Anyone use the Weathertech bug deflector?

[Desmolicious]

This one:

https://www.weathertech.com/hood-protector-toyota-4runner.html?source=int&year=2025&ymmSearch=true

Don't want to spend $$$ on ppf etc...

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[Underground25]

This one:

https://www.weathertech.com/hood-protector-toyota-4runner.html?source=int&year=2025&ymmSearch=true

Don't want to spend $$$ on ppf etc...

Are you saying a bug deflector on the front edge of your hood could be a surrogate for whole hood PPF?

 

[Desmolicious]

Are you saying a bug deflector on the front edge of your hood could be a surrogate for whole hood PPF?

No. But the most vulnerable areas susceptible to damage from road debris are the leading edges of the vehicle, like the front of the hood. This protects that.
I’ve never had stone chips in my vehicles on the flat surface of the hood, only the front edge.

 

[127.0.0.1]

fwiw and just my opinion

little paint chips will only bother you, no one else will ever see them.


I'd rather see the normal front hood of a 4runner the way the designers
intended, than see a plastic deflector which looks like a freaking barnacle to me,
and I also know wherever that barnacle contacts the vehicle is creating
it's own damage from dust and vibration.

you be you but to me deflectors instantly devalue the look,
where the original hood and maybe a few stone chips you may use touch up paint on, looks far better, and again, as a viewer, I am not ever gonna see any chips on your rig
from a distance of 5 feet or more.


and when that deflector ages and gets murky looking, it's not gonna be
pretty. but hey the paint underneath that, which no one can see, will be chip free

I just don't get it really

 

[Desmolicious]

fwiw and just my opinion

little paint chips will only bother you, no one else will ever see them.


I'd rather see the normal front hood of a 4runner the way the designers
intended, than see a plastic deflector which looks like a freaking barnacle to me,
and I also know wherever that barnacle contacts the vehicle is creating
it's own damage from dust and vibration.

you be you but to me deflectors instantly devalue the look,
where the original hood and maybe a few stone chips you may use touch up paint on, looks far better, and again, as a viewer, I am not ever gonna see any chips on your rig
from a distance of 5 feet or more.


and when that deflector ages and gets murky looking, it's not gonna be
pretty. but hey the paint underneath that, which no one can see, will be chip free

I just don't get it really

totally valid point. There are also ppf kits that just cover the leading edge so that is an alternative. Just been reading all these threads about people complaining about how poor quality the Toyota paint is.
These bug protectors attach w 3M tape which you should of course apply to a clean hood. So there won’t be any damage from it.
these are the things one thinks about while waiting for delivery of your 4Runner!

 

[bakutheleo]

I was hoping their paint quality has improved, but not sure. I had a friend that had an older 4Runner (I do not recall the year but it was more than 10 years ago) and he said he would never buy another Toyota because of the paint. It did indeed look terrible--I think it may have been the clear coat, not necessarily the paint--but either way, it looked terrible. My new ORP has some light scratches that show from an off-road trip (just bushes), although I have yet to even wash it since then. I expect they will diminish greatly, at least, when it gets a bath (if very lucky, this weekend).

I have heritage blue--my other favorite color is their red. I think I actually prefer the red a bit, but the blue one was available. Red is an extra $400, but I think it has an extra (or may just has one) layer/clear coat, so maybe more durable?

 

[TrdProGirl84]

my thing with them is over time (over the years) if you have it on and never remove it the paint under it is going to look different than the rest of the vehicle. So I won’t touch that.

 

[Desmolicious]

my thing with them is over time (over the years) if you have it on and never remove it the paint under it is going to look different than the rest of the vehicle. So I won’t touch that.

But you’ll never know unless you take it off!

 

[NotApplicable]

The hood is the only (non-plastic) body panel a magnet doesn't stick to, so I suspect it's aluminum

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