cake

Congrats on the car! Did I miss a delivery thread on this? Went looking and didn't see it anywhere. Would love to see some photos! Enjoy in good health!

Luv it! Very cool!

a friend tried it on his Murci and GTR track ed. Looked awful. Really difficult and time consuming. Spray too little and it's very thin and hard to remove. Too thick and it runs and settles in "waves" and looks uneven. If the sole purpose is to protect and you don't care about aesthetics then have at it, don't skimp and peel it when done. But to get a beautiful looking job isn't for an amateur. Plus it took a fair amount of prep and masking to protect areas you don't want coated. This was maybe 2-3 years ago. Maybe technology has improved but he vowed "never" again.

What cars? There were cars in the pic? I better go back and look again Congrats! Beautiful assortment! Enjoy in the best of health!

wondering if barf bags are included

LUV IT!! Congrats and enjoy in the best of health! Gorgeous photos!

I bought from Glen in the past. Great customer service and very knowledgable - easy to do business with.

Another very different option is Collings Foundation. The Mustang would be closest to fighter jet experience discussed above. Hubby did B17 and B24 with his 92 yo Dad who worked in those planes when he was in the military. They crawled all over the plane and had a blast. They did the experience in Ft Myers a couple years ago when we were there for the winter. We could see the planes fly up the Caloosahatchie River and over Sanibel from our condo. https://www.collingsfoundation.org/flight-experiences/

:lol2:

maybe it's the same reason women wear a cz instead of their real diamonds. The worry of losing a real gem diminishes enjoyment of wearing it (especially if traveling) - so they put on a fake and can be carefree. It can be very hard to tell if it's a "good" fake. Maybe it's like that with cars for some people? The fake is the beater that goes to car shows or out to dinner or whatever. If you collect cars and have plenty of the genuine article - I can't think of another reason why you'd want a fake. It would be interesting to learn why he did it.

Odd that a dealer could be fooled. You'd think they'd have it on a lift first and understand the difference. And what's the point of having a fake if you can't enjoy it (assuming the owner isn't bothered by poseur status). If you can't drive it and are afraid of being sued - why bother? Interesting he's not afraid of being found out as a fake - but worried about being sued. Silly on many levels.

Thanks. Feel free to delete this thread.

A friend just texted this photo. He was at The Home Depot (local) this morning and saw this car. He knows we are "car people" and asked if the initials "EB" mean anything LOL The guy with the adjacent minivan (I assume that's a minivan) was giving the Veyron a jump. Not exactly commonplace around these parts!

Congrats!! Enjoy for many miles in the best of health! Does it fit in the garage?

I don't see texture on the Xpel Ultimate. Hood is smooth as a baby's @ss and looks perfect. I could take photos but I'm not sure it would show anything. The link the dealer provided may not be exactly what they'd install. I wouldn't assume it's the pre-cut kit since that may be the only product link available. Ask questions and find out who their installer is, and check reviews. Had the Lambo done by the dealer (Sarasota) and regretted not doing it locally since some edges lifted and got dirt under them - and my choice was to pay local to have it re-done, or live with it. Unless you have high confidence in their installer I would not use someone I don't know. You can buy temporary film and slap it on for the trip. It'll look like shit but protect the car and at least you can drive it. If the ATL guy is Detail Designs I've read a lot about him and he gets extremely positive reviews and people are saying his work is amazing. Also keep in mind that in order to do wrapped edges - in some cases body panels/trim must be removed. With the RS we had our tech do the bodywork and the Xpel guy wrapped the car in their shop and then our tech re-assembled the car. We were worried about rattles/squeaks so use someone who knows how to remove/replace body panels/trim. We did full paint correction first - it was surprising to see so many paint defects and worth it for full correction before wrapping.

One more note: Our film appeared to have some defects in the adhesion underneath. It was done over the winter in climate controlled shop, and our garage is climate controlled. We found it healed itself after sitting a few days in direct sun. If you see minor bubbles or flaws in the adhesive under the film - be patient because it may cure in the sun. If not - a reputable installer will re-do at no cost.

