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So are the front of hood bug deflector worth it? I never used one...I wonder if the mess up the workings of wipers that require downforce to stick good to the windshield...
They are ugly. That should be enough reason to not run one.
I have the EGR on mine. Absolutely love it. Go back and forth NY to Florida and have watched small stones actually go over the windshield. If it saves one windshield it's worth it to me.
I have the 2016 version of Stampede and no problems with mounting hardware. In fact the deflector has been great for 2 1/2 years of use and close to 30,000 miles not one issue. I bought it mainly for stopping the hood splash issue which it has done without fail. As far as bugs goes my grill and deflector have way more bug juice on them than my windshield does after road trips for what it's worth.
I've had bug shields on my last 3 F150's, 2011, 2016 and my current 2017. The last two (2016 and 2017) are Stampede brand. They mounted up easily with the provided hardware and I've had no problems with them. They've held up well and I wouldn't hesitate ordering the Stampede brand again.
I sold those form fit bug shields for years at a truck accessory store and from what I saw they do more damage than they prevent and they make all the bugs hit the windshield right where you have to look through it.
The only bug shields that ever worked where the old stand up straight units, I don't know if they even make those anymore, the downside of the stand up bug shield was they would cost you a mile or 2 gas mileage.
The modern ones don't affect airflow much, but they do reduce/eliminate rock chips. I bought the factory Ford deflector for mine when the truck was brand new, and it still looks great today. It doesn't affect the downforce on the wipers at all. If I had it to do over, I would most likely just buy the 3M clear tape kit for the nose, and replace it every 5 years.
08-10-2018, 03:12 PM
