Now that the weather's cooling down and getting wetter, and anticipating all the road salt in the months ahead, I'm thinking about mudflaps. Questions - do they give added protection to the inner workings of the car and so help with reliability, or are they just cosmetic, to keep the grime off? Also, do they cause any appreciable air drag and decrease the gas mileage? I have an '05 Seaside Blue package 4 (and love it!). Thanks! edit - I'm in Maryland.
do they give added protection to the inner workings of the car and so help with reliability? Not particularly are they just cosmetic, to keep the grime off? Yes, especially from the front tires. Also, do they cause any appreciable air drag and decrease the gas mileage? No
I agree with SeaSalsa on all 3 points. They're not great, but are pretty cheap and very easy to install. I will also put a set on my wife's 2006 when it arrives, as the front tires do throw a lot of dirt onto the painted surfaces without the flaps. rpm
Concur with all of above comments. We had our '05 Prius for a few weeks before getting the flaps and I had to wash off a lot more mud splashes from the rocker panels before they were installed than after.
Thanks for all your input! Since mudflaps are mostly cosmetic, I think I'll put my energy into figuring out how best to upgrade the stereo system instead. I know, like apples & oranges.... Before buying this Prius we only test-drove the package #6, and found the sound system there acceptable, not really thinking that the stereo in package #4 would be so different. It's the only gripe I have about this car, I swear!
Acutally, I consider them more functional than cosmetic.. Certainly, they do make the car look a bit better, but they do drastically reduce the amount of mud flung up onto the fenders, the doors and under the rear bumper.. In the winter, they're pretty much a necessity as in addition to keeping the spray level down, it helps keep salty slush from accumulating on the undercarriage behind the wheels... I think mudflaps should be a required accessory as a proper set of flaps (ie, *NOT* like the Camry flaps which barely extend an inch past the bottom of the body) greatly reduces the amount of muddy, salty spray sent up onto the windshield of the car behind you, so everyone should have the.. Considering that the whole set of 4 mudflaps is only something like $49, you can do both the flaps and your stereo..
I installed them when my car was new, and they have helped me keep the sides of the car nice and clean and keep most of the mud, grease, etc., off the side of the car as I accumulate miles. Aside form that they really do not stand out as far as appearance, they are a flat black color and kind of just disappear.
Yup, they mimimise the amount of crud that get splashed onto the front doors (and sometimes the rear!). That way you won't dirty your pants/skirt when you enter the vehicle. It's also easier to clean all the leaves and sand from the mudguard than off the paint.
