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At Targe Industries, we focus on helping Tesla car owners protect their investment. Living in the SF Bay Area, many of you have reported on these forums the epidemic of smash n grab Tesla break-ins, a trend that has spread to the rest of the country. Thieves break the small side “wing” window in the rear corner. On the S and 3, thieves reach in, drop the seat and grab whatever they can from the trunk. On the X, they can reach into the back seat area. We have a solution to this problem – Grab Gard.


Our Grab Gard product is a custom fit window film kit that covers these windows, installing on the outside of the window for both windshields (branded Windshield Gard®) and wing windows (branded Grab Gard®). The kits are made from ClearPlex film, a proven patented film product used around the world for more than 10 years with great results.

Protective Film Solutions (PFS), the number 1 detailer for exotic cars in Southern California, for example, has been putting ClearPlex film on “cars for the stars” windshields for 10 years. In conjunction with their paint protection film installation, PFS has put ClearPlex film on hundreds of cars over the years, even on Jay Leno’s McClaren P1. In this video, Jay Leno's garage McLaren film protection Jay Leno is talking about the installation of paint protection and windshield film with Ryan Tounsley, President of PFS. The specific windshield film portion is 55 seconds in – and also at the 4:30 point where they actually show how the windshield film is installed.


We use that same film custom fit for the Tesla wing windows for our Grab Gard product.


Grab Gard key points:


- Makes the window almost impossible to break.

- If they do manage to break the window (which takes time, repeated efforts with more than just a hammer or center punch and generates lots of noise), the film is still attached to the broken window, preventing easy access to your vehicle.

- We have been installing this film for over a decade, but recently launched this business to sell it as pre-cut kits for a DIY install. We have the most experience in the country with this film.

- We have wing window kits for the model 3, X, and S.

- User install-able as seen by this video Grab Gard Installation instructions


- Order from www.grab-gard.com


The same impact resistance that we bring to the side windows is also available as a dealer-installed option for your windshields. At this time, our windshield kits are sold strictly business-to-business because the install is more difficult than the side windows, so we want to be sure a professional detailer is installing it. Your favorite car detailer can order a kit for your car at the Targe Industries website.


Let us know if you have any questions, you can send us a direct message here on the forums, or through the contact info at our website (www.grab-gard.com)
 
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Reactions: KenC
Any chance of having DIY kits for the door windows and windshield (rock chips) as well?
Hi, CanuckBear. We have a kit for the windshield, but its intended to be installed by a detailer, PPF installer, Tint shop, etc. The level of difficulty with the windshield is high enough that we don't sell it as a user-installed kit. You could ask your detailer to order one from www.targegard.com

The basic process of installing is very similar to PPF or window tint, but there are a few differences, so make sure they take a few minutes to read the instructions. For example, many PPF installers use dish soap as a slip solution, which doesn't work with Clearplex film.

For the door windows, those are currently only installed by detailers who buy the film by the roll and cut to fit each car. We are looking into making it as a kit, but there are some challenges with rolling side windows that don't apply to windshields and non-rolling windows. Since thieves nearly always break the smaller corner window, we started with that as a kit, since it was a big improvement.
 
This looks good but I think the thieves would target the rear passenger window instead if they can't break the wing window. If someone is planning to do this, its probably best to do the rear passenger and wing windows.
Actually I was thinking that if a thief is willing to break a window, rather than try the wind window at all, they would preferentially target the larger window where they can see whatever they want to take. Breaking the wing window would necessitate sticking one's hand all the way forward in the car in order to open the door, assuming they know where the door button is located.
Seems that most of the smash and grab jobs that I've heard of were over in seconds did not involve a door being opened, sort of like this or this.
I think a film like this would be much more valuable on the large side windows of the car.
 
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I too would like ClearPlex for the side windows and windshield of my Model 3, but only if I could buy the film at the reasonable prices and install it myself.

I do have ClearPlex on both my Lambo and my Lotus front windshields. It has definitely saved damage to both windshields from flying rocks. I am convinced that a recent very hard rock hit would have cracked the Lambo windshield without ClearPlex, and that's $11K just for the windshield without install costs.

Those super cars have an easy life and are always garaged, so the ClearPlex holds up well. I will say that despite the claims, the ClearPlex is not optically clear. It causes fine waves, similar to the heater wires embedded in the heated windshield of my Range Rover. You do stop noticing them after a couple of weeks, but the big issue is at night where those waves cause a halo effect with any lights that is annoying forever. And despite ClearPlex claims, windshield wipers do damage the film. Plus if you park outside all the time, you can expect the film to get ratty in 6-12 months from sun damage, so if installers are charging $400-500 to install, it gets expensive.

