18 replies to this topic

[rwerry]

Due to the amount of front wheel splatter I'm getting on the rear flares from the atrocious dirt roads I have to drive on, I'm thinking of fitting front mud flaps to my Sportspack Cooper. The standard rear ones (from Mini Sport) look as though they'd fit quite well, with some modification, but I'm a little concerned at how low to the ground they would need to be.

Anyone got any fitting tips or a safe ground clearance measurement? Any advice greatly appreciated.

[Danny_California]

Not much help, but I have a lot of sympathy for you there lol. Spent hours cleaning the other day, drove it for about 2 miles, and all up the doors and rear arches were filthy!

[Ipod]

Not much help, but I have a lot of sympathy for you there lol. Spent hours cleaning the other day, drove it for about 2 miles, and all up the doors and rear arches were filthy!

Not suprised if your avitar is anything to go by

On the mudflaps i cant help...sorry but will keep track of this thread as if you get it to work, i might look into doing it to mine

[Danny_California]

Heh that was at a show, hence the show plate

I think you should get a hold of some cheap second hand ones somewhere and see if you can make them fit, if so, then buy new ones if you want.

[Bungle]

i think you will struggle for ground clearance

[rwerry]

i think you will struggle for ground clearance

I reckon I'll have about 7cm. Do you think that will be enough?

Thanks to all for the comments. I'll keep you informed.

[AVV IT]

Personally I'd rather have a permanently dirty car, than fit mud flaps as I think that they look awful! What's more they tend to trap dirt around their mountings in my experience, which of course attracts moisture and then speeds corrosion!!

[wardyxxx]

Even though I want them. They do act as rust traps though.

[rwerry]

Personally I'd rather have a permanently dirty car, than fit mud flaps as I think that they look awful! What's more they tend to trap dirt around their mountings in my experience, which of course attracts moisture and then speeds corrosion!!

I appreciate your comments.

It's not so much that the car is dirty, it's the sandblasting effect that the splatter is having on the rear arch paintwork.

Must admit I was a bit concerned about appearance on a Sportspack, but have had front and rear flaps (a different type) on my 850 for years and I think they look reasonably tasteful:

http://www.robertwer...om/cars/850.htm

We may have bad roads here in Oz, but fortunately we don't have the corrosion problems you have in the UK. The mounting on a Sportspack would be largely onto the plastic flare, anyway.

Incidentally, there's a pale green Sportspack featured in this month's Mini World that appears to have front flaps of the type I'm considering.

[l_jonez]

i had them on mine



but it ended badly

on day when reversing the wheel went down a pot hole trapping the mud guard between the road and tyre, which resulted in it getting ripped off and taking the arch with it

[rwerry]

i had them on mine
but it ended badly

on day when reversing the wheel went down a pot hole trapping the mud guard between the road and tyre, which resulted in it getting ripped off and taking the arch with it

Oh dear! That's exactly the sort of thing I was worried about. I don't really like the idea of attaching flaps to a plastic wheel arch, particularly when the flaps are made from a fairly inflexible plastic themselves. Thanks for the pic. I think they look quite neat on the car. I take it you had no ground clearance problems with the front ones under "normal" conditions??

[l_jonez]

Yeah under normal driving conditions they where fine but I live on an old untarmaced lane which resulted in the damage

Edited by l_jonez, 23 November 2010 - 11:22 AM.

[rwerry]

Due to the amount of front wheel splatter I'm getting on the rear flares from the atrocious dirt roads I have to drive on, I'm thinking of fitting front mud flaps to my Sportspack Cooper. The standard rear ones (from Mini Sport) look as though they'd fit quite well, with some modification, but I'm a little concerned at how low to the ground they would need to be.

Anyone got any fitting tips or a safe ground clearance measurement? Any advice greatly appreciated.

Following up my own post here:

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. As a result I decided to bite the bullet and fit mud flaps all round. Thought my experience may be useful to some:

The standard Mini flaps (available from Mini Sport and a number of other outlets) fitted the rear of the Sportspack perfectly; although I preferred not to use the fixing bolt and pop rivets supplied, opting instead for a smaller diameter bolt (requires a hole being drilled in the lip of the rear valance, with the head just hidden by the flare moulding) and self-tapping screws which required drilling the inner plastic flare. The flaps have 12.5cm ground clearance. Hint: As the wheels have to be removed for fitting, it is important to ensure that the car is sitting at the same height as it would with the wheels on, otherwise the flaps will not be square to the ground when fitted. An alligator clip is excellent for holding them onto the inner part of the flare while adjusting their position.

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I rejected the idea of fitting the same type of flaps to the front. There would simply not have been sufficient ground clearance. After a good hunt through pictures on the net, I decided on Highland 1072700 splash guards, which I obtained from the US for the princely sum of $5.00 the pair (plus freight!). These have proved to be absolutely ideal. They are very lightweight, reasonably flexible and, I think, quite unobtrusive in terms of appearance. I fixed them to the inside of the plastic flare with three hex-head self-tappers (supplied, but I used larger size). There was no need to drill into the bodywork at all - so no rust traps - and I was able to fit them without removing the wheels. I have set them to 8.5cm ground clearance, which I think is about right, but they could be set higher or lower depending on taste.


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Although I would prefer not to have front flaps at all, the roads I drive on make them a necessary evil. I am very happy with the results and think I've achieved a good balance between practicality and appearance.

Hope this is of some help to anyone considering a similar fitting.

[littlemissmagic]

they look really good
I've wanted to fit mud flaps to mine for ages

[nicksuth]

Rob, if it's to protect the leading edge of the rear wheel arch I had some "stick-on" protectors on mine to stop stone damage etc. - see photos below.

I'm sure I've seen these advertised somewhere, I'll see if I can find the thread/advert?

I can't take a better photo as I sold the car last week

Edited by nicksuth, 09 February 2011 - 08:23 AM.