We recently took a trip driving both our MINIs. It was 500+ miles of mostly interstate. Upon getting home I took both cars to the car wash to spray off the bugs. Unsurprisingly the windshield of the Coupe had less bug splatter than the Clubman. What did surprise me was the difference in bug splatter on the front bumpers. The Clubman had alot more. Granted my wife was in the lead with it but I did keep a decent gap between us. There were other cars on the road as well so she did have someone in front of here a good chunck of time. All I can think of is either I was still close enough to use the Clubman as a shield or it is the difference in designs of the front bumpers. The standard LCI bumper on the Clubman has all those knooks and crannys and the bottom spoiler is short and rounded over . The JCW bumper on our Coupe is smooth and it's spoiler is comparatively sharp and and sticks out more. I wonder if that smooth bumper and protruding lip of the spoiler causes airflow to be strong enough to carry bugs up and over rather than allow impact. Thoughts?
I had a Clear Bra installed on my R50 and on my MCS bonnet and front bumpers. You can either have to dealer do it for megamoney or places that do auto/truck stuff usually have that film, too, for a lot less. The Clear Bra [or similar] not only reduces the bug splatter and makes it easier to clean off, but it also protects from stone chips [the MINI is a stone chip magnet].
Ok I don't think one foot is a "decent gap between us". But its cool that you two took a road trip together. You know what they say "a couple that Minis together stays together"!
The Clubman has a clear bra but the Coupe does not. Actually the clear bra is so worn it's starting to curl. I'll need to remove it when I get some free time. Or go motoring instead...
I get a lot less bug crap and road grime on the front of my Coupe than by other MINI I've owned. Could be the design, could be the clear bra.....a $50,000 question. One things for certain, I get a heck of a lot less stone chips on the front during the Donut Run than anyone else