Ribs out, interesting... That does sound the way to go, did you cover just the top of the hood or lower?

 

I used only the hood cover. It also came with two small pieces to cover the front corners of the fenders and the mirrors, which I never used. I SHOULD do the bumper as well, but after working on the hood, I'm not going to tackle that area for awhile - too many curves there. If I was to do it over again, I would use the eBay one first. Although it does not have the relief cutouts for the ribs, it does cover much more of the hood and the cost is $25.00 WITH shipping. Your looking at over $100.00 for the 3M one, but it is a bit thicker as I mentioned. So far, after 4,000 miles since install, not one chip on the hood. But, I'm a very careful driver and I don't tailgate. In fact, I intentionally drive back roads and avoid highways just for the stone chip issues. The PA turnpike here is like a sand blaster, especially with construction. But my cars all look good - lol.

 

I currently have LeBra car bras on three of my vehicles (06 XFire coupe, 06 Corvette coupe, 99 Ford Taurus wagon) I have never had any problems. I make sure the area under the bra is washed and waxed on a regular basis. I remove them occassionally to let the area "breathe". The Vette has seeen speeeds up to 130 mph with out any problems! And guess what! No paint chips!

 

Here's an idea how clear bras are installed...

http://thexcity.com/cool_and_clear_007.htm

 

Paints are mostly waterborne type now and seem to chip easily, my ex Silverado SS looked like Swiss Cheeze after one winter, as well my Mazda3 looked same on rocker panels.

Now have 2006 Toyota RAV4, same thing.

The culprit is newer technology used on tires creates better traction, however all those sipes pick up a lot of the grit the spread on roads and makes same like car in front is shooting you with bullets, Crossfire stored for winter and will come out once roads have been cleaned from crap in spring.