First road trip for my FR-S...am I being paranoid?

[NOHOME]

As someone who lives on the extreme opposite pole of your obsession, here is some advice: Chill, enjoy the car and don't sweat the little things and dings. Other than paranoia about damage, paint brings nothing to the party as far as enjoying this car; the twins are about dynamic function.

[nocurfew]

I took my FRS on a 7 hour trip to San Francisco. Returned with no rock chips at all. I guess I got lucky?

[Tt3Sheppard]

Painters tape/touch up paint and you should be fine.

[GT86drifter]

man up drive it the car doesnt want to be babied it wants to be driven

you can buff at the end of your trip

[FRiSson]

Coat the vulnerable areas with Cosmoline.

Cosmoline is the genericized trademark for a generic class of rust preventives, typically conforming to MIL-C-11796C Class 3, that are a brown colored wax-like mass; have a slight fluorescence; and have a petroleum-like odor and taste (as detected when working with it).
Chemically, cosmoline is a homogeneous mixture of oily and waxy long-chain, non-polar hydrocarbons. It is always brown in color, but can differ in viscosity and shear strength. Cosmoline melts at 113-125 °F (45–52 °C) and has a flash point of 365 °F (185 °C).

You can easily remove it with hot water if it hasn't dried out.

[Gixxersixxerman]

I'm one of the few I guess that doesn't care.. Mine has chipped windshield, scratches on the bumper, scratches on the roof, dent that I pushed out the best I can on the passenger side.. It's a car.. Shit happens.. I want it to look as nice as possible, but it's my daily driver.. If you want a perfect car, then buy a commuter car and use this one to hang in the parking lots or what ever.. My 2200 mile trip had bugs covered the front end.. But I put a lot of wax on it and it seemed to clean up pretty good

[dem00n]

Buy another FRS.

[Kilzod]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

Put a nice coat of wax on it.

Other than that, don't worry about it. Shit is going to happen no matter what you do, so there isn't a point in worrying about it. A nice wax will get you a nice protective coat between your car and bugs/dirt/etc, that will allow you to clean it off relatively easily.

Rock chips are a way of life, they happen and there generally isn't a damn thing you can do about it. Get some touch up paint and leave it in your glove box.

[carbonBLUE]

Originally Posted by kthxbai

My Whiteout FR-S is a little over a week and a half old and I am getting ready to head 430 miles north from central Florida to northeast Atlanta this weekend to spend time with family. I know there are things we cannot control when it comes to road debris hitting the car while traveling. However, if there is something I can do to protect the paint on the car I would like to try. What is everyone's thoughts on protecting the front end of the car with painter's tape? I definitely do not have $$ for a bra. Oh, total mileage for the trip is going to be around 860 miles because of course I have to drive back! Thank you ahead of time for your thoughts!

i have scrapes and bumps all over my car lol.. i drive it like that because RACECAR

[root]

Don't worry a bout it. Wish I had the pic handy, guy at autox covered his Vette entirely with blue painters tape! It was done as kind of a gag. I forget how much in tape it cost him. Shoulda seen the tape wad after removIng!
Oh here we go: http://www.studionewmedia.com/galler...geViewsIndex=1

[kthxbai]

Originally Posted by FRiSson

Coat the vulnerable areas with Cosmoline.

Cosmoline is the genericized trademark for a generic class of rust preventives, typically conforming to MIL-C-11796C Class 3, that are a brown colored wax-like mass; have a slight fluorescence; and have a petroleum-like odor and taste (as detected when working with it).
Chemically, cosmoline is a homogeneous mixture of oily and waxy long-chain, non-polar hydrocarbons. It is always brown in color, but can differ in viscosity and shear strength. Cosmoline melts at 113-125 °F (45–52 °C) and has a flash point of 365 °F (185 °C).

You can easily remove it with hot water if it hasn't dried out.

Will definitely look into this!

So sounds like survey says "Yes, you are paranoid!", "Chill out and just drive, seriously just chill" & "A good coat of wax". My last car ('96 Mustang) I drove for 13 years and it was a gift from my parents who worked really hard to get me a car for college. I traded that car for the FR-S which is the first new car purchase I have ever made. I've been waiting for this trip to actually DRIVE the car for a change because my daily commute is only 6 miles (round trip). I'm just trying to keep the car in the best care that I can without going overboard. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions!

[kthxbai]

Originally Posted by root

Don't worry a bout it. Wish I had the pic handy, guy at autox covered his Vette entirely with blue painters tape! It was done as kind of a gag. I forget how much in tape it cost him. Shoulda seen the tape wad after removIng!
Oh here we go: http://www.studionewmedia.com/galler...geViewsIndex=1

That is CRAZY!! I'm definitely not that paranoid, I know crap is going to happen, just didnt want my new car of less than 2 weeks to get abused!

[CircuitJerk]

If it makes you feel better, painter's tape is about the best option.
It doesn't look good and it won't protect you completely from rock chips but it will minimize it to an extent.
Even if you are a conscientious driver and don't tailgate, invariably you'll get some debris. A little painters tape, some consideration to what you're behind, and even the times you drive can have an effect.
If it's possible try to travel during less busy times of the day when there isn't a bunch of work related traffic. You'll see less construction vehicles which are often sources for rocks and debris. Be especially careful around construction zones and you'll be fine.

I don't care about this stuff as much as I used to with a new car, so I don't use tape but the last two 6 hour round trips I took, despite my strategies, I ended up with some chips that could have been avoided had I used tape.
Mostly only obvious to me, but a little touch up and they're hardly noticeable.

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Just drive the car the way it is. It's not as if the risks involved in a road trip will never be present on a trip around the corner to the grocery store, where the same stuff (rocks hitting your windshield, car accident, door dings, etc.) are still very much possible. The car's not going to stay perfect forever.