We have Xpel Ultimate on two cars currently and have had it applied to at least 5 others. It's perfectly clear with no texture. No orange peel. Perfectly smooth. Has some self healing properties if the "ding" isn't too large (they show this on their web site). I've heard Suntek is good too. Find an excellent installer, and find out what they prefer to work with (and why). Installation makes or breaks it every time and you can have the best film but if your installer hacks the job it'll look awful. I don't know if there are huge differences in the top brands of film - but there can be huge differences in quality of installation. Goes without saying that you want edges wrapped whenever possible, and an installer that uses pieces larger than the body panel tends to wrap and hide edges rather than someone who works only with a pre-cut template which may have lots of edges showing. And of course NEVER use an installer that cuts the film on the car. Have heard horror stories of razor cuts in paint because an installer literally put a razor to the film while it's on the car. Installer's shop should be pristine. Had one installation with a couple body hairs under the film on the zeeohsix - had to be redone (it was on top of the front fender - couldn't miss it, and I couldn't live with it). He did it in our garage which we washed and vacuumed top to bottom a couple times, and we don't have pets. We've had a few jobs done in our garage that worked out fine (except as noted above) - and we've also had the installer work at their shop or our dealer. I'd probably search for the best installer first - and then decide on the film One last note - if your car has a manufacturer's "chip guard" by the rear wheels - be sure to understand if your installer will remove it before applying clear film (or specify your preference). We had a Porsche chip guard (clear film) on our RS which the installer removed because it would not allow the clear film to seat properly, and there'd be a line. After 400 miles, the sticky tires throw EVERYTHING at the panel behind the door where the body begins to flare out at the "hips". The clear film is pocked with chips, and some go into the film. Lesson learned - we should have told him to leave the manufacturer film in place (we didn't think about it and I'm not sure we would have done anything differently had we thought about it). We are going to have him install a second layer exactly where Porsche put the original protection so we'll have a double layer. Some damage is already done but this'll save any further wear. It won't look great but it'll look the same as if Porsche's layer was under the Xpel, and now we know it needs extra protection in that spot. Good luck

You're welcome. Hoping to save someone from finding out the hard way. Unlikely you'd do this to a street car - unless strictly for looks. But whether street or track - consequences are serious with multiple failures.

totally agree!

Did a full brake fluid system flush yesterday on GT4. I break loose all nuts. As I remove nuts - four of the wheels studs back out of the hub. In checking the remaining wheel studs, another four are only finger tight and unscrew from the hub by hand. Yikes. Rust, corrosion is evident on the wheels and nuts and studs. I used the same manufacturer wheel studs/nuts on the Cayman R for two seasons - zero issues. They supply professional race teams and have a well respected product. Here's what I learned. The nut supplied does not perfectly mate with the opening in my BBS OEM wheel. You can see from the corrosion where the nut seated. It's only touching the wheel in a small area rather than having 100% contact. I measured the widest part of the after market stud versus the OEM lug bolt, and the after market is wider which means it would not allow a perfect fit, and would not countersink "deep enough" to mate perfectly. I pay attention to wheel torque and usually let wheels cool a bit and torque before a session. I would have discovered that I was "losing torque" and it would have made me question what's going on so I think I would have avoided having a wheel come off - but I removed all the wheel studs and am back to the OEM wheel lugs and nuts. I also check torque before any trip. The wheel studs made it much easier to get wheels on/off. It's like having 5 wheel pins to locate each opening and slide the wheel on. Also they carry the weight of the wheel which helps save labor. I'll miss how they work - but it's not worth the risk. I also liked the "look" but for track my first priority is ALWAYS function. If it looks great that's nice. If I get a second set of wheels for the GT4 I may research alternative wheel studs but for now I'll stay with OEM attachment. A friend has a company that makes wheel studs. I found some of his info (below) which is helpful if you are choosing wheel studs. The main point is that the shape and dimensions of the nut must match and seat properly with the wheel. Also - with dissimilar metals together (aluminum wheels and steel studs) - when the studs rusted the rust got into the aluminum. It took a fair amount of work to remove the rust from the wheel. When dissimilar metals "mate" I was told rust could leach into the "weaker" (softer) metal and become a properly of that metal. My wheels cleaned up but it took some chemicals and elbow grease. Not sure how I ended up with the wrong part - but I'll be talking to all parties involved on Monday just to make them aware, along with alerting other GT4 owners who might be using the same wheel stud system. Corroded after market wheel studs OEM Lug bolt measurement at widest part After market bolt measured at widest part (wider than OEM) When choosing wheel studs keep these dimensions and shapes in mind:

LUV IT!! LOL: "Mini Me"

when hubby was little his Dad did the same - but I think he was closer to 7-8 years of age. Way to start 'em young Fortis! Great story!

Also wasn't aware it came down. Epic thread and thank you for sharing!

Can they really get power down to be quick (street driving) or do you just end up burning rubber? I assume with drag radials it's a different story. I'm not personally a fan - but I agree it's nice to see the American muscle car resurgence