[turbojg]

Originally Posted by geddylee

BMW factory paint is truly bad these days, I feel like there are chips in the first month of ownership of all modern BMW’s I have owned. My IS500 however has no PPF or Ceramic coating and still looks perfect after 5k miles.

I’d opt for the PPF on an M car.

I'd be interested to hear if a larger number of BMW owners have had that same experience or see some objective proof of that before making such a damaging statement. I personally have been driving mine for a year now with nearly 5K miles and haven't a single paint chip.

[ipilcher]

Originally Posted by turbojg

I'd be interested to hear if a larger number of BMW owners have had that same experience or see some objective proof of that before making such a damaging statement. I personally have been driving mine for a year now with nearly 5K miles and haven't a single paint chip.

It was certainly my experience with my F34 here in DFW. The front end looked like it had been lightly sand blasted after a few years of driving on our freeways.

[turbojg]

Originally Posted by ipilcher

It was certainly my experience with my F34 here in DFW. The front end looked like it had been lightly sand blasted after a few years of driving on our freeways.

Was that summer or winter driving. Where I live it is an issue in the winter because they mix gravel the size of peas in with the salt. Lost a socket wrench under the hood of my car this past winter and in hopes that it may have fallen through loosened the plastic panels underneath to see if it would come out. All that came out was that pea gravel like it was pouring out of a bag. Can't imagine how it all got in there. In the winter I will go out of my way to drive through the towns rather than use the highways.

However, in the summer it is a different story. Usually any stones or gravel get thrown off the highway pretty quickly. The main concern is getting behind dump trucks or construction vehicles. I stay a mile behind them and don't follow any vehicles closely.

[ipilcher]

Originally Posted by turbojg

Was that summer or winter driving. Where I live it is an issue in the winter because they mix gravel the size of peas in with the salt. Lost a socket wrench under the hood of my car this past winter and in hopes that it may have fallen through loosened the plastic panels underneath to see if it would come out. All that came out was that pea gravel like it was pouring out of a bag. Can't imagine how it all got in there. In the winter I will go out of my way to drive through the towns rather than use the highways.

However, in the summer it is a different story. Usually any stones or gravel get thrown off the highway pretty quickly. The main concern is getting behind dump trucks or construction vehicles. I stay a mile behind them and don't follow any vehicles closely.

Honestly, both.

They put sand on the freeways here on the rare occassions when it snows or ices, and it never really goes away; it just hangs around on the shoulders, waiting for the wind to blow it back onto the road.

And then there's the massive quantity of trash that's just blowing around all the time.

[Dvenuti72]

I will be taking delivery of my iomg m3 soon and would like to get some ppf on the car as I plan to keep it long term. I’m thinking front bumper, headlights hood for sure. Maybe mirrors. Is there a factory piece of ppf on the rear hips that is sufficient? I’ve tracked cars before and the ppf definitely helped in those situations on those specific areas. This car will not be tracked. Just daily driven in the summer time and put away for the winter. The carbon roof is the only other thing that worries me, but I may do that down the road.

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by Dvenuti72

I will be taking delivery of my iomg m3 soon and would like to get some ppf on the car as I plan to keep it long term. I’m thinking front bumper, headlights hood for sure. Maybe mirrors. Is there a factory piece of ppf on the rear hips that is sufficient? I’ve tracked cars before and the ppf definitely helped in those situations on those specific areas. This car will not be tracked. Just daily driven in the summer time and put away for the winter. The carbon roof is the only other thing that worries me, but I may do that down the road.

There's a factory piece on the rear quarter panel, but I had it removed and replaced with a piece of PPF that goes a few inches higher up.

[Dvenuti72]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

There's a factory piece on the rear quarter panel, but I had it removed and replaced with a piece of PPF that goes a few inches higher up.

So I’m assuming not the best coverage area from the factory?

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by Dvenuti72

So I’m assuming not the best coverage area from the factory?

Not the greatest. Especially if you have spacers on the front. You will get a lot of rock chips above the factory PPF.

[Tano22]

Took my wife's X3 for a road trip (about 1400 miles round trip) across the state of Florida, from South Florida to the panhandle and back. We took several state/Federal highways and encountered all of the usual weather and traffic/debris elements you might expect during a trip like that. The car is not protected with PPF. Predictably, after coming back and giving the car a much-needed detailing, I noticed a small number of tiny rock chips where there were none before. They aren't noticeable from afar and I can see how maybe they wouldn't bother some. I am near-certain that PPF would have prevented those chips from happening. That said, they don't bother my wife, who has to drive the car every day. And although I considered PPF when I purchased the vehicle last year, ultimately I decided that paying 10+% of the value of the car was not worth it. As I mentioned before, everyone has a different calculus.