Consensus on moulded mud-flaps?

Blue Badger

As the title says, what's are the prevailing winds on mud-flaps these days?

They seem to tick a lot of boxes in terms of reducing spray of stone chippings, water, grit etc. There are potential benefits not just for your car but for those driving behind you as well.

But... with the moulded flaps you would likely have issue with certain speed bumps and kerbs I presume?

The biggest question mark to me atm is that I've seen a number of drivers online stating that, where the moulds run over paintwork, they will over time cause damage. Supposedly this occurs through not just the plastic flap rubbing against the painted panel over time but also through the accumulation of debris that itself rubs.

But! I've also seen those stating that it's only an issue if your moulds aren't tightly fitting enough (which am no sure about).

In terms of solutions I've come across only two solutions:

1. Utilise a sealant of some kind between the lip of the mould and the painted surface to prevent ingress of debris, and to prevent the edging from coming into contact with the panel-work.

2. Utilise automative tape, perhaps double-sided, to achieve the same function as above but in a more practical way (perhaps).

Are there any thoughts on all of this? IS it possible to have mud-flaps installed on a car without damaging paintwork? If not then any benefits as may be realised seem moot since you're actively sacrificing healthy panelling.

Other options beyond 1. and 2.? Has anyone a positive experience with flaps?

Eoinbmw

Aesthetically the are awful that enough to put me off!
Ive had them on a few different motors and they work themselves loose over bumps all the time!

Blue Badger

Yeah, it's interesting. On one hand I can fully see the helpfulness of them in the countryside on back roads, but those backroads also come with potholes.

And bad potholes + rigid mudflats must surely equal damaged mudflaps.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I absolutely have to have them on a car, I think a cars look bare/unfinished without them. I've been driving over 30 years and its one thing that I have fitted to every single car I have ever owned (in excess of 50 cars at this stage) even if in the past I couldn't get factory moulded flaps, i'd fit generic black flaps to a car.

As for damaging the paint work, yeah they will rub on the paint where they're touching but as I never take them off what difference does it make it the paintwork is marked slightly in a place that cant be seen??? Seems like an odd reason not to fit them.

BlakeS94

As Cee-Jay-Cee said I think they're a necessity, have them on all my cars just for practically they wouldn't be scraping off speed bumps, just down a few inches from the cars wheel arch where they're fixed I think they look well and they serve a purpose.

biko

DIY -> main forum

Truckermal

Eoinbmw wrote: »

Aesthetically the are awful that enough to put me off!
Ive had them on a few different motors and they work themselves loose over bumps all the time!

They are not that bad, I got the Audi moulded ones from a Dealer but the Car still gets as dirty so a waste of time IMO...

TrailerBob

Only car I ever had where they were problematic was a B5 Passat, where they scraped the ground over speed ramps, or my country roads. Otherwise I wouldn't be without them

Wishbone Ash

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I absolutely have to have them on a car, I think a cars look bare/unfinished without them.,,,,

Would you wear wellington boots with a suit? I think they look terrible. I've never had them on any car I've ever had.

mickdw

Terrible terrible things - even the proper ones for a car.
I wouldnt put them on a car and i wouldnt buy a car with them fitted.

mk7r

I agree, not a good look for a car

GustavoFring

I don’t like them but I still fitted them to reduce damage as I live on a road with a lot of loose chippings and muck on it. Lesser of two evils.

If i was living in the suburbs and doing small miles they wouldn’t be on the car.

PsychoPete

I think it varies from car to car. They look grand on cars with unpainted plastic on the bottom of the car like a Qashaqi, personally I wouldn't have any kind of mudflap on a car

Car99

I've fitted them to all my cars but only genuine main dealer car specific mudflaps. I've only used Audi and BMW though. They come with all the correct hardware and tape to ensure they fit perfectly and wont damage your car paint.
IMO they improve the aesthetics of some cars. I like them on the B7 and B8 A4 avants and the F15 BMW X5 . It's a thumbs up for me . On the A4's they didnt keep the car much cleaner. On the X5 they definitely kept the car cleaner.

redcup342

Essential in Winter on the front at the least, otherwise you get grit thrown up onto the sills and the paint gets chipped

Hurrache

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I've never had them on any car I've ever had.

Last car I had had none, and the slightest bit of damp the rear of it (estate) would get absolutely filthy, it got to be a right pain. When I replaced it for another it came with rear mud guards and it's night in day in terms of keeping the car clean, plus they're not that obvious.

Not my car but shows how innocuous they can be.

CoBo55

I actually had to go and look to see were they on my car.. they are so I'll leave them there.

Blue Badger

Hurrache wrote: »

Last car I had had none, and the slightest bit of damp the rear of it (estate) would get absolutely filthy, it got to be a right pain. When I replaced it for another it came with rear mud guards and it's night in day in terms of keeping the car clean, plus they're not that obvious.

Not my car but shows how innocuous they can be.

Yeah, now those I like. Very inconspicuous and unlike some that I've seen they don't run along the side of the car at all, extending over painted surfaces. Would happily pay for that.

colm_mcm

They’re mad cheap too. About €26 for set of 4 from main dealer.

mk7r

Hurrache wrote: »

Last car I had had none, and the slightest bit of damp the rear of it (estate) would get absolutely filthy, it got to be a right pain. When I replaced it for another it came with rear mud guards and it's night in day in terms of keeping the car clean, plus they're not that obvious.

Not my car but shows how innocuous they can be.

They are probably the best of them

i57dwun4yb1pt8

easy to fit ?

colm_mcm

Emersyn Grumpy Scoutmaster wrote: »

easy to fit ?

Reasonably. You can do the fronts without taking the wheels off, you need to drill out one hole that’s sort of obscured by the wheel but you can drill it at an angle and it’s fine, the rest are using existing holes.

satnavadays

I’ve always had them on my car and if they’re not on I buy them from the main dealer.

I don’t think they take away from the car at all, on mine anyways they’re not really noticeable. I’ve seen some that only have them on the front and not the back.

Blue Badger

I'd been wondering about that. It's something that I noticed only recently and I thought weird at the time as to my mind if a person were installing them they would always do so for all wheels.

PsychoPete

Blue Badger wrote: »

I'd been wondering about that. It's something that I noticed only recently and I thought weird at the time as to my mind if a person were installing them they would always do so for all wheels.

We wouldn't fit them on the front of some cars as you couldn't screw into the wings as they were too thin and the carpet arches aren't good for holding screws.

Spook_ie

Driving on wet roads it's easy to see which cars have mud flaps fitted, in they also reduce the spray. IMO an essential aid to safety and should be mandatory to be fitted from factory.

soundman45

Truckermal wrote: »

They are not that bad, I got the Audi moulded ones from a Dealer but the Car still gets as dirty so a waste of time IMO...

+1 on that, have them on my car with front right hand side missing now and car is equally as dirty both sides, same tar spots etc both sides so the front ones serve no purpose I think.

I've had a few cars, and most didn't have them, but the ones that did, I found them quite good.

I do a lot of mileage, and there's a fair bit of backroad driving among that. I find that the front wheel arches get badly pelted with stones/grit/etc. and it can cause the paint to completely flake off altogether. If i was buying a car, and had two identical options, one with, and one without flaps, I'd go for the one with them. I don't think they look ugly, either, though.

rn

This is a bit of a town v country debate. I've had a few cars with and without them. My SO doesn't like them.

IMHO they make a serious difference for keeping a car clean. A car will get dirty anyway with finer spray, but these keep the heavy stuff off the doors. Especially effective for limiting cow stuff on car sides.