PJSnow

So I live in NY and we get some decent snowfall each year. Unfortunately, the ISF has to stay outside year round. I'm looking into getting a car cover to protect it a bit while I'm not driving it during the winter months. Does anyone have any recommendations? Things I should look for?

ISFTOMMY

I had the RainX one. It was the thicker one (almost like leather) worked really well but got pretty dirty ( after about a year of being outside).

FinLIFE

iTrader: (8)

Looking at options as well. The oem one seems to go for about $240-250, but not sure how good it is for outdoors

NSXGuy

I have the OEM one. It's very thin like nylon. Works fine for keeping dust and sun off the car but that's about it.

PJSnow

I can't justify spending that much for a car cover, especially if it's only a dust cover. I was looking for a waterproof one for outdoors but I can't seem to find a good one that is not outrageously priced. A thought was to use a soft "indoor" car cover and then layering a cheaper waterproof one on top of it. Any thoughts on that?

ISFHEMS

I googled Lexus ISF car cover and found this...

http://www.carcovers.com/covers/cars...is-f/2009.html

Dont know how much you’re wanting to spend but there are several options there.

I’ve seen friends use cheap covers only to spend more money getting the scratches repaired caused by the cover.

Think of it as an investment if you’re planning on keeping the car a few years.

semnosNSX

^^^^^ True!

ISFCOBRA

i am using covercraft sunscreen which works great in TX when it is hot. The car covers look very nice.

https://www.covercraft.com/us/en/

2URGSE

OP, check out this page:

https://www.autogeek.net/carcovers.html

There is a chart that shows the different types of fabrics and what they protect against.

I would do some reading and then pick the right cover. I suspect you'd be spending $300+, but if you really want to protect your ISF, you'll spend it.

I had one of these for my WRX STi and I used to take it on long road trips where the car would sit outside, especially in hotels.

GL.

isfvss

Don't skimp on a car cover, a paint job is a lot of $$$$$$$$$$$$ it pays for it self in the long run.

PJSnow

Thanks for the input and feedback!

PJSnow

Just a quick review of the car cover I went with:

https://www.carcovers.com/covers/car...stomer-reviews

I purchased this car cover just a few days after my last post in this thread. I also purchased a cheap set of gust straps from Amazon.

Material:
The car cover seems to be made of decent material. It appears thin for outdoor use but compared to another car cover I have seen in person, it is noticeably thicker. The side that touches the car is a nice "fleece" like material that shouldn't scratch the paint. The outside has a somewhat shiny/reflective silver coating but it is clearly not "waterPROOF". This makes sense because a car cover is not supposed to be a complete water separation... you want the trapped moisture to escape as well. Overall I am happy with the material but I would recommend going with something else if you are afraid of objects hitting the car or hail (or you can place a blanket on the roof/hood during a hail storm... not sure how this would hold up long term, especially with the moisture concern).

Fit:
This is a "semi-custom" car cover meaning its fit is not intended to be perfect for the ISF. The company makes different sizes for different length vehicles. That being said, this car cover seems to be just a tad short for the ISF.
There are scrunched up elastic portions at the front and rear to hug the underside of the bumpers. The fit is such that only the front or rear elastic can fit under the bumper. In other words, about an inch of either the front OR rear bumper is exposed. I chose the front since it seems to hold well there anyway.
Side to side it fits well. It covers almost to the bottom of the wheels, leaving the tire and maybe 1" of the wheels exposed.
The cover does not have side mirror pouches but if the mirrors are folded in then there is no problem. Overall I would express the fit as "baggy" but not bad. I will discuss the wind issue later.

Performance/My Experience:
This is my second winter with the car cover (ISF is currently). The first winter was a rough one but I learned a lot! I will try to break it up between each winter:
1. The first winter started off with a wind storm just 1 week into getting the car covered. As mentioned before, I purchased cheap gust straps from Amazon thinking they would do the trick... Well just 30 min into the wind, the cover was blown off... Luckily there is a locking cord that connects at the underside of the middle (passes under the vehicle where the doors are) and I didn't lose the cover. Unfortunately, one of the gust strap clips stayed on and scratched the paint as it blew around. Very frustrating experience. I decided to hell with the cheap gust straps and purchased a heavy duty rope. I essentially wrapped the car up like a giant Christmas present. That stopped the cover from flying off but it looked ridiculous and I'm sure it wasn't the best for breathability.
2. This is the second winter with the car cover and It is working out better. I purchased a set of gust straps from carcovers.com and these seem to be working much better. The clips don't slip off the cover like the cheap amazon ones. Unfortunately, someone decided they needed to see what was under the car cover and messed up my flawless car wrapping... (more on that story another time but essentially there was nothing in the car for them to steal). So I was forced to reset the gust strap and this time I used the 2 gust straps from carcovers.com at the front and rear and I also used one of the cheap amazon bungee cords under the middle where the locking cord goes (in addition to the lock). This seems to be the sweet spot for keeping the cover on and it has been great thus far.
In terms of keeping the car safe from the elements, I think this cover does fine. I am happy with the material keeping out snow and rain, and it seems to do fine allowing moisture to escape. I also have no complaints on the sun protection. The paint seemed to be fine when I took it out last spring (aside from the scratches that the gust strap caused...).

Recommendations:
Learn from my mistakes. Here is a list of things I would do from the get-go:
1. Purchase quality gust straps. I'm not saying you need to spend a fortune but don't buy the cheapest on Amazon. The first ones I purchased cost $10. The second set I got do not seem to be much different but they don't slide off the car cover material as easily.
2. Fasten a bungee cord under the middle of the car cover. This should help prevent any wind from blowing the car cover off. Basically, pass a bungee cord under the middle of the car (side to side) and pass the hooks through the plastic grommets on the car cover.
3. Don't be afraid to spend a little more on a custom cover. After the hardship of the first winter, I decided to give the carcovers.com customer service a call. It seems they are the same company as covercraft.com and they recommended a custom fit cover. I can't speak for the quality of those but my intuition says that a better fit will perform better in the wind.
https://www.covercraft.com/us/en/covercrafter



This review is far from thorough but it should give general advice for those looking to cover their ISF. Please feel free to ask me any questions. I don't mind elaborating on any part of this "review" and I can markup photos with specifics if requested.


Also, here is a picture of the ISF and the car cover with a bit of snow.