Mudflaps!

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ian1676

Active Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2014
Messages
84
Location
Ashbourne, Derbyshire
Car
2008 CLS320 CDi Obsidian Black/Basalt Grey Leather/Silk Burr Walnut
Finally got round to removing the mudflaps present when I bought my car - see the picture to the left! I know some argue that that don't affect fuel economy but all four stuck out beyond the wheels. Surely removing the 4 bloody great airbrakes on the side of the car will have some impact on the motorway where my car spends most of it's time!! They messed up the car's lines anyway!
 
Depends really on the type of driving you do. In your case with long motorway runs it might make a small difference but if mostly local or low speed use then wont make any difference at all.
 
I doubt you will notice any difference. But aesthetically more pleasing... unless its a Land Rover or Scubby, then de-rigeur!
 
Fuel economy is not the deciding factor for me to fit mud flaps or not. They are fitted, when warrantied, to stop mud/muck/stone chips/stone fling and because they reduce spray when driving in wet conditions.
 
They keep the back window clearer on an estate too.
 
I had mudflaps on my last CLK (W209) and although it was 8 years old when I sold it the sills were completely stone chip free and was a good selling point.
 
Nice to hear differing opinions - I'll see over the coming weeks whether the mpg improves or not! Less stone chips on the sills would be good but with frosty weather on it's way the gritters will be out - I have no doubt I'll have to drive through at least one throwing rocks at me on the 400 mile round trip up and down the M1/A1 to the north east I'll be doing tomorrow! Mudflaps or not I fear I'll collect a few stone chips over the coming weeks!!:crazy:
 
You don't need to see out the back anyway:thumb:

Even with mudflaps, the rear window on an estate gets mucky quickly, even when there's little rain and just a wet road, as on my drive to and from Canterbury today. In rain, my big annoyance with the S204 is the rear wiper - no speed adjustment, just a single wipe every +/-10 seconds - useless! Thankfully the wing mirrors are really good, otherwise it would be really dangerous. Wonder if MB have corrected this for the s205 and other newer estates.
 
Had mudflaps fitted to the Viano when it was new as they didn't come as standard although they did on the previous Vito we had. Made no difference to fuel economy, I do both local and Mway runs, it always turns in the same mpg. But they don't really keep muck off the body and they certainly do not keep the rear screen clean. I have not come across any vehicle like the Viano for plastering muck over the rear. Its a real problem and using the wiper only abrades the surface. Latest models have a lip/spoiler on the bottom of the rear which is supposed to help.
 
Even with mudflaps, the rear window on an estate gets mucky quickly, even when there's little rain and just a wet road, as on my drive to and from Canterbury today. In rain, my big annoyance with the S204 is the rear wiper - no speed adjustment, just a single wipe every +/-10 seconds - useless! Thankfully the wing mirrors are really good, otherwise it would be really dangerous. Wonder if MB have corrected this for the s205 and other newer estates.

If it makes you feel better, I have no rear wiper at all, so have to manually wipe the rear window every morning before reversing out of my parking area. Baffles me how car is loaded with gadgets I could probably do without, but no rear wiper?

Neil
 
By way of an update - I've had the car 2 months and driven approximately 5000 miles in that time. My fuel economy on a usual day at work has always been around the 40 mpg mark (usually about 300 miles mainly motorways but with a fair amount of town driving to get to meetings) - the best recorded was 40.8 mpg.

Yesterday I drove 427 miles including driving through the middle of York, two appointments in the middle of Sunderland and an appointment in Gateshead (also got stuck in a traffic jam around Derby on the way home!) - the mpg for the day 42.6mpg. Same tyres/same fuel (Shell VPower - don't think it makes it any faster but this car and the W211 run quieter and do more miles per gallon after 4 or 5 tanks so it actually works out cheaper) and very similar driving to normal. I'll see whether this keeps up.

If the mudflaps were flexible or entirely behind the wheels they obviously wouldn't make any difference to drag but the rigid concave plastic things that were on mine (think they were MB items as they fitted around the bodywork very well) were just like 4 air scoops sticking out the side of the car!
 
Up to 2 mpg may not sound much of a saving but over 35000 miles a year it makes a difference!!:thumb:
 
Sorry, but for an even vaguely empirical test there are too many other variables there that have a far greater effect.
 
Sorry, but for an even vaguely empirical test there are too many other variables there that have a far greater effect.

I agree - not reaching any firm decisions yet but this is the first time I have seen fuel consumption over 40.8mpg and it's the first time I've driven any distance since taking off the mudflaps. Yesterday was a very typical journey for me - up the M1/A1 to Yorkshire and the North East so it's not unreasonable to draw a comparison. The weather was nothing exceptional/not very different to the last couple of weeks, only me in the car with a couple of paper files (nothing in the boot), same fuel, same tyres and, if anything, more stop start traffic!

I will post again in a month and let you know what the longer term result is - just interesting to see such a change after removing what can only be described as 4 airbrakes!!! ;)
 
Even with mudflaps, the rear window on an estate gets mucky quickly, even when there's little rain and just a wet road, as on my drive to and from Canterbury today. In rain, my big annoyance with the S204 is the rear wiper - no speed adjustment, just a single wipe every +/-10 seconds - useless! Thankfully the wing mirrors are really good, otherwise it would be really dangerous. Wonder if MB have corrected this for the s205 and other newer estates.

I've never had an estate but did have a Zafira Mk1 years ago (reliable enough and useful as you can get standard size white goods in the boot without moving the rear seats but sooooooooooo dull!!!) - the rear window would get covered in spray/gunk within a mile or so. Same problem with the wipers - found myself constantly turning the wiper on and off to make it move/clean the rear screen!
 

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