HIC USA rain guard quality?

[jayee]

So my craptastic ebay rain gaurds for my sedan are discoloring and starting to warp and fall off... I'm in the market for new ones.

My criteria is something that is:
- high quality
- all black (no silver trim at the top)
- preferably in the "Mugen" style or something similar with fluid lines instead of a blocky design like the weather tech guards

It's easy to meet 2/3 of these but I've only seen one so far the seems to check all 3 boxes for the sedan... I came across HIC USA which seems to make window guards and rear visors for a bunch of different cars. They are all black and have a nice flowing aesthetic AND they are priced at a premium price point compared to the cheapo ebay stuff. My concern is that price != quality. From doing a bit of sniffing "HIC USA" seems to be a small CA based operation that stuck "USA" in it's name to hopefully signal quality and/or attract the "Made in USA" folks but makes no mention of anything actually being made in the USA. The use of their occasional Engrish scattered throughout advertising and the extremely cookie cutter "About Us" page makes me a bit weary.

Anyway, to the point. Has anyone used HIC USA products? Are these legit?

https://www.hicusastore.com/honda-civic/side-visor-civic-16-19-4dr

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*Update* May 20201 - Just over a year and a half since I've had these installed. They are definitely worth the price. No fading warping or brittleness to be seen, they still look brand new. Definitely glad I went with these!

Sponsored

 

[360glitch]

I've used the HIC rear spoiler and like it a lot. No experience with the rain guards.

 

[kperalta]

These are the ones that procivic sells. They're a sponsor for the forum. Anyways, I bought the ones with chrome from procivic, and overall my experience has been positive. The adhesive is staying extremely well, although to be honest on the driver side one it seems to be pulling up slightly but I honestly could attribute that to installation error. They're not close to flying off by any means, and the pulling up could honestly all be in my head.

Another reason to purchase the HIC ones from ProCivic is because last week the chrome piece on my passenger side came off, not completely but enough to where it got bent by the high speeds in which I was travelling on the interstate. Turns out, from the factory the backing to the adhesive wasn't fully removed therefore that chrome piece wasn't completely attached to the visor. Once I sent the pic of it to procivics customer support they sent me new ones next day, no further questions asked, and didn't even ask for the old ones back. Amazing customer service.

All in all, the visors are really good. I like how dark they are, and well they keep the rain out at speeds and as long as you keep the window covered when you park they keep it out while parked too. Even had some hail recently, and there's no damage at all. I wonder how they'll hold up in heavy bigger hail storms, though. They also clean really well. Just be careful when washing them, they swirl easy but thats common with plastic.

 

[r.camlin]

I love my HIC visors. Very good quality and they look great.

With any window visors, however, I recommend replacing the tape with something stronger. I use 3M 3/8" VHB.

 

[jayee]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

 

[joe3456789]

I love my HIC visors. Very good quality and they look great.

With any window visors, however, I recommend replacing the tape with something stronger. I use 3M 3/8" VHB.

Why would you replace the 3m? I bought mine directly from Hic website and the 3m is very strong!

 

[jakdotdot]

Why would you replace the 3m? I bought mine directly from Hic website and the 3m is very strong!

If it isn't OEM part, or a legit part from a higher end manufacturer, assume the tape is as fake as the part.

 

[r.camlin]

Why would you replace the 3m? I bought mine directly from Hic website and the 3m is very strong!

If it's not VHB it's gonna come loose over time. I prefer the peace of mind knowing that it's on there for good. The good stuff comes with VHB pre-installed, like the spoiler I got. Other things come with either basic 3M double sided tape, or some off-brand nonsense that isn't designed to hold up in constant exposure to the elements.

 

[joe3456789]

If it's not VHB it's gonna come loose over time. I prefer the peace of mind knowing that it's on there for good. The good stuff comes with VHB pre-installed, like the spoiler I got. Other things come with either basic 3M double sided tape, or some off-brand nonsense that isn't designed to hold up in constant exposure to the elements.

The 3m tape is hella strong! I had the hic side visors and rear visor on my CL9 and the day I traded it in I couldn't even take them off lol! I had to leave them on! I'm telling you HIC visors are tuff! Plus with the 10th Gen Civic HIC visors comes with clips and it helps keep them up. I didn't buy mine from PROCivic, I bought mine directly from HIC.

 

[r.camlin]

The 3m tape is hella strong! I had the hic side visors and rear visor on my CL9 and the day I traded it in I couldn't even take them off lol! I had to leave them on! I'm telling you HIC visors are tuff! Plus with the 10th Gen Civic HIC visors comes with clips and it helps keep them up. I didn't buy mine from PROCivic, I bought mine directly from HIC.

Dude I own them too lol. I bought directly from HIC. Mine started to peel at the corners after about a month so I changed the tape and now they're about as permanent as they can be. Just a word of advice.

 

[ulieq]

Do they do anything? I've never had rainguards in my life and always thought they look ricer than rice.

 

[r.camlin]

Do they do anything? I've never had rainguards in my life and always thought they look ricer than rice.

I like them. You can crack the windows in the rain which is neat, and it seems like the noise is a lot better with them on when the windows are open.

 

[joe3456789]

Dude I own them too lol. I bought directly from HIC. Mine started to peel at the corners after about a month so I changed the tape and now they're about as permanent as they can be. Just a word of advice.

I guarantee you didn't clean the surface thoroughly. That's the only reason to why it started to peel. Also what time of the year did you install them?

 

[MarshX]

So my craptastic ebay rain gaurds for my sedan are discoloring and starting to warp and fall off... I'm in the market for new ones.

My criteria is something that is:
- high quality
- all black (no silver trim at the top)
- preferably in the "Mugen" style or something similar with fluid lines instead of a blocky design like the weather tech guards

It's easy to meet 2/3 of these but I've only seen one so far the seems to check all 3 boxes for the sedan... I came across HIC USA which seems to make window guards and rear visors for a bunch of different cars. They are all black and have a nice flowing aesthetic AND they are priced at a premium price point compared to the cheapo ebay stuff. My concern is that price != quality. From doing a bit of sniffing "HIC USA" seems to be a small CA based operation that stuck "USA" in it's name to hopefully signal quality and/or attract the "Made in USA" folks but makes no mention of anything actually being made in the USA. The use of their occasional Engrish scattered throughout advertising and the extremely cookie cutter "About Us" page makes me a bit weary.

Anyway, to the point. Has anyone used HIC USA products? Are these legit?

https://www.hicusastore.com/honda-civic/side-visor-civic-16-19-4dr

I have the Ikon Motorsports visor. Look pretty much the same but mine are a bit more transparent. Kind of like smoked, not black. Paid about $40-$60 don’t remember.

 

[FK7mike]

Purchased a set after reading this thread. Thought I’d contribute by adding some pictures.