Subaru BRZ OEM Mudflaps - Review

[22 BRZ]

Product - 2022 Subaru BRZ OEM Mudflaps
Part # - J101SCC000
Cost - $150 CAD

Disclosure:
I never owned a Gen 1 car, so can't comment on how these compare to any Gen 1 products/installation. I can compare them to Rokblokz flaps for the current WRX.

Installation:
Instructions are available on the Subaru website. Includes several different types of plastic clips, some plastic nutplates with metal internal threads, some metal bolts, and some thin metal bent brackets. Front installation requires turning the front wheels to make more room, removing a few clips, and installing the mudflap, with a bracket, and some new fasteners. I had to jack up the front of the car to access one of the clips that is underneath the car, a few inches in from the side skirts. When on full lock, the tire gets very close to the mudflaps, but doesn't appear to contact. Rear installation requires removing the rear wheel, drilling two holes per side through the forward face of the rear bumper, and installing (with a bracket) using provided fasteners (and reusing two along the bottom of the rear bumper).

Pros:

These are quite flexible, which I think is good given how close to the ground they are. They have a crease in them which allows them to bend easily. They do a good job catching spray. Despite that, they don't look especially large on the car, compared to the rally style flaps on the WRX or Type R (some of which are comically large).

Cons:

The installation hardware uses more plastic fasteners than I'd like, and a few of them are hard to get tight without overtorquing. Drilling holes in the bumper is never ideal, but I think it was unavoidable in this case. The provided drill jig has the drill holes at full size, rather than the pilot size, which is a baffling choice, given that the instructions tell you to drill a pilot hole first. I would have rather they provided a small hole to mark the center with an awl. However, there is enough slop in the installation that perfect hole locations are not critical. Getting a drill in between the brakes and the bumper was challenging with the longer full size drillbit.

Conclusion:
I don't like these are much as the Rokblokz on our WRX, but I do like how they are less obtrusive to look at. The hardware on the Rokblokz were higher quality (metal nutplates vs. plastic, for example), and the installation relies less on friction fit clips than these BRZ ones. I found these BRZ ones quite annoying to install, but I think a lot of that was due to it being quite cold out, the car being more dirty, and having to drill holes (which is never ideal). All that being said, they work well, and I would recommend them based on my initial impressions. I think they are worth the money. I had been waiting for the Toyota version to come in stock (more of a molded splash guard than flexible mudflap) but decided I needed something sooner. I'm glad I got these, as the coverage is quite good - better than I expect the Toyota part will be.

Any questions, please do ask!!

[22 BRZ]

Location of holes that have to be drilled - through body colour plastic on the bumper.

[alphasaur]

interesting that this gens flaps are pretty much rally armors/rokblokz

[Stonehorsw]

Do you think it is something easy to remove when the winter finishes? Does the hw looks strong enough to be reused?

[zc06_kisstherain]

surprise that oem looks like rally armor

[22 BRZ]

Originally Posted by Stonehorsw

Does the hw looks strong enough to be reused?

I wouldn't count on it.

Also, you'd have the two exposed holes that you would have to plug. I don't have a before and after picture, and I don't want to remove a mudflap given the previous comments about the hardware, but these are the two holes, and they are through body colour plastic. So unless you have a black car, you'd have to get paint matched plugs in order for it to look good I'd say.

[Midnightsky]

Those do stick out a decent amount which is nice. Unless you like to autocross, lol then it's gunna just knock cones over.

[22 BRZ]

So it has been nearly 6 months with these on, through one of the worst winters I've been alive for. TLDR - They are alright. Just alright.

They are extremely low to the ground. All of 1.5" in the front, and 3.0" in the rear. The fronts ground out constantly. However, with how flexible they are, not a huge deal. HOWEVER, they have a pronounced bend to them now which I really do not care for.

I was asked how well the hardware would hold up. Seems alright, but I'm not about to try taking them apart... They did clean up from winter fairly well with a bit of work, so that's nice. And none of them have fallen off yet, which is also nice.

I'm going to keep them for now. The Toyota mudguards don't have the coverage I need in winter, and there doesn't seem to be an aftermarket solution yet, so this is what I have to work with. Did they block snow from coating the side skirts of the car? Yes, and that was what I needed.

[Midnightsky]

Thx for the update, this definitely turns me off from these oem ones. At this point Im about ready to goto my local performance shop that deals with rally cars to custom fit me a set.

[Dzmitry]

Originally Posted by 22 BRZ

So it has been nearly 6 months with these on, through one of the worst winters I've been alive for. TLDR - They are alright. Just alright.

They are extremely low to the ground. All of 1.5" in the front, and 3.0" in the rear. The fronts ground out constantly. However, with how flexible they are, not a huge deal. HOWEVER, they have a pronounced bend to them now which I really do not care for.

I was asked how well the hardware would hold up. Seems alright, but I'm not about to try taking them apart... They did clean up from winter fairly well with a bit of work, so that's nice. And none of them have fallen off yet, which is also nice.

I'm going to keep them for now. The Toyota mudguards don't have the coverage I need in winter, and there doesn't seem to be an aftermarket solution yet, so this is what I have to work with. Did they block snow from coating the side skirts of the car? Yes, and that was what I needed.

Aside from the unfortunate bend from the low clearance, they do look to cover and protect the bumper/sides quite well!

[22 BRZ]

Originally Posted by Dzmitry

Aside from the unfortunate bend from the low clearance, they do look to cover and protect the bumper/sides quite well!

Indeed they do, and they protect pretty far in under the car as well. Also, with how large the wheel wells are on these cars, I didn't have issues with snow and ice building up and the tires rubbing. Our WRX on the other hand, that was very bad for buildup, with similar mudflaps.

[DylanJZA]

I prefer my OE Toyota ones, but they definitely don't protect anywhere near as well as those do.

[mr.whiskers]

I got the same mudflaps. After the winter I noticed the ones on the front, the clip that attaches the metal bracket underneath the car popped out on both sides. On driver side i was able to push it back in, but not the passenger side.

I did mix up some of the the plastic clips during installation because I found the instructions not being helpful at all. It was hard to tell apart which fastener goes where exactly (theres like 3 kinds I think and they all look very similar in the manual). And when I figured it out I couldn't get it out of there.

The mudflap is still there and still attached by the 2 clips inside the wheel well so I don't think its going anywhere. I am thinking maybe some dirt is keeping it from going back it, maybe i ll try to wash that area underneath the car and try to put it back. If that won't work. when I go for my oil change in June ask the dealer if they could put a correct clip in there

[mr.whiskers]

Has anyone autocrossed the car with the OEM mudflaps? When I take corners hard on the street I hear some rubbing, I am pretty sure thats the mudflaps rubbing the ground. Now I am worried when I go autocrossing thats all I am going to hear... maybe putting them on was a mistake?