Washed and clayed the car today. Will do an IPA wipedown tomorrow morning and then put ceramic coating (Armor Shield IX) over the entire car. After that I just need to install the splash guards and I'm done with the add-ons.
I debadged just the Plug-In Hybrid badges, all three. My guideline is I remove any "advertising", meaning anything that explains the type of features or powertrain. But I leave what I consider the main manufacturer designators of make, model and trim. I got to thinking how would someone know what type of Clarity it is. Well of course having two "fuel" doors is the tip-off. The FCEV and BEV each have just one door. Then again this wouldn't matter anyway unless I drove my Clarity to California or Oregon.
Funny, based on the photo of the Clarity Fuel Cell connected to Honda's Power Exporter 9000, I believed that the Clarity Fuel Cell had a second fuel door on the right side. However, I don't see that door on any other photos of the Clarity Fuel Cell. The Japanese market Clarity PHEV has THREE fuel doors (one for DC fast-charge). That makes me think that perhaps the Japanese market Clarity Fuel Cell cars have two fuel doors.
That's a good way to view it. My wife originally wanted to remove the back and right side "Plug-In Hybrid" badges, but leave the one on the charge door. I didn't like the idea at the time, but now I believe she may have been right. In the end I may remove everything except the two "H" badges, and "CLARITY" letters. Anyway, good to know they all come off without leaving any holes.
Spent all morning doing an IPA wipedown on the car followed by ceramic coating. The process went smoothly and took about 3 hours to complete from beginning to end. I watched several instruction videos on Youtube before doing this, so everything went very smoothly. The only surprise is that one bottle of Armor Shield IX was more than enough for the car and I didn't have to open the second bottle I bought. Now I'm just waiting for the coating to cure. Will upload some pictures once the curing process is complete in 48 hours.
I located some free charging stations and went for a walk while I played with the app. Also got a nice ceramic tint including a light one on the windshield. Great ir protection and looks great on the car
Did you also tint the rear window? Additionally, what percentage did you go with? Yours looks great, should be taking delivery of my car soon and am looking to tint mine similarly to yours!
The big "H" on the grill is your Clarity's radar dish. You'll cook your hands if you try to remove it (just kidding).
FWIW: The radar unit sits well behind the plastic cover with the H on it. It is not part of the cover with the H. It’s also capable of having its aim adjusted. I saw it when I had the front underhood cover off to install myu air horn.
Anyone checked the price on the front H emblem yet? The similar Toyota emblem on the front of Prius costs $450. Supposedly it is made of a special type of resin that allows the radio waves to pass through without interfering with them. The radar transmitter is located several inches behind it. Unfortunately the emblem is located at the very front of the Prius bumper which makes it extremely easy to accidentally break the emblem when parking as some Prius owners have found out the hard way. As far as I know no one has tried to call Toyota's bluff and install a regular emblem, since this is a safety feature. The Clarity H emblem is set back farther so seems like it would only be broken in a harder collision, or maybe with bad luck running into a trailer hitch or something at the right height. But anyway yet another reason to not mess with it.
Installed OEM splash guards now that the ceramic coating has cured. Took only about 30 minutes total to install all four guards. A precision pick came in very handy to punch the screw holes needed in the wheel wells. Additionally, for the two rear splash guards, I didn't bother removing the rear bumper and cut out the little edge pieces per the installation instruction. Instead, I just went with zbartrout's advice in the splash guard thread and directly punched holes in the rear screw markings using the pick. I then slid the clips in and screwed the self-tapping screws in. Easy as can be. As my car's color is white, I also removed the black plastic license plate mounting bracket on the front bumper and spray painted it white so it matches the bumper. Once the paint dries on the plate mounting bracket and I reinstall it to the bumper, my aftermarket accessory installations will be done. I'll post some pictures tomorrow after everything is complete.
After you've had a chance to break them in, post how they compare to the OEM Michelin's in handling, sound, MPG/range, etc.
I am replacing my OEM tires this week. Got 30,000 miles. Pretty even tread wear, but slightly more wear in the center (overpressure?). I have maintained tire pressure at 36 psi. Rotated every 7,500 miles as per MM. I drive like an old guy (slow acceleration and braking), and I am always in Econ mode. I had hoped the tires would last longer. I have another set of OEM tires and wheels that I got off Ebay for spares. I am putting 'new' OEM tires back on.