Carpeted wheel wells are dumb

[christopheru]

I'm going to coat mine with bedliner. The concept of soft liners like these is lost on me.

I am getting rid of mine. Eventually, I will be replacing them with solid plastic skiddies like the ones on rally cars. Problem solved.

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[christopheru]

As far as the gapping is concerned in the wheel wells, I have noticed this as well and have had a significant amount of salt crusties there during this past winter. I just hose it out and let it drain. I noticed that the salt water made the plastic feel almost spongy.
Thankfully, I have a rust module on mine with a ten year warranty against any corrosion, and I spray under all the cladding with rust spray a couple of times a year until it is leaking out the bottom. I don’t care about the slime so much as I care about the rust (that make sense?). I also fix stone chips asap. To be fair, the paint seems very robust compared to other cars I have had (Nissan, Toyota, Subaru, and Honda - looking at you!!). It reminds me of older VW paint - from after they fixed their rust problems - in that there is some thickness to it and it is tough.

 

[Mark S.]

flapping like someones mink coat got run over

Hopefully they weren't wearing it...

 

[13MikeH]

What's the purpose again fuzzy material wheel wells?
Lol indoor outdoor material

Seriously is there an engineering answer for that?

Yes, sound deadening, cost, durability, and easy to shape and mold. I've said it many times, 20 year old beatle had em, factory fresh the day we sold it. Clean them regularly and they hold up just fine. My son just started an engineering job at a major supplier of various components for most manufacturers...it's going to become regular process in many brands.

 

[Bluebaru]

I think I remember seeing a You Tube video by Sarah-n Tuned where she coated her wheel wells with some kind of spray protector and I'm thinking it was a ceramic coating. I wonder how that would do compared to bed liner? Lighter weight but not as long lasting?

 

[Mark S.]

Yes, sound deadening, cost, durability, and easy to shape and mold. I've said it many times, 20 year old beatle had em, factory fresh the day we sold it. Clean them regularly and they hold up just fine. My son just started an engineering job at a major supplier of various components for most manufacturers...it's going to become regular process in many brands.

But...but...it looks cheap!

 

[brianloch1974]

It just cuts down the wheel noise in the vehicle........
I wonder why they didn’t apply the sound reduction material on the inner side.

 

[Outback Texan]

My wife's 40 grand, 2022, Hyundai Tucson Hybrid Limited has the same felt/plastic wheel wells! You wanna blame someone for cheap? Look to Washington and their endless pressure on manufactures to increase their fleet fuel economy, so they are continuously searching for lighter weight materials. The old days of built-like-a-tank are gone! Among other things, it's why Ford specked Falken Wildpeak 235/65/R17s are rolling on my BL... each is 8 pounds lighter than a 245/65/R17. It's the way of the future!

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