Anyone have Armourfend ?

[JohnW]

Hi,
In an effort to try to keep motorway stone chips to a minimum I'm thinking of having this fitted to the RS4 when it arrives.

I'd be interested to hear if others have tried it (or alternatives), and what you think of it.

This will be on a Nogaro blue car by the way.
I am aware that polish can build up around the edges and so give a show-line. Any other problems though ?

Cheers,
John.

[atourtel]

Yes fitted on the boot and door sills was easy to fit could not notice it was there even after 18 months

[johneroberts]

I have it on the front fairing and side skirts and boot area, can recommened it and "DONT" try and fit it yourself
Cheers
jr

[kcsun]

I went to my local "signs express" and had clear film put on the boot lip and is perfect after 2.5 years of dogs leaping in and out
kc [img]images/graemlins/s4anogaro.gif[/img]

[Thorney]

I've got it all over the front of my VXT (its needed) and it works brilliantly.

Details here:

http://www.vx220.org.uk/armourfend.htm

[Bushy]

cannot recommend it highly enough

the front of my S4 looked awefull, the RS still looks great

ANd as JR suggests dont do it yourself


It took armourfend 5 hours to do my front bumper

A worthwhile investment

[JohnW]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

Bushy,
given that you are reasonably local to me, who did you get to fit it, and for what sort of money (I assume it was a while back, right ?)

Cheers, [img]images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img]
John.

[JohnH]

Would also be interested as had it on my Porsche before and as I have no stone chips yet most probably best time to fit!! JohnW, perhaps we could do a mini bulk buy [img]images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[JohnW]

Sounds good to me John [img]images/graemlins/thumbs.gif[/img]

Looks like my car won't arrive until the later part of this month now (when I'm away on hols !) so I'm being a little premature here. Assuming it is in when I return some time early July would be best for me.
How does that suit you ?

I'll see if I can find a place local to Guildford/Woking/Horsham to give me a quote.

I'll try to get prices for each of the below and report back:
- front bumper,
- leading edge of bonnet,
- mirrors,
- door sills,
- front of rear arches,
- top of rear bumper,
- anywhere else ?

Once we know the prices then we'll worry about what to actually get done.

Cheers,
John.
P.S. Wish I'd had it fitted to the 993 now [img]images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[Bushy]

I actually went to armourfend in Naesing, Essex, it took about 6 hours to do fromt bumper, sills and rear boot lip

Cost was around £400

Didnt like the line left on the boneet, wings etc so didnt bother with them

As for the mirrors, i just didnt think it was worth the £30 to cover aluminium, which doesnt chip too much anyway, and it doesnt show a different colour beneath, as painted surfaces do

Here is the parts available

[img]images/rsul/16312-Armourfend%20%28Small%29.jpg[/img]

[JohnW]

Thanks Bushy ! [img]images/graemlins/thumbs.gif[/img]

Minimum I'll do is the same you have plus the rear arches.

I agree about the line, which shows more on darker colours as the polish builds up along it.
I'm concerned about rusty stone chips though, which IMO are far worse than a line.

How susceptible are these cars to stone chips on the bonnet ?
My Corrado collected loads of them, and the 993 front bumper is looking a bit peppered too [img]images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]
I guess I need to either not drive so close (impatient!) or blast cars ahead out of the way with my fog lights [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/spineyes.gif[/img]

Cheers,
John.

[JohnH]

John,

No huge rush but am surprised it took 6 hours for Bushy to have it fitted exluding bonnet etc. If I remember right my Porsche took about 3 - 4 hours and a guy came from the factory in a van and did it in my garage.

Bushy, Did they have lots of problems or is it that the RS4 front is a lot more complex to fit?

[PhilT]

From my presonal experience without Armourfend, I recommend the following areas for protection:

Front bumper - Picks up most of the stone chips
Side sill - People's shoes catching it
Rear bumper top - Just in case
Headlights - Depending on effectiveness. I would probably go for a formed cover.

Other areas to consider are:
Front Fogs - Mine are really bad.
Rear Bumper - There seems to be a new scuff every week.

With this in mind I wonder about the benefit of fitting Armourfend when a replacement front bumper is fairly cheap, and companies such as 'Chips Away' do such a good job these days.

I have done 45k miles 'without protection', and my option now is to get all the chips fixed. I'm hoping to get away with a good bodyshop doing a rub down and respray on the bumper, and sort out all the other bits. Should come to roughly £450.

[PhilT]

Take a look at this

I'm pretty sure that you can get a smaller bumper kit which would reduce the cost. Maybe loose the fogs and get some Sportec grilles.

[Paul-RS3]

I use it on the S3 but only on the rear skirts just infront of the rear wheels.

I dont like the "tide mark" on bonnet and it appeared (on a couple of cars ive seen to make the paint look dull.

Just my opinion.