Using factory mud flaps

[cobie56]

how many of you are using the factory mud flaps... In browsing thru the forum i see many pics with and w/o the mud flaps, some w/ flaps only on the rear tires.

For those of you using the mud flaps do you find they significantly prevent stone chips and other debris from marring the paint.

I will say i'm not too fond of how the mud flaps look as they 'wrap around' too much for my tastes and , at least in some pics, they do look very low, as if they could scrape against the pavement. As well, how much do they cost?

thanks for the advice.

 

[P_m651]

I only have front mud flaps installed, because I like the clean body lines in the rear. The fronts on a FWD always kick up more crap, and it helps a lot especially on a white car. Cost me ~$40 on ebay.

 

[HLauer]

I also am only using the front ones. Rear ones looked kind of odd:thumbdown:
They seem to help. I have a 2010 and no chips, paint still looks great. Harry

 

[mmmoose]

I've got the OEM ones (port installed) on my '14 GTI.

My previous '08 Rabbit came with OEM splash guards also.

Personally I think they look great. It complements the black contrast of the rear diffuser and the side skirts. I don't understand the hate for them, but hey to each their own I guess.

No scraping against pavement issues (although both VW's I've driven are/were stock height). And yes, they do keep dirt and crap off your door, fenders, and rear bumper. My old Rabbit has been through hell and back with many salty PA winters. It was rarely washed within the 105k miles I put into driving it. And up until the moment I traded it in for my GTI the paint on the sides still looked brand new after a quick wash. I actually kind of miss it and wish I could've kept it on top of my GTI. :-(

Btw, here's another thread containing more pictures.

 

[snowsled]

I only have the fronts fitted on my '13 GTI. The rear ones looked to large to me, besides, what are the rear ones protecting? The plastic bumper cap?

Yes, I do think they help prevent damage to the paint on the side of the car, especially since mine has to do some dirt roads.

 

[trev1342]

I had them factory installed. The car still gets dirty incredibly easy.

 

[GTIMKV20]

They are perfect on CSG. Blend in almost perfectly, although they do nothing to keep the car clean. Free of flying debris kicked up by your tires maybe, but no help with the hatch looking like shit after any weather.

 

[trev1342]

They are perfect on CSG. Blend in almost perfectly, although they do nothing to keep the car clean. Free of flying debris kicked up by your tires maybe, but no help with the hatch looking like shit after any weather.

Agreed, they blend right in on my CSG. You can barely notice them.

 

[trev1342]

Here are my mud guards; they are barely noticeable. They blend right in with the color of the car.

 

[SnailPower]

AGREED on CSG. Honestly, the flaps don't look very good on any color besides CSG, no bias here. Like if you throw them on black GTI, they stand out in a not so good way because it's obviously a dark shade but it doesn't blend with black as it is not dark enough and it stands out negatively. Going on with all the other colors, just none of them really blend well with the dark gray of the flaps where as CSG blends perfectly.
I haven't noticed too much whether they work or not. The car always seems to be dirty either way but they look kind of cool from the back but I can see myself removing them if I ever lower the car. I have no problems thus far with scraping anything but if the car were dropped, I'd imagine the flaps would definitely hit.
You may lose HP also due to screwing up the cars curvature and aero dynamics lol

 

[fredf]

I have front and rear on a CSG. I think they make the car look better (I'm sure i'm in the minority).
I have not had any problem with them hanging too low or washing them or anything.

 

[plat]

My 2011 GTI CSG has mud flaps all around. It does not look that offensive when you car has CSG paint. It may look off with White. Not so much with Red since it may blend in quite well with the other dark grey accents of the vehicle. I have asked the dealership to toss in a set of free mud flaps before I signed my lease agreement. I like mudguards, they keep the side panels and rear apron clean and gunk free.

With the lower ride height of the GTI, the mud guards are quite close to the ground. I have scraped my mudguards over ridiculously high speed bumps. I have learned to drive very slowly over any speed bump. Going over speed bumps gently will prevent the car from bouncing once the tire lands on the pavement. That bouncing motion will cause the bottom edge of the mudflap to hit the top of a tall speed bump.

 

[mmmoose]

Extreme (but still valid) example of what could happen without splash guards. Picture credit goes to this reddit thread.

 

[GTIMKV20]

^^ lol, if you live in new england that is nothing. When it snows and they hit the roads with all the salt/dirt/shit in the world you car looks 11 billion times worse than this. With mud guards.

 

[trev1342]

I have front and rear on a CSG. I think they make the car look better (I'm sure i'm in the minority).
I have not had any problem with them hanging too low or washing them or anything.

It's quite easy to wash them, I have not had any difficulty or issues doing so.