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Old 04-15-2020, 05:17 PM   #74 (permalink)
aerohead
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reversing OEM parts

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flakbadger View Post
I removed the front mud guards, and put them facing the opposite direction on the leading edge of the rear wheels. This creates a sort of wheel spat. I saw someone else do this on a Nissan Leaf forum and thought it might be kind of fun. EDIT: Here is a link to the thread in question.

They certainly weren't going to stay where they were, they were an aerodynamic eyesore facing the other direction. Doing this deleted the old wheel "spat," if you can call it that. I've left a picture of that one. Laughably small.

BEFORE: Facing rear of vehicle from front. This is the left rear tire.


AFTER: Same as before.


I secured it to the metal wheel well in the back using the two screws that came with the mud guards, as well as a different self-tapping screw underneath, which drilled into the lower rocker panel. They are very secure. If you look closely, you can see approximately 80 holes where I drilled until I found the "sweet spot" for mounting.
The other side looks much cleaner and more professional.


The best part is, should I choose to sell the vehicle, the mod is easily reversible, and will leave no extra holes. Here's a side view down the right side of the car, from the front, showing where the flap was deleted on the front tire, and where it is located now on the rear.


It's a start.

Side note, previous owner left a dent in the rocker panel which I'm now acutely aware of......
I would caution that you may have created more drag than you can imagine.Subaru published an SAE Paper for the aerodynamic development of their 1985 XT,of Cd 0.29,which included a rear wheel 'flap,' designed to get the air off the rocker panels,and onto the tires without turbulence,exactly what your reversed mudflap approximates.However,there is nothing intuitive about the flaps,when realizing that they are wind-tunnel developed.It's not unlikely that your new flow is worse,rather than improved.It would cost $960 just to verify it.
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