Hood deflectors - worth it?

[ven34]

Hey all,

I found a bunch of older posts in this topic but I wanted to ask those who bought the aero skin 2 to provide some updates! I just joined the bronco family and i live in Florida so im interested in the deflector for both bugs and rocks. That said, the hood bounce that some report concerns me.

So, those who bought the aero skin 2, how has it been? Pros and cons??

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[MudMonsterRacin]

I have it and my hood doesn't shake around with it. I mainly got it to protect the front of my hood but i think it may keep the window cleaner. I think following too close to people is the worst offense when it comes to rock chips. My bronco has had 2 rock chips in 2800 miles. One on the hood bulge, and one on the rear pass door from a rock bouncing off the flare. Paint seems pretty thin on the bronco.

 

[Rjacks258]

Hey all,

I found a bunch of older posts in this topic but I wanted to ask those who bought the aero skin 2 to provide some updates! I just joined the bronco family and i live in Florida so im interested in the deflector for both bugs and rocks. That said, the hood bounce that some report concerns me.

So, those who bought the aero skin 2, how has it been? Pros and cons??

I installed it, no biggie. I do notice a little hood flutter up at the hump near the cowl, very minimal. But I couldn’t say if it did it before. I only started looking after it was installed and reading about flutter here. Regardless, it looks
Good, matches the textured plastics on the rest of the truck. And hopefully helps with chips.

 

[Herbie]

Mine left the dealership with it already installed and I have had it for 10 months. I don't have any more hood flutter than another one of my vehicles that doesn't have a hood deflector. I obviously can't say for sure if it is the result of the hood deflector, but I have had less bug activity on this windshield than I can ever recall on any other vehicle I have had in the past, hands down. In 10 months I have had one windshield chip, I was on a super congested highway and of course behind a big road construction truck.
Lastly, I really like the look, it breaks up an otherwise awfully large landscape of paint in my opinion.
Hope this helps.

 

[HeliPilot]

Mine came from the dealer with one installed. No complaints. Ditto on the bug activity from post above.

 

[toddf125]

Had mine installed at dealer when I got my Bronco. Looks good IMO and does a pretty good job of protecting/deflecting most small to medium objects. Only issue that I had was when I installed the blue vinyl inlays on the trail sights. Evidently, the hood protector diverts ALOT of air between trail sights and hood protector sides. Kept ripping the vinyl off the insides of the trail sights. (Anything above 35 mph)..... I did eventually fix it by putting the gloss black covers on said trail sights and that did the trick. Guess I should've booked some wind tunnel time!

 

[tdiddy]

Only issue I have with it is water pooling down the hood troughs. My hood still flutters and I'm not sure if it's any better or worse than it was before. Splattered bug line on the windshield might be a couple inches higher now. Not sure if it helps with the rock chips.

I also have the JCR Bull Bar which extends up to the hood so that could be impacting the aero dynamics of the deflector.

 

[bradcd]

My local Ford dealer parts dept price matched the cheapest Aeroskin listing I found online. I think maybe it was Levittown Ford and they had it for $72 at the time. I, too, was unsure about sticking a semi-permanent accessory onto my hood and possibly ruining the paint if/when I ever take it off. So I purchased some 3M Scotchgard bulk film from Amazon, cut about 3 shapes out of it, and applied it to the hood completely underneath the Aeroskin's footprint. If the deflector ever falls off or gets damaged I can just rip it all off with hopefully no evidence left on the hood.

 

[Rspayde]

I have it and my hood doesn't shake around with it. I mainly got it to protect the front of my hood but i think it may keep the window cleaner. I think following too close to people is the worst offense when it comes to rock chips. My bronco has had 2 rock chips in 2800 miles. One on the hood bulge, and one on the rear pass door from a rock bouncing off the flare. Paint seems pretty thin on the bronco.

Pait in general on ford products is not great. The amount of rock chips on my Ranger was insane. Could just be paint done at MAP I guess.

 

[JerryC]

I have one stored waiting for warmer weather before I install it. My questions about it are how much will it affect MPG and can it withstand automated (w/brushes) car washes?

 

[Baja Bronco]

Following, great topic. I’ve been kicking this around, but not sure. Saw one that was a carbon fiber look that looked pretty cool. How do they actually attach to the hood? Is it bolts underneath or 3M tape? Thanks.

 

[JerryC]

Tape

 

[bradcd]

I have one stored waiting for warmer weather before I install it. My questions about it are how much will it affect MPG and can it withstand automated (w/brushes) car washes?

I've washed my truck once and it was through an automated brush carwash. Everything held fine. So that's with mine stuck onto film stuck onto the hood. Not sure what it'll be like years down the road and if it falls off I'll just get another one. I kinda view it as a disposable accessory.

 

[AZ Rider]

I went with the Ford factory deflector. Becase the first week of driving it I got a few small chips on my windshield. Told the wife that we needed one to prevent any more damage to our windshield that we just installed tinting on. By the way, highly recommended getting your windshield tinted.

Since installing it I’ve noticed that the bugs are now hitting way higher, at the top of the windshield and no more chips.

as far as the hood shake, I had the whole passenger side of the hood would shake around 65mph. Lifted the hood and adjusted the round rubber bumper out and it stoped the shake. Still see a little vibration in the middle of the hood but not too bad.

 

[Boreal]

AFAIK the hood flutter is mainly from improperly set hood stops.

I opted or and installed the AS1. Many people were reporting inadequate airflow from for the windshield washer fluid at hwy speed because of the bump on AS2… I was mostly looking for rock protection, vs bug deflection - which it has helped. Would buy again!

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