you're gonna have a bad time...

Being particular about your car's exterior is great, but chips and dents are going to happen eventually. The best you can do is put on a clear bra or save whatever paint you still have on your car. Like what Chris Harris said, it's a $25k vehicle... it's meant to be driven and enjoyed. And doing so will open you up to scratches/dents/accidents. I just take care of what I can. I've already got a few dots on my hood and the underside of my front bumper has big scratches (not noticeable). And i'll tell you a secret... I have a scratch on my rim but it's insanely hard to tell.

The answer to OP's title, is a firm NO.
Week after I got the car I pulled up on a curb @ 7-11 and scuffed the bottom of the lip a little bit. Cant see it unless your ass is in the air.
I will not let that happen again!
It's going to get the PlastiDip treatment in the spring...

I did lose sleep that night. But after that, zero fucks are given...

it's just one of those things you've got to live with. also it's one of those things where after the first time, you start caring less and less when it happens again. just like any new toy you get, the first cut is the deepest.:brokenheart:

im getting mine repainted...