V70: Body Fitting mud flaps

[SouthOxon]

Originally Posted by tommyweaves

Just giving this thread a bump as my car is getting filthy! (And I saw SouthOxon has them on hs new D3.) Are mudflaps a good thing?

Well, they are not a bad thing, except that they must theoretically add a miniscule amount to drag and therefore fuel consumption. I have been getting mud flaps fitted to my cars for thirty years now; they are something I get the dealer to throw in after we have agreed a price but before we close the deal.

I could believe that mud flaps do not fit the R-design given its go-faster boy-racer fairings (!), but I really do not know.

Also, I suppose that much depends on how fast you drive through mud....

[jrrose]

I am waiting for my new MY2011 V70 SE Lux to arrive in Dec and I have had my last 2 V70's after sales fitted with mudflaps (around £110 inc VAT) but this time the salesman has warned me that they do cause drag and a loss of fuel economy. He said that Volvo do not recommend them and they are not listed as a factory fit option for that reason, and all the testing is done without them to increase the mpg. Food for thought! I'm going to try for a while without them this time and see what happens. Also none of the glossey's show any cars fitted with them either.

[tommyweaves]

Originally Posted by jrrose

I am waiting for my new MY2011 V70 SE Lux to arrive in Dec and I have had my last 2 V70's after sales fitted with mudflaps (around £110 inc VAT) but this time the salesman has warned me that they do cause drag and a loss of fuel economy. He said that Volvo do not recommend them and they are not listed as a factory fit option for that reason, and all the testing is done without them to increase the mpg. Food for thought! I'm going to try for a while without them this time and see what happens. Also none of the glossey's show any cars fitted with them either.

Excellent, you are the perfect test candidate!

[cbee]

Mud flaps might give the car that finished look but I dont think they do much good.

I am currently driving a 99 V70 which since the bad weather is very two tone like the cars of the 60's. Silver bonnet & roof with mid brown sides - and that's despite a full set of Volvo mud flaps.

[jbcollier]

Take the mudflaps off and see how it looks! Much worse and quicker to get there.

[Rascal]

I bought a set from a dealer and fitted them myself to my 2008 V70 SE.
Fitting was easy enough, but the biggest headache was removing the wheels, due to the fact that they had become 'welded' to the hubs.

To be honest, I was very disappointed with the end result - the fronts make very little difference to the amount of dirt thrown up the side of the car, but might prevent stones from causing damage.
The rears work better, but are probably more effective for those travelling behind you!

Must say though, they do enhance the look of the vehicle.

[Georgeandkira]

Hello Rascal in "The Heart of Wales", I installed mud flaps on my 2002 and like you the wheels had welded quite strongly to the hubs. I trust you broke out the wire wheel and brush and cleaned the mating surfaces. I don't reassemble ANYTHING without cleaning it and applying "anti-seize" compound. Kira

[dufeua]

I would like to think Volvo's philosophy is the same for all aspects of equipment. i.e water temp gauge on V70 is in their opinion 'not required' but then they go fit one to a V50??? The drivE campaign seems to have died on the V70 but not on the C30/V50/XC60 etc Must be a geographical group thing.
So with this in mind disregard 'the not recommended' otherwise they wouldn't make them available as a VOLVO approved accessory. Volvo confuse me at present. A lot of people on the forum are complaining about the unobtainable fuel consumption figures produced for marketing purposes so why worry about a few mpg when they appear to be guzzling fuel anyway.? I have looked particularly at the V70 with and without mudflaps and I agree wholeheartedly with jbcollier.
Dirt also causes drag and has a mass value but as with mudflaps its probably negligible . Controlled experiment required but hopefully not using the same parameters, formula and fiddle factor as per vcacarfueldata.org.uk. Hopefully jrrose will give some feedback if the retrofit goes ahead…..
PS loading the alternator with DRL also uses additional fuel... Volvo don't seem to be concerned about that and if its a safety or environmental aspect how about all the HGV's and coaches ...they all have mudflaps. If the spray is reduced behind the car as rascal points out then surely thats a plus point on both counts ?

[dufeua]

Task completed. Fitting a set of 4 mudflaps makes no measurable difference to terminal velocity , fuel consumption or audible wind noise. They do however keep the car cleaner - especially the tailgate.

[cjboddy]

Just been reading this with interest as i always fit mudflaps to my cars. Does anyone know if they do fit on the R-Design v70's? I'm waiting for one to arrive and planned on getting them fitted.

Cheers,
Craig