DeNile'

Here's the email I got back from the guy, I left the info at the bottom in case somebody else in the area wanted to get this done. I'll prob just get the Upper Kit. Good Price?? Let me know??
The following kits are available for your RX8:

"Complete Kit": $1095
Hood, Fender and Mirror Kit
Bumper Kit
Headlight and Foglight Kit

"Upper Kit": $495
Hood, Fender and Mirror Kit
Headlight and Foglight Kit

All prices include materials and installation. I guarantee 100% satisfaction
for the kits to be installed properly and free of any defects, which is very
important, as this is a very challenging kit to install for most installers. It
would take approximately 3-4 hours to install a "complete kit" and about 1-2
hours to install the "upper kit"

Please feel free to call or email me if you have any further questions.

You can find more information about my products and services at my website.
www.pftfilms.com

Skip

Protective Film Technologies
Herndon, VA
703-944-7076

RXhusker

I got a price of $500 for the complete kit with the headlight protection (installed) from my local Xpel dealer. I originally wanted to use the Stonguard dealer (they have a better template for the apperance pkg) but was quoted $1050!!! Both Xpel and Stongard use the same 3M material so a difference of $500 simply comes down to dealer margin on the installation. I have a friend to supplies the 3M material rolls and he said the actual materials cost for our cars to the installer is about $30 -- the rest is all for installation and profit margin.

DeNile'

dang, 30 bucks, thats a good profit, did your deal come with the bumper for 500?

Gord96BRG

WAAAAAAYYYY too expensive. I got my XPEL clear bra (full coverage) installed for ~$500 Cdn, or around $370 US. Do a search for 'xpel', you'll find a few threads starting from July that discuss this.

Regards,
Gordon

RXhusker

Full front bumper -- the lights kit is $75 of the total. Took about 4 hours of time to install.

ELX13

husker, i don't see an app. package version on either stongard or xpel's site. did u have to call to make sure they had it?

RXhusker

It is on Stongards site - you have to look close -- at the top of the RX-8 page in little print there is a link to the version for the appearance package. I also thought that Stongard's template looked a little tighter in design than Xpel's -- too bad dealer was trying to make his mortgage payment for the month from me!

Xpel has no template for the appearance package (only real difference is the front air dam) -- the installer just hand cut a piece to fit the bottom lip.

ELX13

thanks for pointing out that link husker...they should make that a bit more prominent.

2 more questions for ya:
1) did your installer cut a piece that looks similar to the stongard template?
2) (well, more like '1b') does the piece that your installer custom make for the air dam fit as snugly as the other pre-cut pieces?

grogiefrog

I went to the company's web site (PFT Films) and in their FAQ, it says that you can wax over it. But would you have to? Does it loose it's shine after awhile? Why else would you wax over it?

They also said that it's got a 5 to 10 year life. Does anyone know what it's going to look like when it gets to that point?

It sounds like it's worth the money. I hate rock chips!

VelocityRedRX8

I had StonGard put on my Miata over a year ago. Really excellent installation and still very clear. I don't use the car as my daily driver, however. I'm definitely going to do this.

RXhusker

Let me clarify one thing -- I have only arranged to have this done and talked with the installer -- my appointment is made but the install is not done yet. They will use the Xpel template and hand cut just the small strip that will cover the bottom lip of the appearance package.

Gord96BRG

Um, you're thinking of something entirely different - like a hard acrylic plastic that is molded to nearly the same shape as the nose, but is mounted to sit a few mm away from the body surface, right?

We're talking about adhesive films using the 3M Scotchcal film that are transparent and adhere directly to the painted surfaces. No need to paint it, since it's clear and invisible anyway.

Regards,
Gordon

Gord96BRG

Here's info -
3M Scotchcal Paint Protection Film Website

XPEL clear bra web site
StonGuard clear bra web site

It's amazing stuff, and works very well to prevent stone chips in the paint.

I have it on the headlights, but I don't think it would be great on a windshield - the optics through it wouldn't be quite good enough for proper vision!

Regards,
Gordon

rxeightr

Using the Expel product, I paid $225 w/ installation for the hood, headlights, fog lights & side mirrors.

Paid another $175 for installation of the front bumper.

rx8cited

Gordon,
Hello. Thanks for the links. I'd be interested in anything you have to say that led you to your final decision of using Xpel vs the others.

My car has no protection on it, but after reading this thread, I'm considering getting it done. I'm not familiar with these protection products - so any advice from the experienced is appreciated.

regards,
rx8cited

TWNROTR

I would caution people to be careful with choosing the lowest bidder. I've seen a really botched-up installation, so I didn't choose StonGard until I saw another RX-8 with it.

Perhaps rxeightr can post a review of his XPel installation to go along with my StonGard experience?

The long version of the story:

My first in-person experience with vehicle protection film was a Lexus GS in a parking lot and I spent a few minutes looking it over closely. I was not impressed. The edges are roughly straight for 3-4 inches, then took a slight turn and goes on for another few inches. To me it looked like somebody cut the 3M material with a pair of scissors. The material also stopped well short of the edges, sometimes as far as 3/8th of an inch away from the edge. The biggest disappointment was that the leading edge of the hood was unprotected. I didn't like that because that was where most of the paint chips in my previous car (2000 Protege) occurred.

The material really is nearly invisible. I wouldn't have noticed it on the Lexus GS except the car needed a wash and the dirt highlighted the edges. The 3M material itself is fine - but this is where I realized that the cutting and installation will make a huge difference.

After following Gord96BRG's links, I noticed that StonGard's contact phone number is in the same area code as my own. It turns out they're really close to where I work, with an associate/subsidary (not sure of precise relationship) operation called AutoGard USA at the same site that does installation.

