Mud flaps
Introduction
While they make keep the back end of your car nice and shiny and rocks out of people's windshields, mud flaps are a significant contributor to vehicle drag.
When air passing under the vehicle comes into contact with the rear tires, its pulled into the wheel well by the rotational force of the tire. Its simultaneously pulled under the tire and flows turbulently over it before exiting the rear of the vehicle, creating drag as well as small amounts of lift along the way - both detrimental to fuel effeciency. When mud flaps are in place, the air moving under and over the tire has much less room to escape to the rear of the vehicle and is forced around and underneath it, creating even more drag and lift and diminishing fuel effeciency.
Ironically, mud flaps can be useful as mounting points for aerodynamic mods such as boat tails or as fender ?side skirt attachment points.
Contents
Instructions for mod
Unscrew the mudflaps. Please recycle.
User experiences
Please enter your user name and any relevant data in the table
User Name | Car Make, Model, Year | Cost of Mod | Time to Perform Mod | MPG Before Mod | MPG After Mod | MPG improvement guess | Instruction Link |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Example Data Saand | Example Data Mazda, 626, 1991 | Example Data $5 USD | Example Data 1 Hour | Example Data 27.2 | Example Data 29.8 | User mod detail or measurement detailed data |
Problems / Consequences of mod
Removal of mud flaps may have legal implications on trucks. Check your local laws.
The vehicle is likely to get dirtier behind the rear axle due to dirt picked up and sprayed by the wheels.