Wish BMW had used a longer film for the fender flare

[///M///]

Noticed this on the recent detail. The film does an excellent job protecting the car from dings but as you can see in the pictures, it needs to be taller. Too late to cover it up now.

[platty]

Yet another reason to get an M4...




But seriously - that looks bad! On mine I wished the film went lower, as I have chips towards the bottom of the side skirt.

[Kankles]

What size spacers are you running in front?

Note to self...apply additional film on her haunches..

[shiv.nandak]

BMW did not expect you to add aggressive wheel spacers

[///M///]

Originally Posted by Kankles

What size spacers are you running in front?

Originally Posted by shiv.nandak

BMW did not expect you to add aggressive wheel spacers

What made you think I have wheel spacers?

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by ///M///

Noticed this on the recent detail. The film does an excellent job protecting the car from dings but as you can see in the pictures, it needs to be taller. Too late to cover it up now.

Paint chips are part and parcel of car ownership. You can always touch them up to make them disappear. This is just life.
If a few nicks on the fenders bother you, I strongly suggest you never wash or inspect the front of the car

The only other alternative is to spend $3-5K and wrap the exterior in plastic condom. Works for some, waste of money for me.

YMMV,
a

[///M///]

Originally Posted by afadeev

Paint chips are part and parcel of car ownership. You can always touch them up to make them disappear. This is just life.
If a few nicks on the fenders bother you, I strongly suggest you never wash or inspect the front of the car

The only other alternative is to spend $3-5K and wrap the exterior in plastic condom. Works for some, waste of money for me.

YMMV,
a

afadeev I am far from that. Infact I am hugely against all these wraps they now sell to protect the car. Like you said, wear and tear is part and parcel of car ownership so it does not bother me at all. The car is meant to be driven, not garaged for a show.

I think you missed the point of my post. My point was that since the car already came with this, it would have been nice if it was a little taller. Looks like BMW missed the a major portion of the impact patch . I already have Dr. Colorchip which I'll use to fill these in.

[MFNATIK]

Similar issue I had seen on my car. I immediately had the BMW film removed and the fender cleared with XPel Ultimate. Issue fixed but there is still some very minor pitting even after a proper detail (before film install). I posted about it earlier this year.

[Kankles]

Originally Posted by ///M///

What made you think I have wheel spacers?

Look how flush your rear wheels are...would look really silly if you weren't running front spacers as well. My guess is you're running 15mm front spacers. I'm running 12s front and 15 rear and don't have rock chips yet but thanks to this post (and others that I've seen with chips) I'll def add some more film.
I already added film on the bottom of the bumper sides (on each side just behind the rear wheels).

[te37]

Contact Xpel, and they make a custom piece that will go all the way up, thats what i did. I did that from day 1 (which was 11k miles for me) and I'm sure it has protected me a lot.

[Draper]

Originally Posted by te37

Contact Xpel, and they make a custom piece that will go all the way up, thats what i did. I did that from day 1 (which was 11k miles for me) and I'm sure it has protected me a lot.

Is this just for the flare, or is the full rear rocker piece? How high up does it go? Any pics of what it looks like on your car?

[te37]

Originally Posted by Draper

Is this just for the flare, or is the full rear rocker piece? How high up does it go? Any pics of what it looks like on your car?

No pictures with me, but it is just partial and it goes up to the rear quarter glass.

[///M///]

Originally Posted by Kankles

Look how flush your rear wheels are...would look really silly if you weren't running front spacers as well. My guess is you're running 15mm front spacers. I'm running 12s front and 15 rear and don't have rock chips yet but thanks to this post (and others that I've seen with chips) I'll def add some more film.
I already added film on the bottom of the bumper sides (on each side just behind the rear wheels).

You are correct. It never even occurred to me that the spacers could have anything to do with this.

[F30MSport]

I agree; the film needs to be taller. My Alpine White M3 has some small chips in the same area and I easily touched them up with Dr. Colorchip then had the car ceramic coated. My front bumper is clear wrapped with Xpel PPF and I'll likely do a custom piece for the fenders.