I drove by the place intending to check out some of the cars they've done and awaiting pick-up. I was happy to find that one of the cars awaiting pickup was another RX-8. This gave me the opportunity to evaluate the StonGard RX-8 kit first-hand.

Edges were smooth curves and very closely conforms to the edges. The fender pieces stayed within 1-2mm of the edge. The hood piece wrap around the edges, protecting not just the leading edge but some of the side too. The bumper piece doesn't cover every square inch of the bumper, but I can see that it'd be very difficult to make a single flat plastic sheet conform to the complex curvatures of the bumper. It also doesn't stay as close to the edge as the fender pieces, but again not bad when considering the complexity of the task.

(The "missing" bumper sections are all deeper within the non-front-facing portions of the three air intakes. All of the front rock-facing areas are covered.)

I was impressed enough with what I saw to walk in and set up an appointment, and the installation was done today. I looked at it in my garage tonight and think: Damn that's a nice job.

So while RXhusker was right - the 3M material is pretty cheap - that's not what you're paying for. You're paying for the skill of the person who designed the cutting pattern, the skill of the person/machine operator who actually does the cutting, and the skill of the installer.

Having the chance to personally examine the StonGard results on another RX-8 was what I needed to commit. I got my chance purely by accident but it was such a great confidence booster for me. If possible, I would highly recommend arranging to look at another customer's RX-8 before making your own decision. As with any appearance aid, how good something looks is a highly personal judgement. So your mileage will vary.

Good luck.

(Hmm... that went way longer than I had planned... I don't blame you if you just skipped my blabbering.)

waldo

I am interested too, but it suprises me that there are no products the run down the side of the car the prevent kicked up debris. I might have to look into doing that part myself.

Gord96BRG

TWNRTR gives an excellent review, with very good points - the skill of the installer is very important. I believe the XPEL web site ranks the difficulty of installation of the different patterns... With the XPEL product, the template for each car is produced by their head office, and the franchises all have computer controlled cutters - they just download the pattern, and the computer cutter cuts out the film. Then it's up to the installer to get it properly located and installed on your car.

There were two reasons I chose XPEL - they were the very first to have a pattern available for the RX-8 (mine was installed in late July), and I was leaving on a long road trip and wanted it in place for bugs and rocks protection; and the local installer that I used has an excellent reputation, did a great job installing the Scotchcal film on my Audi 2 years ago and installing tint - and happens to be an XPEL franchise (I also had the RX-8 small side windows and rear windows tinted by him). Again, experience and workmanship of the installer is important. Ask to see some of their work, or the vehicles they've just finished.

The Scotchcal film isn't indestructible - I've seen on rare occasion (other vehicles, not mine) where a clear bra has been torn or stretched by a big rock hit. However, it took the damage and the paint underneath was unmarked. On my Audi, I've had the clear bra for two years, and that includes a lot of commuting in winter conditions (gravel etc. on the roads) and frequent trips to the mountains for skiing. The clear bra is in perfect condition, as is the paint underneath it.

Regards,
Gordon

rxeightr

My installer had not done an RX-8 previous to mine, so I first had them install the clear bra on the hood, top fenders, headlights, foglights, and side-view mirrors.

This gave me an opportunity to determine the quality of the product, installation quality, and give the installer a look at the degree of difficulty in installing the bumper section. All went well, and after two weeks I called them to do the installation of the bumper.

This was a difficult install, taking close to 1.5 hours of total installation time. Since it was in 1 piece, much time was spent in proper postioning & centering. The only areas that do not lay flat are on the bottom-most section on each bumper side, as they curve from front to side. In that area there is a ripple of excess material, however it is difficult to see unless you are looking for it.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rank it an 8, with high recommendation for others to consider.

rx8cited

rxeightr, Gord96BRG, TWNROTR,
Thanks for taking the time to post your detailed thoughts and experiences.

TWNROTR, would you mind sharing the cost of your StonGard installation? The web site lists $500.95 for the full RX-8 kit.

Gord96BRG and rxeightr mentioned X-Pel @ $370 and $400 in their posts.

I'll be sure to let quality and not cost be the deciding factor as you have suggested.

Thanks,
rx8cited

TWNROTR

My cost was (Price as listed on web site) + $90 for installation + sales tax of 8.8% = $642

Note that the paint protection kit is sold separately from the lights protection kit. The light protection stuff is MUCH thicker and was installed on the other RX-8 I inspected. Because of how the headlight blends into the bodywork, this stuff was easily visible on a RX-8 and I found it distracting. So, sheerly for the sake of appearance, I decided against installing it. We'll see if I regret that decision later.

Both Gord96BRG and rxeightr said they've got X-Pel on their lights, but I don't know how the X-Pel light protection compares to the StonGard Light stuff. For cost comparison, adding the StonGard Light kit, $15 installation, and sales tax would come out to a total price of $724.50

I'm not saying X-Pel isn't good - I just haven't seen it so I can't say either way. It is certainly much less costly. If anybody has a X-Pel-protected RX-8 in the Seattle area, let me know and we can try to set up a side-by-side comparison. Let's find out if I merely got screwed for extra profit or if there was a real (if minor) tradeoff in the results. Either way, we can post to the forum here so people can make better informed decisons.

rxeightr

Same here, for the headlights & the fog lights.

PUR NRG

The problem with any comparison--or review for that matter--is it's easy to say "I just got this installed and it looks great!"

The real test is not how it looks now or even a couple years from now. The real test is how it looks after 4+ years without a garage. Those are the reviews I'd be interested to hear.
________
Lovely Wendie