So what do people think to Mud flaps on cars?
I like them as they keep the car a bit cleaner. Also after a while I think you get stone chip damage on the bottom of the front doors, which is eventally turned to rust, and this is reduced by mud flaps in my opinion.
So I've had mud flaps on a few cars.
I got them fitted on my V70, and there is so little ground clearance that road calming bumps, going over the drive lip etc. that each time I get a horrible scraping noise, front and rear.
It strikes me as a bad design.
Does anyone else have any views on Mud Flaps, or Volvo's implementation of them?
cheers
Durelli - son of a famous Italian tyre maker
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Pros - they keep your car cleaner. But it still gets dirty.
Cons - they fall off. They scrape the floor - grounding issue is not limited to Volvos - my Pug flaps ground as they did on the previous Focus. If you drill into metal to fit them do you create a potential rust problem?
My fleet management department insist on all cars being fitted with mud flaps and mats (lets not go there...) so they must think that they help residuals, but it must be marginal?
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The front mudflaps I had fitted to a Mondeo actually rubbed through the paint to the metal where they were in constant contact with the front wing.
They do reduce dirt and stop stone chips though.
Some cars, Toyota's I've noticed especially have such small ones fitted that they cannot possibly serve a purpose.
PP
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I found them a good idea cos they reduce the amount of mud and muck which ends up on the doors. If you've ever driven much in area where there is a lot of cow muck on the road, it's horrible to go to the car door and it covered in the smelly stuff :(
I've often wondered, though, what effect they have on aerodynamics. Modern cars are increasingly aerodynamically efficient , so I'd have thought that the aerodynamic inefficiency of mudflaps was becoming increasingly significant.
However, one one of my estate cars, I found the rear mudflaps a very good guide to loading limits. If the mudflaps scraped the ground when driving, it was time to offload some of the gold bullion for another trip ...
-- Claire
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What concerns me (and why I haven't fitted them) it that they can harbour moisture and dirt between the flap and the bodywork, causing abrasion of the paint and potentially leading to corrosion.
It's a worry of mine, not that I've actually suffered this experience, and is in spite of the obvious fact that they deflect stones, etc.
Oz (as was)
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And, on the rear, they stop the cow muck decorating, and the stones chipping, the front of the caravan.
NB No comments on caravans!
No comments on wrong use of commas!
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..and there was me thinking that when the original post said bad design, it referred to the speed humps rather than the mud flaps!
I prefer mudflaps as they stop all manner of debris from sticking to the lower panels, reduce stone chips, and also reduce spray making it less stressful for those behind. I believe that Scandinavia require them to be fitted by law, and with the amount of rain we get in the UK, they should be a legal requirement here too IMHO.
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But in Scandinavia, rather than rain, isn't it the amount of gravel roads (and hence stone chips etc) that is the main factor? Mind you it's about 30 years since I was in Scandinavia so more might be tarmacced now
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My Mark 2 Scenic's Renault mudflaps are strange. The front ones don't hang down like conventional mudflaps, instead they attach to the sill of the car and effectively become sill protectors so instead of stopping stones hitting the sills, they protect the sills from the stones. If you know what I mean!
The rear ones though are conventional albeit maybe not as long as most but, really, when you have the average hatchback with bumper, sometimes black plastic, immediately behind the rear wheel, then what purpose do mudflaps serve?
Personally, I think they look good but not necessarily serve a purpose.
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I think "air brakes" are great and second only to mats in terms of must have accesories. They've got to be the manufacturer approved ones however as a lot of aftermarket ones seem to fall off or not fit correctly.
I've had them fitted to all my cars. They protect the doors from all kinds of debris, keep the sides of the car cleaner for longer, reduce spray on motorways and also, IMO, look good.
Most modern flaps don't seem to require the arches to be drilled anymore as they use the existing fittings of the wheelarch liner or front wing.
I believe that fitment is a legal requirement in Sweden for safety reasons.
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I always put mudflaps on my cars. My thinking has been it will protect the car and also reduces spray on the rear window.
As my previous two cars were self levelling Citroens, I never had the problem with them hitting the ground.
Unfortunately, the rear mudflaps on my Laguna 'estate' have been 'designed' for the car and are VERY short. They may protect the car a little, but don't stop much spray.
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