I've been wanting to invest in some mud flaps to keep the spray/rocks off the Forester's ever so soft paint, but I do quite a bit of off-roading here in CO, so I'm wondering if ground clearance will be an issue? The flaps that I imagine would protect the car best on the highway seem to be pretty stiff and I'm wondering if I slap one down on a rock, is that going to crack the mudflap, or worse, damage the fender liner or bumper? Anyone have experience with this? It would be nice to have the flaps for said protection and looks, but if it is going to affect off road performance I might just hold off indefinitely.
My big RockBlok flaps rub when I jump curbs or crawl into ruts on mud roads. Worst is when its subfreezing but have yet to do any damage, and I drive like a tool haha.
Ask me how many times I've ripped off my mud flaps (both stock and aftermarket). This is why I don't run them anymore. On my 04 model, anytime they would get ripped off, they would rip a part of the plastic fender along with it, or sometimes, cause the whole thing to come free and now I've ripped off both the fender liner and the mud flap.
For off road use, I never use them. You're usually going slow anyway. If you are rallying, then they should be fine.
A good compromise would be to get Rally Armor or equivalent mudflaps, mount them to the stock mud flap already on the car, but only have it come down an inch. The part that actually protects your car is the fact that these flaps stick out and inch or so.
This is what I feared, unfortunately, and it sounds like you have experience on similar terrain that I drive in CO. I do a lot of hiking/14ers and the roads to the trailheads can get pretty rough and rocky (in the Rocky Mountains, who knew?). Certainly nothing like black bear pass though...
Maybe I will cut some polyurethane myself and fab some short flaps that are wide like you mentioned. Can't justify the price of rally armor flaps that's for sure.
I just bought some closeout elcheapo flaps at an auto parts store $3 and cut them down so there wasn't a whole lot going down, mostly out, and they seem to be fine. I haven't done much serious offroading yet, but the one time I did go out they presented no problems.
I would think the biggest problem for any flap though would be serious mudholes.
Probably about a year and a half ago I bought one giant flap for a big rig and cut it into 4 smaller flaps with a box cutter. It cost me $12 dollars + hardware and an hour of my time. They're a heavy rubber so they flex when they hit stuff, but don't flap around too much. They keep my car clean and my paint safe, so I like them.
Never ripped off any off-road, but I did once when I pinched one between the curb and tire while parallel parking. It didn't hurt the car at all, just ripped. I went and bought another big flap and made a new one. Even if I rip one off every year, they're worth it to me.
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