0Q991

Thanks, good to know.

Man. My car is currently in process...

rubbaman

Lucky man!! Mine enters body shop next Friday!

brass4321

Anyone else encounter this issue? Not sure I want to risk screwing up my $3K LED option with Xpel or other clear bra but don't want a rock to damage them either.

0Q991

I already took delivery 3 weeks ago! I meant my car is currently in process of getting the clear bra done...and now I'm wondering if I should skip the headlights! Ugh.

rubbaman

^ ^^ You know that's right where I am. I think Macca said it best:
"back in the old day we covered 911/964 lights because they were upraight glass but now they are polycarbonare and they do have a UV tint (at least my GT3 does as you can tell when you look at it with polarised glasses). I dont see the need as great to cover these now - I have a few stone marks but given the angle of the lens they simply glance off and it would take a mammoth stone to split them (in which case I would argue the film would make little difference to the outcome"

So if you are not going to track it, I would not bother.

SamFromTX

My bad. I should pay more attention. That said, the film that installers would cut, while fits better, is thinner than the precut XPEL. The precut will not get stretched because of its thickness, even with the heat gun unless you really go at it. If you follow the link on XPEL's website and use the alcohol/water spritzer, it is not likely that the film will stick prematurely and hence pulling the UV protection off is unlikely, IMO.

Good point.

MoeMistry

On the newer 911s, 991, this can be an issue, and not just with using XPEL film, other brands will do the same. I've had other shops tell me it started happening on the new Boxster first. Something should be applied to headlights IMHO...the plastic material of headlights ends up yellowing after a few years due to oxidation if not cared for properly.

So far, we haven't had any issues on any cars yet.

Jimmy-D

I have had all my headlights covered with no issues. They now have precuts that remedy bad installations so it is idiot proof.

But - I had the Xpel placed on my GT3. Awesome installation and I want to protect my LED investment.

Now- The very tiny issue. For some reason because of the brightness of these LEDs; I do notice a very slight sort of shadow/distortion when the light hits the lenses. It is a small dispersion on the lenses. Now- this may just be the nature of the the LEDs but I need to see them on w/o the Xpel to see if maybe it could be the film is causing this. I know I am splitting hairs because my Wife could not notice until I pointed it out. Not enough that I would avoid putting on the Xpel but some thing to mention. I know it is not because of the installer

silverrules

Never had this issue on any of my cars. If someone can post a picture, I will then start paying attention.

rubbaman

The question is this... if you are going to garage the car and not track drive it and the lights already have a UV protection film on them... why bother and take the chance of delaminating the UV film during install? My guy says it rarely happened on an install, but it can happen. For me, its not worth the risk.
And again, this is only happening on the new 2014 and above lights with the new UV skin on them.

mainly

lol ... get someone else to do it. or use another film...

bottom line, mine will be wrapped. if i have to do it myself. we had 1 crazy sandstorm last year that left my entire windshield sandblasted on my m5 as well as the headlights.

not much you can do about the windshield but the headlights... yeah theyll be wrapped.

mwar99

You could put clearplex on the windshield.

bigkraig

I had precut XPEL's installed on my C4S headlights, it delaminated the headlights around the edge and the installer replaced both headlights.

rockitman

The 997 GT3 manual I saw on line said no covering recommended. Overheats the lights...perhaps LED's run cooler. On the track, I cover them with racers/helicopter tape. Takes a few minutes.

SECRET

the color shift you see with polarized lenses is not a good indicator of the presence of a coating.