Some of you may be interested in the Nose Mask for our 8. I purchased one because I was doing a NASA HPDE event at Road Atlanta. Rocks and crap seem to find their way to your nose and ding her up pretty bad. I will put it on only for a driving event or a long trip. It comes off ASAP. The car must be perfectly clean when you put it on. This is to keep any sand/dirt form getting between and acting like sandpaper. Also do not want any moisture because it can cause the paint to milk up.

Installation was pretty simple. Hardware is minimal. You pop out 5 of the Philip head fasteners under the wheel well, put a metal clip over the hole that receives a snap head screw. One of the fasteners goes back in place. The rest of the connections or hooks in existing holes, velcro or flap inserts. It took me about 15 minutes to install the fasteners and about as long or longer to put the nose cover on. Reinstalling and Removing is a snap!

Quality and integrity of the nose mask if very good. Can't think of any improvements I'd make on it at this time.

I really like it a lot and I'm glad I purchased it. Cost approx. $125.

 

If your not doing frequent highway or long trips I recommend taking it off. It will leave a water line from rain. I took mine off after 3 weeks when I started doing more city driving and freaked when I saw the color discrepency. Make sure you wash/wax before install and take it off when wash/wax.

 

the other alternative is 3M clearbra, I'd recommend that to anyone buying a new car since the paint on the 8 is less than average against paint chipping.

 

i don't like bras at all, but i can definately see the how one would be a good thing for track days (especially if it had built in clear plastic light covers so you wouldn't have to tape them up each time).

 

The autobahn or "clear bra", looks good in the beginning but wait a year or two. They look horrible and lift around big chips. I would rather run a regular bra than one of those clear ones any day.

 

Agree with all the above. I got the "mask" (bra) when I started doing a lot of Interstate driving (1000 miles every two weeks). I've left it on as long as a week or two, but don't recommend that. It does accumulate some dirt and grit (especially if driving in rain), and that'll do a job on the finish. My TG has not shown any change in the appearance of the paint.

You should be able to buy on line for $100 or get your local dealer to match.

 

Yea, G, I was thinking the same thing about the clear plastic for the light covers. That is a no brainer in my book. I noted that on track day when I was taping up my headlights. Wonder if I could sew it in myself?

 

Valpac has the clear bra and I believe he told me it cost over $300. Big diffference!

 

i don't see why not. it would be a pain in the *** to do by hand. but i would imagine that it would need an industrial sewing machine to do that way. also would need to ensure that the edges of the plastic were addressed so they didn't do bad things to the paint.

 

Too much hassle to put on and take off, and your paint still might get scuffed pretty easily while doing that.
IMO of course.

 

Cool idea if you go tracking or on road trips, and have a completely stock bumper. Clearbra may look a little cleaner though.

 

I've had the clearbra on my RX-8 since Oct 2003, and am still quite pleased with the clarity & protection.

No issues here.

 

I thought I liked my bra but after I took it off I realized how much it took away from the look of the car. I only put it on for long trips now and during "love bug" season in Louisiana.

 

agree the nose mask is a simple, cheap, effective protection for your 8. The 3M bras also work, but are far far more expensive and they will fade.

I take my bra off least every two weeks when cleaning the car and leave it off over the weekend at times. It really only stays on the car when driving the 70 miles to work which was just chewing the car up otherwise.

Hint if you install it in the cold take a hair dryer to the mask and get it warm, makes it easier to stretch. But once on it takes 2 minutes to take off and another 2 minutes to put back on.

 

Sorry if this is off topic but I couldn't find this particular problem in the search. I bought the mask a couple weeks ago and have a recurring problem that is driving me crazy. Any time I get on the highway (which I do every day commuting to work) the center tab that wedges between the bumper and the top of the grill somehow comes out. I end up fixing it every time I get out of the car. Has anyone experienced this problem or have any ideas how to fix it? I called up Trussville Mazda where I purchased it from and they suggested it might be defective and to send it back for replacement. I thought I would give the forum a try before going through that hassle.

Thanks,
Marcelo

P.S.: I have been combing this site ever since I purchased my RX-8 a month ago and have to thank everyone that has taken the time to post so much information. It has certainly made my transition to the rotary engine much smoother.

 

SoFlaRX8,

I noticed that on mine after a pretty long drive. I've got my eye on it, thinking it may have been the way I put it on that time. I may add a velcro fastener for that section if I notice it regularly.

 

I took my mask out to the car to see if I could figure out what might be going on.

The only thing I can think of is to address the two long tabs on either side of the center one by making sure they are pushed all the way in. Since these are held in by pressure between the grill and the nose it's imperative they fit snugly. Has the car ever had any front end damage or has the grill ever been taken out and possibly not put back perfectly? The center tab that is coming out should be pretty hard to push into place. If it goes in easy then you have a problem with your car and not the mask. Also, make sure it is pushed all the way back until it hits something solid.

I drove mine for 5 days and had no problem with the tabs and that was with two days on Road Atlanta. Please follow-up, as I'd like to know what your solution is in case it happens to me.

Welcome to the club.

 

Thanks for the replies. The car is only a month old so there is no damage and the grill has not been taken out since I bought the car. I have noticed that the two long tabs on either side tend to pull out a bit actually also and I end up pushing those back in all the way (although they don't come all the way out). I have noticed some bug splatter on the front bumper beneath where the center tab should be holding the mask in place which makes me wonder if the whole front part is lifting up while I am driving. The first time I installed the mask the center tab fit snuggly but not that tight. I am leaning towards the grill and bumper having a bigger seperation than it probably should. I am taking the car in for an oil change tomorrow and will have them take a look. I will come back and post any news or solutions they have for me.

Thanks again,
Marcelo

 

Good idea, Since it is a Mazda product and not a third party, they should be able to help you out.

 

I'd pay 200 dollars more for the clear bra if for no other reason than to save the hassle.

 

Blue, I agree the clear bra is definitely less hassles and I strongly considered it. I have no problem paying the additional money. My decision was based on what I thought would be the most protection for my car from small rock chips during those 4 or 5 times a year I might need it. If I lived in Florida or somewhere the love bugs or other insects were really bad, I think I would have the clear bra. But I would also have the mask too for the track. I think of the clear protection being more for soft impact and the mask for harder impact. IMHO

 

I've had mine two years now, and I still can barely tell it's there.

The problem with the clear bra is that it looks great (i.e. invisible) if you only put it on the metal hood. If you also get it installed on the plastic bumper, its edges become very noticeable, especially around the front lights.

Because I only have it on the hood, I have a lot of rock chips on my bumper. I'll be getting that taken care of within the month. Hopefully they'll do it without a total repaint.

 

The best thing about bra's is taking it off her...

 

Well I just got back from the dealership and here was their big suggestion: velcro! They actually told me to get some velcro with double sided tape and velcro the mask to the car. I should add that they didn't suggest I velcro the whole thing, just that tab that keeps coming out but that is just silly. Additionally, they asked me to bring in my survey that Mazda corporate sends out to new owners so that they could fill it out themselves (they tried to bribe me with a free oil change). I thought it was strange to ask me to bring it in with me. Needless to say I will be taking my RX-8 to another dealership from now on. If I do find a real solution to the problem I will come back to post it.

Marcelo

 

Marcelo, that was definately not the correct answer.