Mud Flaps/Guards on or off?
 

I had to remove my stock mud flaps from my car to install paint protection film. Now that the film is installed (XPEL=AWESOME) I'm not sure if I like the way the car looked with them on. So I am trying to decided whether I will re-install them.
Question is, what is the preference of everyone for these...on or off?

:word:

Personally, I think it looks much better with them on. Looked like something was missing in the front.
..we are talking about the OEM ones, and not the red rally ones right?

OEM ones included with the car.

:popcorn:

I have rally armor on the front only and no one notices it. Had to do it my door was getting destroyed.

I put them on my BRZ cause I got wider wheels and wanted some protection. I don't like the rally armor ones. Plus I like the black contrast that it adds to the white car.

I believe the OEM type splash/mud guards look just fine and do offer a degree of protection.


humfrz

I had the OEM flaps on my car and removed them after 6 months.
I preferred the look without them. Someone else also removed them because they flex too much and it was scratching up the paint underneath.

I live on a gravel road and my tires are bad about slinging gravel, especially when they are cold. I view the OEM mudguards as essential protection to the sides of my car. (So far no paint chips on the sides of my car.) Those of you who live in the city and never venture onto gravel country roads may look at the mudguards from a strictly appearance point of view. Personally, I like how they look on ultramarine.

I like the protection of my OEM mud guards but I am always considering removing them because I want to install side skirts. Unfortunately you can't have both without cutting into the mud guards. :(

I installed the OE mudguards on my base FR-S.

Living in northwestern Washington, my dark car was looking pretty dirty behind the wheel arches from driving in the rain. It's noticeably less severe since I had them installed. I also think they look very well integrated on these cars.

The OE mudguards are one of only a few cosmetic mods I have. I also removed the "FR-S" badge from my trunk lid, replaced the long-ass radio antenna with a 2" Perrin and swapped out my amber side-markers for OE JDM clears.

Like someone else already said, you'll want to clean the fenders well before you install them to avoid grinding extra dirt into your clearcoat. You'll want to have a nice low profile jack ready also, they advise removing the wheels to avoid cursing while you drill holes and fasten screws into your wheel arch linings.

I really like mine though. I think the car looks more "finished".

If you have larger than stock wheels/tires and/or travel on gravel roads I would say mudguards are a very worthwhile accessory. I have the OEM mudguards and think they look good and work well.

With the 2" Perrin, do you still get the same reception? I was looking at this. Do you like the look better with the shorty?

I think there was a post here somewhere showing a spike of metal that got punched through one, so they do do something.
I found a 4" stick stuck in mine once.

But I have a black 86 so they blend in nicely.

Personally I think it looks MUCH better.

I'm not so sure of the reception though. I only listen to two radio stations with any regularity, 102.3FM out of Bellingham and 98.1FM out of Seattle. I never noticed any difference, but I'm not what you'd call a music snob. Where I happen to be at the moment has, I think, more to do with reception than a few inches of antenna. Another thing that might have an effect is that the Perrin is made from solid lathe-turned aluminum. I'm not sure what the OE antenna is made from, but it seems to be the same diameter as the Perrin, but coated with a pretty thick layer of rubber.

I also like the Perrin because it doesn't require any difficult modifications. I still have my 36-inch-long OE antenna. :-)