Mud Guards

[VX_Arky]

I was thinking about putting some Honda mud guards on my VX basically because I think they look good. I had them on the last Honda I owned and liked them. Anyway, I was wondering about aerodynamics, though. What kind of drag would mud guards have? Would they hurt my fuel efficiency enough that I wouldn't want to do it? Any thoughts?

[tradosaurus]

Since mud guards are located behind the tires what kind of drag could they have?

[GasSavers_BEEF]

I honestly don't think that it would do much either way. i had them on my cavalier and took them off but didn't really see much of a difference.

one thing I will say is that if you like them, I would go for them. the real deal with keeping a car 'til it dies is to enjoy it and to like it. if there is something that makes you like it more, do it and enjoy your car.

I really can't see there being much of a difference either way. I would worry about mud flaps when you have done EVERYTHING else that you could possibly imagine.

[VX_Arky]

Originally Posted by BEEF

the real deal with keeping a car 'til it dies is to enjoy it and to like it. if there is something that makes you like it more, do it and enjoy your car.

Solid advice. I'll do it.

[VX_Arky]

Also, I thought mudguards on the front or even the rear might cause some slight drag or disruption of air flow beneath or around the bottom of the car. Is that not the case? I'm no rocket scientist, so forgive me if this is a foolish question.

[madnessspirit]

The aerodynamics in that area are REALLY tricky, but most of the disruption is through the airflow along the side of the vehicle, since the tires create a low pressure area right behind them, and beneath the car is a lower pressure area than along the side. When you add the mudflaps, you isolate the low pressure area behind the tires, create a higher pressure area in front of the mudflap that causes turbulent flow between tire and mudflap, and create a new low pressure area behind the mudflap which will reduce drag on the underside of the body behind the mudflap. The low pressure area behind the tire is already fairly turbulent behind the tire without the mudflap, so in the end, it is very little net gain in drag. It is a difficult area to explain or even visualize due to all the odd surfaces, and the math is terrifying.

In my opinion, it is worth it to keep the side of your car clean, because that cuts down on damage and rust. What good is .25mpg (really optimistic figure) if it ends up costing you more to keep it clean and reduces the service life of your sheet metal or paint.

[theholycow]

I imagine it differs vastly by car and mud flap...but what BEEF said about making it the car you want to drive so you can keep it for a long time is more important, IMO.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

I will admit my car was purchased almost used up. realize it is a cavalier. it had 95k miles on it and had a salvaged title and was repaired badly.

I have had it for ~7.5 years and it has 220,000+ miles on it. I haven't done that much to it that is too out of the ordinary but I put a nice head unit in it and redid the bumper. I will say that was more of a "wow, I did that" moment for me.

my yaris, I have extended the shifter and put a short shifter kit on it. probably does nothing for mileage either way but I really enjoy it. feels like a pickup truck.

make it your own, that is the secret to keeping it for a while.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by BEEF

I will admit my car was purchased almost used up. realize it is a cavalier. it had 95k miles on it and had a salvaged title and was repaired badly.

I have had it for ~7.5 years and it has 220,000+ miles on it.

Your words say "purchased almost used up" but your odometer begs to differ.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

before I bought the cavalier, 100k miles was pretty much the limit for a car I had. I really ever thought you could break that barrier with a honda or something like that. I am in no way a mechanic but I have been able to do the little things. before the cavalier I think the most I put on a vehicle was ~120k or so.

I really did think to myself that I would replace it within a year after purchasing it. my idea was to buy a used honda then. who knew?