If you could buy the film yourself at the same price that the installers get it, and learn to change it yourself every 6-12 months, it could make sense for a daily driver. Otherwise, you're better off taking your chances with cracked windshields, or getting windshield insurance if you can.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: KenC and m3snowy
This looks good but I think the thieves would target the rear passenger window instead if they can't break the wing window. If someone is planning to do this, its probably best to do the rear passenger and wing windows.
The issue is that currently (as far as I know), someone can break the rear wing window without setting off the alarm, so they have more time to work to steal your stuff. This is the whole point behind the various products designed for the wing windows.

Breaking one of the passenger windows sets off the alarm.
 
The issue is that currently (as far as I know), someone can break the rear wing window without setting off the alarm, so they have more time to work to steal your stuff. This is the whole point behind the various products designed for the wing windows.

Breaking one of the passenger windows sets off the alarm.

Interesting. Is that 100% definite that breaking a side window sets off an alarm?
 
let us know the fitment when you get your order. curious to know the fitment since the op hasn't responded.

Sorry for the slow response! As somebody pointed out, we use the same film as "the other guys." We send our kits as a "through cut," rather than a kiss cut. This makes it take a few extra moments to remove the film from the backing when you install it, but it also eliminates incorrect cuts that can happen with a "kiss cut". We cut the film to have about a 1/16" gap between the film and the weather stripping/edge of window after it is installed. However, weather stripping is not exact from vehicle to vehicle, so you may notice slightly more or less of a gap between the film and the weather stripping. It would be great if anybody who has ordered sees this thread and comments on their experience.

Feel free to contact us directly as well if we don't reply here quickly enough.
 
@TLLMRRJ @Targe
How's the hydrophobic property with the ClearPlex? Does it repel/bead water better than bare glass?

ClearX is a product that can be applied over the film to make it hydrophobic. We don't send this with our side window DIY kits. We do send this included with our windshield (dealer installed) kits. It could be installed onto a side window, it just is much more useful/valuable to have on a windshield, for obvious reasons. On the side corner window, it probably isn't noticeable if it has ClearX installed or not.
 
I too would like ClearPlex for the side windows and windshield of my Model 3, but only if I could buy the film at the reasonable prices and install it myself.

I do have ClearPlex on both my Lambo and my Lotus front windshields. It has definitely saved damage to both windshields from flying rocks. I am convinced that a recent very hard rock hit would have cracked the Lambo windshield without ClearPlex, and that's $11K just for the windshield without install costs.

Those super cars have an easy life and are always garaged, so the ClearPlex holds up well. I will say that despite the claims, the ClearPlex is not optically clear. It causes fine waves, similar to the heater wires embedded in the heated windshield of my Range Rover. You do stop noticing them after a couple of weeks, but the big issue is at night where those waves cause a halo effect with any lights that is annoying forever. And despite ClearPlex claims, windshield wipers do damage the film. Plus if you park outside all the time, you can expect the film to get ratty in 6-12 months from sun damage, so if installers are charging $400-500 to install, it gets expensive.

If you could buy the film yourself at the same price that the installers get it, and learn to change it yourself every 6-12 months, it could make sense for a daily driver. Otherwise, you're better off taking your chances with cracked windshields, or getting windshield insurance if you can.

The film has to be heat-shrunk to fit each windshield. Depending who did this and how experienced they were, it is possible for them to shrink it unevenly, which will introduce some waviness. If it is done "just right," it should be nearly impossible to notice after about 24 hours (the last remaining moisture between the film and windshield takes about this long to dissipate). If there is any waviness at all, it should be barely noticeable and only in the corners, where the film was shrunk the most.

This is why we started selling kits, because it is much easier to shrink the film correctly in our warehouse than directly onto the vehicle. Some installers are able to shrink/install Clearplex really well directly onto the car, others don't do as well. Either way, it is generally more expensive than one of our kits, since we can do it faster in our warehouse, which saves cost. As you pointed out, these high end cars have very expensive windshields, we have a lot of money invested in windshields to create our kits, so we feel the pain. Even on "normal" passenger cars, the cost of windshields has shot up over the past few years due to embedded electronics or the need to calibrate sensors after replacement.

When you had your windshields covered with Clearplex, did they give you ClearX to periodically treat the film? That should increase lifespan quite a bit, it helps the wipers glide without scratching and prevent the UV damage. Obviously it depends on where you drive and your tolerance for small chips in the film from rocks, but we (the crew at Targe) replace our windshield film between 15k and 40k miles on our personal vehicles. That large range is due to the large range of where we drive and how well we each remember to use ClearX.