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To go Mud flaps or not to go Mud flaps?

48K views 33 replies 22 participants last post by  awoodby 
#1 ·
I was considering buying some mud flaps for my 2015 STI LE when it comes in. Are they necessary when driving on gravel/dirt roads? Will it save my car a lot of paint chips? Do they have an impact on gas mileage or cause any issues?
 
#2 ·
If you dont want to spend the money of Rally Armors you can try to fab up a set from flexable IKEA cutting boards. Subaru isnt know for having the most durable paint also im sure they couldn't hurt.
Im not sure about the impact on gas mileage maybe you can ask the Mythbusters also im wondering if they make more splash back when driving in the rain.
 
#4 ·
I found this post on Yahoo Answers that solves the gas mileage question:

This is a good question. And the answer is simple, yet complex. As the Mythbusters showed, a tailgate being down actually DECREASES gas mileage, by about 1-2 MPG. The air cycles around and ends up PUSHING on the cab, and creating a partial counter to drag, but the tailgate open allows that air to just rush out, and it will not cycle back into the cab. The concept is similar to a mudflap, they are close enough to the wheel/tire, that most of the time, they won't produce any drag at all, except as measurable on a microscopic level. It won't affect your mileage in any way, especially not that you'd notice. Yeah, you might go from 26.2857394702 MPG to 26.2857394701 MPG, but that's less than a penny more at the pump. You'd have to fill up more than 1,000,000 times to pay even a penny or two more.
 
#5 ·
Yes. They are very good at keeping debris at bay. They're mudflaps after all. Your car will be cleaner etc and I would consider it a must driving through gravel, some regions have their rallycross events on a gravel bed.

Rally amour are pretty much the best you can get for the price. An excellent value in my opinion. It would cost you more to fabricate your own out of the same material and buy hardware for them than it would for you to just buy rally armour already made and ready to go with hardware.

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#6 ·
#7 ·
Rally Armor doesn't currently sell flaps for the 2015 STI. I'll have to reach out to them for an ETA on their release. It doesn't look like RokBlokz sells them either yet. Are these things screwed right into the body of the car? Seems like they should fit the 2015 as well.
 
#8 ·
There is a metal bracket that they attack to which then attaches to the car. Put yourself on the Rally Armor notification list
 
#10 ·
On my last few cars I've personally used flapatax, gorilla, and DRT. DRT was by far the best, but also the most expensive. Comparing the DRT to friends who have Rally Armor on the same car other than getting to choose colors with RA. I think DRT is better. Mounting hardware is top notch and they are thicker so flap around less than RA.
Flapatax and Gorilla are both hard material. Gorilla is leaps and bounds better then flapatax. I know lots of people swear by them, and if you are on a budget they work well, but the hardware sucks compared to the others and the material isn't as nice. Also, they were not drilled properly and I had to make adjustments

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#12 ·
I went with some mudflaps as the first thing I purchased. I really like how the extend out past the wheel wells with the wide body cars to help with keeping rocks, salt, sand etc... at bay.

I personally bought a set of RokBlokz. I'm very satisfied with them. I like how they aren't shiny nor do they flap around while driving. I do have to say though, even with a stock ride height car, the "standard length" flaps are long. I find I hear them scraping over speed bumps and some big dips in the road if I'm cruising.

However, despite this, all the hardware is still tight (been on for three weeks) and nothing has moved after plenty of triple digit runs and my amatuer rally runs down some dirt roads. Nothing is more satisfying than hearing all of those little rocks bounce off of the mud flaps instead of my paint.
 
#18 ·
I have the RockBlokz on my '16 going through their second winter season. They seem to be holding up well to a pretty brutal beating. We've had snow/ice covered roads here for the last two months and in many places on local streets and alleys it has degenerated into deep ruts between walls of ice. In addition to dragging the bottom when you have to get out of the ruts, I can hear my rigid RBz hitting the ice walls as well and I always look to see if they have been torn off. I didn't like the "floppy" look of the RA flaps when I bought them, but in these particular conditions I can see that the flexibility could be an advantage.

