Project: Mudflaps

[psquare75 35]

So I picked up a set of mudflaps via eBay. I rec'd actual GM flaps. (guards? whatever.) Not being content with black flaps, I painted them to match the car.

Fronts are a bolt on, no drilling needed.

Rears, people are saying 'they won't fit' but I think I can get them to work.

More to come

For now, a picture. Both fronts painted, and a rear.

[stevesparky 20]

Looks good..

Do you have a ebay link.

May want to try a pair myself. Both front and back.

Thanks..

[psquare75 35]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/180706474992?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

[stevesparky 20]

Thanks.... put them in my watch list.

Will see how yours turn out.

Thanks for doing this.

[psquare75 35]

Got the fronts on today.

PERFECT fit. Which I kind of expected.

My paint matched excellent. (No worse than the door handle against the door panel, mine is a little off).

So yeah, fronts, verified fit, here's the pic. I'll work on the rears. I think they will fit with some work. I was lazy and didn't want to pull wheels today.

[Greg_E 211]

Just ordered a set, how long did it take for them to arrive? Going to keep them black on my car

[psquare75 35]

It was a few weeks. Nothing too crazy, considering the price paid. I DID have to sign for them at the post office, so be aware.

[Greg_E 211]

Mine just arrived, have you figured out what to do with the rear pieces? I'll start working on mine tomorrow and see where I get.

[psquare75 35]

I painted mine, so I was being pretty picky about gaps.

If they weren't painted, you could probably heat them with a heat gun and bend them a bit.

[Greg_E 211]

So the rears don't really fit due to a change in shape of the fenders. Makes me question why it is taking so long to make the new parts. Have you seen the rear flaps for sale anywhere? Just thinking I may wreck mine in the fitting process and want to get another set. Most of the eBay ads are for the entire set.

Since yours are painted, have you considered filling the gaps with epoxy putty and then repainting?

Edited October 13, 2013 by Greg_E

[psquare75 35]

I've seen fronts and rears available separately on eBay. Some vendors will split up the set too.

[Greg_E 211]

Now that I've spent time with them and the car, the only way is a heat gun and some modifications. I have most of three installed now, need a little more work with the heat gun and need to pull the wheel for the third screw hole. I'll try to document the other side when I get to it, hoping to take Tuesday off and do the work that day. It looks nice though.

And as mentioned, the front flaps are a non-issue, pull three screws, put flap in place, put three screws back in. Couldn't be much more simple if they tried.

My only concern about these is what will happen when the snow packs up around them, or will it promote packing snow around the flaps.

[psquare75 35]

Like any other car - kick it off at the end of a trip.

Got pics and details of your rear work?

[Greg_E 211]

I'm just hoping that the snow and ice won't pull these off.

I'm going to try and document the process on the last flap, the heating and bending will be very general as there isn't much that can be shown of the process. But I will show the finished install which looks fairly good right now and will look better when I bend it a little more. I'm finding that you need to over bend the area that attaches to the fender well because the screws will cause it to pull away when tightened, there is a small gap on mine right now that I want to correct but it will look pretty good.

Since you painted yours, I'm afraid you will need to strip the paint for the bending process. The good news about this is that you don't need to be as careful with the heat since you can sand out over temp. spots and paint to cover.

[psquare75 35]

I'm out of paint, so I'm done for now.

[Greg_E 211]

OK, here is the install, not the prettiest of work and not the most detailed post, but here it is anyway:

Step one is to look at how much bending you will need to do.

Now start heating and bending until it looks about correct.

Next you need to make some mods to the flaps. Remove the metal screw backing thing.

cut the top screw hole into a slot as shown

Drill a hole in the bottom of the flap, this is used to access the mounting screw.

[Greg_E 211]

Now you need to start working on the plastic bumper and fender. Pull out this screw in the fender well

and go under the bottom lip of the bumper there is another screw that needs to come out and you need to drill a hole.

The hole is 1.125 inches between those two lines, and 1/4 inch from the tire side of the cover, drill a 1/4 inch diameter hole. Slide the metal screw thing into place.

Now screw it in place using the screw from the package for the lower lip and the screw from the fender lining for the upper screw hole, check your fit.

Pull it back off and tweak the bending with a heat gun to remove any gaps.

When you have it all good, put the lower screw into the plastic fender liner, you can't get the metal backing thing in place because it can't go in far enough so I just screwed it into the plastic for now.

And the finished product:

[Chris Bemis 5]

Aren't you guys afraid that mudflaps will create drag and hurt mileage?

[psquare75 35]

Greg.. I am almost positive that the inner 'angle' on the bottom meets the plastic 'black' piece when installed on Korean cars. That gap kind of bothers me.

Chris. I'll deal with an MPG or 2 (I haven't noticed any difference with them btw) if it stops the rockers from rotting out in five or six years.

[Greg_E 211]

It might meet on those cars, but they have a different bumper. Because the angles still match it doesn't look so bad and it will do until Chevy gets off their backside and sells us the correct parts.

So far the 3 flaps have made no difference in my mileage, put 100 miles on the car yesterday and turned out a computer based 43+ mpg. Seems to keep the rear window more clear in the rain too, but I'll have to run it a few more times before I'll commit to that statement.

[Chris Bemis 5]

I was just out looking at the car and I don't thing mpg is a valid concern. I'll probably even buy a set myself, but front only. The rear will definitely induce drag.

[Greg_E 211]

I'm not seeing a reduction after 170 miles, still right around my normal averages, looking like they don't harm mileage at all.

[Greg_E 211]

These things hold snow/ice like crazy around the front tires! Didn't have this kind of buildup all last winter, I'll have to try and get a picture. The back flaps seem to make the car hold less junk around the tire.

Edited December 17, 2013 by Greg_E

[NoSprak 17]

These things hold snow/ice like crazy around the front tires! Didn't have this kind of buildup all last winter, I'll have to try and get a picture. The back flaps seem to make the car hold less junk around the tire.

Isn't that a good thing? I'd rather have a buildup in a plastic fenderwell than have fenderbergs on my rocker panels causing rust.

[psquare75 35]

That's kind of the idea, yeah. All that stuff 'built up' didn't bounce off the bottom of the fender pounding the paint. Let it build up, it'll melt.