Stone chips

[Swiftly]

I wouldn't have thought that red would be any different to say black for showing stonechipd. My previous blue M240i front end was covered in stone chips of all sizes. I was wondering if perhaps the paints currently used by BMW is softer than the paint they used to use on the older E85

[NewZdriver]

No stone chips here at 6k miles!! Fingers crossed!!

[raven]

15k kilometers
I wrapped mine partially to keep the paint as good as new, not sure if it is working, i already have some stonechips that went through the wrap.
I use it as a daily driver, lots of motorway and there's a lot of crap lying around on the belgian roads.
I have ppf on my headlights the material is a little thicker, so far no holes or tears through the PPF.
Fully wrapping the car in PPF however was twice as expensive compared to just wrapping it, thats why i chose a color instead

[john-e89]

15k kilometers
I wrapped mine partially to keep the paint as good as new, not sure if it is working, i already have some stonechips that went through the wrap.
I use it as a daily driver, lots of motorway and there's a lot of crap lying around on the belgian roads.
I have ppf on my headlights the material is a little thicker, so far no holes or tears through the PPF.
Fully wrapping the car in PPF however was twice as expensive compared to just wrapping it, thats why i chose a color instead

I was under the impression a colour wrap is too thin to be of much use as a stone protector Raven..? Could be totally wrong of course.

[raven]

I was under the impression a colour wrap is too thin to be of much use as a stone protector Raven..? Could be totally wrong of course.

PPF will be better for sure, my reasoning was a thin layer of coloured wrap is still better than no wrap at all , so far i have a few holes in my wrap from stones and the paint below looks ok, we will know for sure once the wrap comes off in a year or so from now

[Attilio]

Oh yes, on the theory that any stones from the car in front will still be up in the air as I whizz underneath

[maxman]

Just don't drive up the ar5e of the vehicle in front and you will be fine.

[LordOxygen]

Car gets stone chips when driven on roads shocker.

Kwality thread.

[Wyldie85]

It was more of a thread relating to stone chips on he G29. My E85 never got any on the bonnet in over three years of ownership but my G29 has two already.

Thanks for your worthy and informative comment though.

[Silverstar]

Is it a colour thing?
My 335D is Melbourne Red and covered with stone chips on the bonnet. The wife's 220D is white, similar mileage on the same roads, and hardly any. Thinking maybe the red paint is softer?

Not that you drive faster than her at all?
Rob

Oh yes, on the theory that any stones from the car in front will still be up in the air as I whizz underneath

My F20 1 series was Melbourne Red and in 30K kms I put on the car, I hardly had any stone chips at all just one or two very tiny ones on the bumper but that was it. I thinks it's more to do with crap on the roads and keeping your distance away from other cars that may throw up crap in your direction.

[Silverstar]

I wouldn't have thought that red would be any different to say black for showing stonechipd. My previous blue M240i front end was covered in stone chips of all sizes. I was wondering if perhaps the paints currently used by BMW is softer than the paint they used to use on the older E85

All car manufacturers paints have become softer and not so durable since they went to water based. Hence why you can see so much orange peel on these newer BMWs the older cars like the E39 E46 and earlier the finish of the paint was way better and more durable being solvent based. I believe the E85 should be solvent based since it was made around the same era as the E46?

[enuff_zed]

Not that you drive faster than her at all?
Rob

Oh yes, on the theory that any stones from the car in front will still be up in the air as I whizz underneath

My F20 1 series was Melbourne Red and in 30K kms I put on the car, I hardly had any stone chips at all just one or two very tiny ones on the bumper but that was it. I thinks it's more to do with crap on the roads and keeping your distance away from other cars that may throw up crap in your direction.

Yup, I do keep a decent distance, but most of my commute is a twisty, narrow B-road and most of the stones I hear hitting the car come from cars I meet coming the other way. Evidenced by the 2 new windscreens and 2 repairs it's had in less 30k miles!! I do still think the paint is pretty soft though, compared with older models.

[Silverstar]

Oh yes, on the theory that any stones from the car in front will still be up in the air as I whizz underneath

My F20 1 series was Melbourne Red and in 30K kms I put on the car, I hardly had any stone chips at all just one or two very tiny ones on the bumper but that was it. I thinks it's more to do with crap on the roads and keeping your distance away from other cars that may throw up crap in your direction.

Yup, I do keep a decent distance, but most of my commute is a twisty, narrow B-road and most of the stones I hear hitting the car come from cars I meet coming the other way. Evidenced by the 2 new windscreens and 2 repairs it's had in less 30k miles!! I do still think the paint is pretty soft though, compared with older models.

Yep as per my other comment on this thread since car manufacturers were forced to go to water based paint, it just isn't a durable as the old solvent based paints.

[pvr]

Add to that the shocking state of the roads in the UK as well.

Going to Scotland forced me to have the whole car resprayed due to the stone chips, and that was a single journey.

[daveking350z]

Stone chips are a PITA, for sure. I too have a red Z4, 2020 M40i, only 1K miles, but it could be due to a number of things.

Certainly paint chips are an issue for any car, but if it's worse than usual, it could be the contrast between base coat and top coat is high, e.g. red on white. It could also be abnormally brittle paint, or poorly adhered paint. I'd hope the Materials Engineers at BMW would have minimized those issues, but maybe not. Sorry I can't actually help you, but I'm in the same boat.

What I was wondering about is mud flaps. I have always insisted on them, adding them myself, if they weren't factory available. Our Toyota Highlander and MINI Cooper both have them as stock features. I'm concerned about the Z4. The wheel well shapes aren't bad, but I expect tar and stones will leave their mark. Has anyone found them as aftermarket items? Of course, they need to be well done, to blend in, to look good. Thanks,
Dave King

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