I believe they have 2 different materials. One was called Ventura Shield which is now owned by 3M. It is thinner and more flexible for hard to cover areas, but I have heard it does not hold up. Mine is the thicker version of the 3M material. The guy I used custom made the Rear Flare pieces. For the rear door corners he was able to get the cuts from his computer program. I can barely see it on the car, I tried to take a picture of it but it is very hard to see. Blends in really well. On the areas I did not cover I do not have any chipping at all.

I think in your climate with sand and rocks on the road it may be more of a challenge than here in SoCal.

i would cover the doors up to the colour coded body moulding, as mine had not chipped above this level. It tended to chip towards the front of the front doors, and toward the rear of the rear doors. Please note the bmw film does not go all the way to the extreme edges, so you may get some pitting on the very edge. I would have a chat with the 3m guys you have in the states, regards, Chris.

You are correct VentureShield is the new stuff and it's thinner. I had it installed in Sept on my '08 4.8. My installer said I was the first one he has put it on here in DFW-- it had just come out at the time (it's actually produced here in TX down in San Antonio). Very thin.

Just purchased some black with grey print Rally Armor universal mudflaps. Here in Alberta, I'm not taking chances my 3M will cut it.

I plan on extending the mudflap one inch beyond the width of the tire up front, and as low as possible.

Universal UR Mud flap Grey Logo

I dont think that it will look as bad as OEM.

let you know how the install goes. Just need to find the correct mounting hardware.