I am not running spacers and still have this wear and tear. Additionally, there is wear on the front lower part of the rocker panel from road debris and stones.

[KShirza1]

Yep, had the factory film removed and replaced with XPEL that covers the entire forward face of the fenders; also wrapped the bottom of the doors and side skirts. DTM looking bulges come at a price. Hands down my favorite part of the M3 over the M4... those hips!

[x.shell]

Originally Posted by ///M///

afadeev I am far from that. Infact I am hugely against all these wraps they now sell to protect the car. Like you said, wear and tear is part and parcel of car ownership so it does not bother me at all. The car is meant to be driven, not garaged for a show.

I think you missed the point of my post. My point was that since the car already came with this, it would have been nice if it was a little taller. Looks like BMW missed the a major portion of the impact patch . I already have Dr. Colorchip which I'll use to fill these in.

Update us when you do the Dr. Colorchip treatment. I'm curious on how well it'll fill the chips. I have a few chips on the front I'd like to touch up as well.

[KevinM]

Yeah. I have a 3M clearbra on my M5 which still looks great after 12 years, but I skipped it on the M coupe and wasn't sure if I was going to do it on the M3. Just driving back from Long Beach to Tucson I got a few chips (small, not visible unless you are looking for them) above the factory film. I'd gladly have paid a few hundred more for the car to have exended factory coverage in this area. Long story short, Xpel goes on tomorrow. Sure, while I'm there I am having the front done, but the real reason is those hips! It's worth it though - I just love the M3's rear flares!

I totally get and respect those who feel chips are just part of the ownership experience...but that is just not me....

[MFNATIK]

Actually, I don't get why chips should be some badge of ownership. The technology exists today to protect your cars paint and allow you worry free ownership from rock chips. Why wouldn't you want to spend the few extra bucks for this peace of mind. Is having your cake and eating it too wrong? I covered all the front facing areas of my car and 16k miles later, my car looks brand new. Was it worth it? Of course. I got to enjoy a ton of miles at high speed and have zero chips on my front end. Who wouldn't want that?

[NOLATom]

Originally Posted by MFNATIK

Actually, I don't get why chips should be some badge of ownership. The technology exists today to protect your cars paint and allow you worry free ownership from rock chips. Why wouldn't you want to spend the few extra bucks for this peace of mind. Is having your cake and eating it too wrong? I covered all the front facing areas of my car and 16k miles later, my car looks brand new. Was it worth it? Of course. I got to enjoy a ton of miles at high speed and have zero chips on my front end. Who wouldn't want that?

I'm with you. I dropped my car off at the detailed putting the Xpel on with less than 6 miles on my car. It was 2 miles from the dealership. I told him wrap the whole car. At $4500, it's worth every penny to me not to see those damn chips.

[MFNATIK]

Originally Posted by NOLATom

I'm with you. I dropped my car off at the detailed putting the Xpel on with less than 6 miles on my car. It was 2 miles from the dealership. I told him wrap the whole car. At $4500, it's worth every penny to me not to see those damn chips.

Funny, I just got a quote for when my car arrives to do the whole car and he quoted $4500 as well. I asked for a repeat customer discount and he threw in the 3M CS tint for free. 100% agree, its a small price to pay for at least 10 years of paint perfection. If you factor in all the time, aggravation, repaint, etc, its well worth the peace of mind. Its definitely an investment but it perserves the car unlike any other method currently available.

[01101001]

Originally Posted by Kankles

What size spacers are you running in front?

Note to self...apply additional film on her haunches..

You don't need wheel spacers for that damage. The front wheels stick out plenty far to throw road debris at that fender flare.

Mine started chipping right away... first week or so after I bought it... which is why I stayed off freeways (for front dings) had the whole car wrapped within 2 weeks. Now a year later, still looks brand new.

[NashvegasR]

Was looking at my M4 convertible today. Mineral Grey. 40K miles.

Interestingly no chips up on the rear panels above the BMW protection, zero on either side and I drive like I stole it.

But the lower sill panel/rocker panel just forward of the rear wheelwell is ALL chipped to crap. Same spot both sides of car. Bummer. Don't have pics at the moment but guessing this is super common too.