Internet has mixed opinions... so do I. Who's got some real world experience?

Absolutely.
Why do you think the everglades airboat drivers sit behind the passengers?

I see hood protectors value not so much for bugs but to protect the hood and windshield from rocks. They do deflect rocks.

Remember bug screens? Dad had one on our '55 Chevy that looked like he drove through the backstop at the baseball field.

I have one, and they work to some extent.

However, I like to use Rain-X or Prestone windshield rain repellent, and not having the wind directly hit the windshield makes these
treatments ineffective. If I had it to do over again, I would not have installed the deflector.

Where's that like button?

In 88 I bought a new xj cherokee. I had a daily 110 mile round trip work commute m-f. I installed one that was a mostly flat slab installed close to verticle slopped back at maybe 15 degrees. It was not rounded and scupted and aerodynamic like most you see today. It worked really well. Kept the windshield clear everything particularly of snow to while at freeway speeds. I do not know if these new ones that are so "form fit" to the front of the hood would be as good.

Yes old style really worked, new formed ones to a point but not as well

I never installed one on purpose, vehicles already had them or not.

I'd be lying if I said I noticed any difference with one on/off - even on the same truck.

Deer whistles intrigue me - my grandfather was a believer but it seems like no one uses those anymore.

I have a formed one on my '15 Colorado. I don't feel like it helps with bugs, but as stated earlier, it does help with rock chips on the front edge of my hood and I like the looks of it! Lol

Yes they do work!

Definitely help deflect rocks

1984 chevy blazer.
2:73 rear end highway gears.
Worthless on the low end. Worthless for towing.
19 mpg on the highway.
Windshield was a bug stop.couldnt drive the thing around the block without dead bugs....
Installed straight up old style bug deflector .
No more bugs.
Never got more than 17 mpg after the install....

dave

Yep - I had one on my '04 F-350 and it did a decent job of deflection of both bugs and rocks..

I've got two trucks of the same body style.... one with and the other without deflector. The one with I've had windshield chips fixed twice but the leading edge of the hood is fine, the one without I've not had any windshield damage but the front of the hood has several rock chips through the paint to bare metal. From now on all of mine will have a defector... the ins. co. will pay for any windshield chip repair but to fix chips on the hood my deductible comes into play.

I had less windshield chips on my truck after installing a bug deflector.

People that have them, swear by them

They don't do squat on love bugs! But they do a great job of separating you from your money.

One of these was on our Toyota Highlander when we bought it. I think it's more of a hood protector than for bugs, though. We very rarely get a bug on the glass but the shape of the hood might be more the reason for that. I've never driven the Toyota without it for a comparison.

I like em for rocks,works ok on bugs.

Mine broke on my truck so I went without. Within two years I was getting rock chips everywhere. Bought another one. They gravel the roads here in Colorado though.

They aren't magic, but protect the front of your vehicle! Mine is low profile with a sweeping lift on the back edge, works ok on bugs.

In 1975 I was commuting daily round trip 250 miles a day in a 73 Ford pickup.
Installed a plexyglass bug shield and it cost me a gallon of gas a day, of course gas hadn't quite hit 60 cents a gallon then either.

They weren't tough enough to do much rock deflecting.

Once they started paying more attention to wind tunnel tests with vehicle design the effects they were after in the 70's with after market bolt on bug shields are pretty much built into new automobiles.

You better buy a good one because a lot of them will vibrate against the front of your hood and actually cause is it to look like it was shot with squirrel shot. By vibration I mean always riding on rough roads like in my neck of the woods! Arkansas has the poorest secondary highways in the world.

They work for bugs sometimes, but never for deer.

Thanks all.

I'm a big-time fan of rain-x so this is disappointing news...

Definitely worth considering... thanks.

My truck has some features that require recalibration after a new windshield is installed, like automatic high beams and pre-collision alert. It's good to only have a $100 comp deductible for it. Found all this out after I took a rock to the windshield in the very first week of owning it 😠

[quote=AB2506]I see hood protectors value not so much for bugs but to protect the hood and windshield from rocks. They do deflect rocks.[/quote

This. They don't provide much protection for rocks to the windshield, either. My radiators are screened for the bugs. Windshields get washed every now and again, chips epoxied as needed.