Yesterday I noticed a VW Toureg which had a fair amount of mud caked on just behind the wheels - looked like it must have been about half an inch thick. There were no mudflaps on the vehicle.
Today I was chatting to a friend about mudflaps. His Avensis didn't have any. He commented that he thought it odd that a top of the range car came without mudflaps.
So - are mudflaps fitted as standard to any cars? And are they actually much use - particularly in protecting paintwork?
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I don't think many manufacturers include mudflaps as standard spec on many cars nowadays, they are however the sort of thing that is easy to get included in the deal when purchasing a vehicle.
Minimal cost to the dealer to supply and fit but often not a cheap thing for the customer to actually buy - a set of proper toyota ones for an avensis are approx £80
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Megane - £60 for four plastic guard things. They do make a big difference though, helps to keep that big rear clean. Awkward to fit though, very little room between the tyre and the bodywork. Scuffed knuckles and expletives resulted but worth it.
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They do help a bit, plus they make cars look sexier!
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"they make cars look sexier"
My Berlingo has mudflaps.
What's your definition of sexier??!!
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Phil
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Clearly the man's definition of sexy is a deluded one Phil ;-)
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Awkward to fit though, very little room between the tyre and the bodywork. Scuffed knuckles and expletives resulted but worth it.
Easy peasy! Just jack the car up and remove the wheel first. I had to do this anyway with the rear flaps of my Focus to gain access to an existing screw. To fit the spring clips that hold the flap onto the wheelarch flange I use a pair of water pump pliers, plus a smear of grease if the clips are really reluctant to go on.
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L\'escargot.
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>>are mudflaps fitted as standard to any cars? And are they actually much use - particularly in protecting paintwork?
As mentioned they can be fitted either as negotiated in the deal to buy or *bought seperate*,some companys do include if pushed for a sale,IMO they are not worth bothering with-if you clean the car on regular basis.
Most build up of muck is due to not cleaning regularly
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Steve
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I was looking at the cars on a main road the other day, hardly any had flaps, and those that did were mostly much older cars and 4x4s. I think people think they are uncool these days.
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" I think people think they are uncool these days2
my Berlingo has mudflaps.
What's your definition of uncool???!!!
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Phil
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"I think people think they are uncool these days2
my Berlingo has mudflaps.
What's your definition of uncool???!!!"
Well it has to be said, that near the top, if not top of the uncool pile, is a Berlingo with mudflaps.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I was looking at the cars on a main road the other day, hardly any had flaps, and those that did were mostly much older cars and 4x4s. I think people think they are uncool these days.
It isn't that. They just aren't needed because cars have properly designed undersides these days. Some lorries have mudflaps with a sort of rubber mat nipply finish on the working side, very effective at reducing their wake on wet motorways.
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It isn't that. They just aren't needed .....
Front mudflaps help to reduce stone damage to the paintwork on sills and doors.
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L\'escargot.
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I use them as a test when I buy a new car - I negotiate the deal and then just as I'm about to sign, I ask for mats + flaps. If the salesperson bursts into tears then I'm reasonably sure I've got a good deal.
On the Jazz they supplied the flaps at cost price (I *think* the price included fitting anyway). On the Ibiza we agreed to share the cost.
On my Merc, I didn't ask for flaps, but for a hands free cradle (£139). "No problem" - so I think I could have done better there!
We often drive the Jazz and Ibiza down mucky country lanes, so I value the protection from stones etc, but it's amazing that very little bodywork remains clean behind the flaps - I guess everything must swirl around behind them?
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Mudflaps are a bad thing.
They dont prevent stone damage, they dont keep the carp down and they do provide a nice place (where they are fixed) for damage and corrosion. (if they dont fall off and get ripped to bits first - that usually happens anyway after the corrosion has started)
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Mudflaps are a good thing.
Modern bodywork does not corrode but paint will get totally banjaxed without them. I bought an apparently immaculate Golf Mk3 without ,only 8000 miles, but the doors were coverd with tiny chips.
Always had mudflaps since.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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>> Some lorries have mudflaps with a sort of rubber mat nipply finish on the working side, very effective at reducing their wake on wet motorways.
I Questioned about this years ago, and was told that it was against the law for HGV to be without mudguards. As a stone or half of a brick could get caught in between the two tyres and then get flung out at speed........If the law on this was changed then it was a dumb idea to change it.
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I Questioned about this years ago, and was told that it was against the law for HGV to be without mudguards. As a stone or half of a brick could get caught in between the two tyres and then get flung out at speed........If the law on this was changed then it was a dumb idea to change it.
Very frightening to see one of those bricks between the rear tyres of a fast-moving Murphy truck, only thing to do is drop well back. A Farina Austin Cambridge once ran over a brick when I was following it along a rapid bit of Harrow Road and fired it I thought straight at my head. Fortunately it hit the rubber-faced overrider of my Dyane's front bumper and bent it.