One thing I do like about the RBz is that they do stick out beyond my wheel/tire and work as an audible curb feeler if I get too close to the curb when parallel parking. While they may get scraped up a bit, it is much easier to sand off rash of the flap (or replace it) than it would be to repair or replace a scratched up wheel. They have saved me from myself several times already.
 
#17 ·
Rally Armors here since Jan 16. Great design and they still work perfectly.

Here's an observation for you: Since they stick out a little bit by necessity, if by habit you park close to the curb, there's a chance the flap can rub against the curb and get torn off. The Rally Armor design, if the flap contacts too hard, and plops out ... you can just unscrew the mounting screw, put it back and screw it back down again. No fuss, no muss. Don't ask me how I know :-D
 
#19 · (Edited)
Actually I just came here to post about my new flaps lol.

Needed? At first I didn't want, thought they'd look...out of place. I drove across a dirt parking lot after a rain, right after washing, and had mud and dirt ALL the way up the car, windows, probably on the roof too. Constantly filthy looks worse than a few flaps. I ordered some rally armors.

I originally ordered the $172 rally armors, started putting them on, 4 pieces of Polyrethane plastic. Shiny but good. Brackets were well designed. They had 2 right brackets, no left. For $172 they missed their one job. Being cranky lately (health issues), I looked elsewhere.

Found Rokblox. They're not shiny poly, probably not quite as durable but will probably still outlast the car (I got the shorties, can't imagine wanting longer). They're about the same plastic material as a separator in a trapper keeper (how I remember after 30 years??) IE, flexible, knurled plastic on one side, smooth on the other. Their bracket was simpler, just an L bracket and a round spacer, but they work and fit fine.

In general I'm one of those, under a few hundred, price doesn't matter, people, but didn't love the shiny for the extra price, and don't regret the rokblox whatsoever. Even $90 is a lot for 4 pieces of plastic.

The mud flaps, by the way, I actually think they look Good. pretty subtle, but pretty good.

I'd post pics, picture worth a thousand words and all, but a) they have plenty of pictures already b)my pictures are worth 10, maybe 20 words max, i'm awful.
 
#20 ·
Can you only get the RokBlox from SubieSpeed?

If so, I may order from them, will use PayPal, as recommended by others on the forum.

BTW, still wondering what is the best front lip out there for the money, and where to get it.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I like my RokBlokz. I did the original length for more protection, and have the car lowered on RCE Yellows. The bottoms rub on curbs and speed bumps and when driving down steep hills quite a bit, but they're still holding on strong. Have had them for one year now.

At first I thought mud flaps were rice unless I'm rallying every weekend. But they actually do protect the paint. I drive on a lot of gravel roads, and I can hear crap hitting the flaps. So they do their job. They are cliche, though. It seems like every Subaru owner has to own mud flaps and non matching horns in their front grill.

Ignore the dirty car, just got back from a 200 mile trip through slush and salt. Here are the original length RokBlokz after one year on a lowered WRX (RCE yellows are a very mild drop).


 
#27 · (Edited)
Keep in mind, even if you aren't in a heavy winter state, the flaps still serve a purpose. I was driving through downtown DC and when I got home that evening noticed a big blob of white paint all along the wheel well and mud flap. Apparently one of the typical DC construction zones I drove through had left a pool of paint on road. After some cleaning, I got most of it off - the RA rubber / silicone is pretty slippery - but if I didn't have them (or any other branded flaps at all), it would have been all up the side of the car = much worse. Regardless of what brand you go with, definitely get some for sure.
 
#28 ·
I bought the RA rigid "Basic" direct fit mud flaps for my daughter's '08 Impreza hatch. They are a similar look to the RBz but a waaaay thinner material, but they look good and are totally functional. They were as easy to install as my RBz since they were pre-drilled and came with all the mounting hardwear. I got them for $56 delivered from Tire Rack, so definitely more cost effective. She is over in Eugene where they don't really get much snow other than coming over the pass to Bend, but they are holding up fine. So far I'd say they are a viable lower cost alternative to the high end RAs and middle ground RBz.
 
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