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>>are mudflaps fitted as standard to any cars? And are they actually much use - particularly in protecting paintwork? As mentioned they can be fitted either as negotiated in the deal to buy or *bought seperate*,some companys do include if pushed for a sale,IMO they are not worth bothering with-if you clean the car on regular basis. Most build up of muck is due to not cleaning regularly -- Steve
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No my dear. Perfectly untrue if you live in north Devon or anywhere rural for that matter. Spotless car COMPLETELY covered in cack in 100yds, (if you're really lucky)
vbr......md
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Rigid mudflaps on a off-road vehicle are pretty useless...... however mudflaps like the ones fitted to old Land Rovers which were no more than a rubber mat suspended from the lip of the inner wing did a decent job and would quite literally flap.
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When checking other peoples vehicles which have them(I wouldn't)they usually have plenty of muck trapped between them and the wheelarch lip,merrily causing corrosion,along with the rusty clips holding them on.They also cause a suprising amount of drag.
Oh,and definitely uncool.
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I can tell the difference in my car with or without flaps, cos I ripped the drivers side one off on a hidden cone while reversing.
As I regularly drive on a muddy track I can confirm that the drivers side gets much dirtier than the passenger side. As soon as I get a minute the lost flap is going back on.
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Mudflaps are definitely worth having. On a car they protect the side of the vehicle from mud, stones and spilt road marking paint! (impossible to remove). I've had them on my last four cars and wouldn't do without. As has been said you can usually get them thrown in as a deal sweetener.
A 4x4 with proper ground clearance benefits from them due to the amount of crud that gets thrown up by larger wheels with high profile tyres.
From a road safety point of view, a car fitted with flaps throws up far less spray on a wet motorway making the road safer for everyone. Probably why (I think) they're the law for cars in Sweden.
I don't go with this idea that they're rust traps. Most modern cars have plastic wheel arch liners held in with plastic self tapping screws. You usually just take out the screw, offer up the flap and put the screw back in - no drilling the arch and using nasty metal brackets.
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This is an intresting thread. None of my vehicles have flaps. (Ford mondeo 54 reg, Ford transit 52 reg, Isuzu trooper L reg, sprinter van) I have often wonderd how much diferance flaps would make and why carand van supliers have stopped fitting them.
The vast majority of older (10 years or more) vehicles seem to have flaps.
Paul
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Mrs V has the wrap around spoiler flaps, which are fitted on Sport model Mx5.
She TOTALLY confused the sales guy, when asking for them 'included' on buying her Montana model.
Sales guy ..'You see Mrs V, as the Montana doesn't have them as standard or an option, we can't get them, for you as everything is ordered by chassis number - computer sats no syndrome - so unfortunatly, you can't have 'em'.
Her.. OK, so as it's STILL an Mx5, order a set for a Sport & fit those.
Sales guy.. 'But they'd come in already painted, the colour of whichever Sport we took the chassis number from & Montana is limited edition Garnet Red'
Her.. Then paint them in the Garnet Red, colour.
Sales guy.. 'Thats a good idea!'
RESULT = 4 matching mudflaps & protected paintwork!!
VB
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Had a Rover 75 without mud flaps.
No problems with cack or stones, etc.
Got a new 75, had mud flaps fitted, cause they actually look quite stylish. (Dealer fitted, from new)
Within 12 months, they had worn away a ridge of paint beneath the contacting edge, which exposed bare metal, which started to rust.
Mud flaps a bad thing.
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On the ones I fitted to my Mondeo MkIII, Ford supplied a bit of thick clear plastic tape that you stuck on the wing edge where the flap overlapped for this very reason.
However, If they are attached tightly enough don't see why you should get any chafing from your "air brakes"
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On the ones I fitted to my Mondeo MkIII, Ford supplied a bit of thick clear plastic tape that you stuck on the wing edge where the flap overlapped for this very reason.
My Focus flaps had the same ~ the tape/film was shaped to follow the contour of the edge of the wheelarch.
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L\'escargot.
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>>Within 12 months, they had worn away a ridge of paint beneath
>>the contacting edge, which exposed bare metal, which started
>>to rust.
>>Mud flaps a bad thing.
This has always been my view as well so I've always given them the thumbs down.
There is either friction between the mud flap and the adjacent paintwork which exposes bare metal, or there is a gap where mud can gather. Both bad.
Oz (as was)
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>>Within 12 months, they had worn away a ridge of paint beneath >>the contacting edge, which exposed bare metal, which started >>to rust. >>Mud flaps a bad thing. This has always been my view as well so I've always given them the thumbs down. There is either friction between the mud flap and the adjacent paintwork which exposes bare metal, or there is a gap where mud can gather. Both bad. Oz (as was)
I would guess that on most cars now, the rears would be attached to the plastic rear 'bumper' which generally wraps around the rear of the car ans forms part of the wheel arch.
Quite a few cars have plastic front wings too, so rust wouldn't be an issue at all in those cases.
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I think they gone out of fashion because they cause drag, reducing performance and/or economy.
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