Carpeted wheel wells are dumb

[Osco]

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

Seriously is there an engineering answer for that?

1. Sound deadening
2. Cheap to replace
3. Will crumple easier in a fender bender and softly cave into the engine area not as likely to damage critical system parts,
I. E. It’s more likely you get to drive away.
The odd thing to me is I get lots of Georgia red clay up in mine.
It’s sticky and heavy but it falls off easy with a spray nozzle.
Into my second winter now and all my fiber boards are like new.
I like em,
I had a huge one under my low slung Transit Connect XLT.
129,000 miles when I traded it in
As I detailed the van for trade in I had it on a ramp, crawled under there.
The thing had minor dents and scrapes just like metal would but the thing look really good.

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[69cuda340s]

I don't mind the carpet stuff. It takes a brush or pressure to spray it out, but what annoys me more is how it fits to the metal. This stuff is used because it's cheap and flexible, right? Why does it seal so poorly? Why not give us a big overlap that goes behind the panel or tucks in good? The gunk goes right through the edges and gets up into my fender and engine bay. I bought some Flextape but I haven't figured out a great way to apply it yet.

The driver side rear on mine looks like cut too short in one area. It has a gap about 1/4 inch between liner and wheel well molding. I can see white steel wheel well through gap. So dirt mudd road salt can get in and get trapped.

 

[AllTerrain]

it took forever to wash the mud out of the wheel wells.

?if every off-road vehicle had carpeted wheel wells that gathered dirt, eventually there would be no trail left...

 

[AllTerrain]

1. Sound deadening
2. Cheap to replace
3. Will crumple easier in a fender bender and softly cave into the engine area not as likely to damage critical system parts,
I. E. It’s more likely you get to drive away.
The odd thing to me is I get lots of Georgia red clay up in mine.
It’s sticky and heavy but it falls off easy with a spray nozzle.
Into my second winter now and all my fiber boards are like new.
I like em,
I had a huge one under my low slung Transit Connect XLT.
129,000 miles when I traded it in
As I detailed the van for trade in I had it on a ramp, crawled under there.
The thing had minor dents and scrapes just like metal would but the thing look really good.

Hmmm thinking it thru...
there's lots of cheap material that does not gather mud, rocks and carry snow ice

As for sound deadening that could be on the backside of the smooth side of something that is the wheel well.

Crumple easier?
Or rip and flex into the way ....

Wow I'm sure there are times when wheel well material gets in the way of a vehicle if there has been an accident to the vehicle that hurt the wheel well material the wheel well material would be least of concern.
That said can
imagine rocks or twigs and debris getting in there and snagging in it and ripping it loose.

 

[AllTerrain]

I don't mind the carpet stuff. It takes a brush or pressure to spray it out, but what annoys me more is how it fits to the metal. This stuff is used because it's cheap and flexible, right? Why does it seal so poorly? Why not give us a big overlap that goes behind the panel or tucks in good? The gunk goes right through the edges and gets up into my fender and engine bay. I bought some Flextape but I haven't figured out a great way to apply it yet.

Ahhh ohhh...
So mud and crud Gets behind the fuzzy material?!

 

[69cuda340s]

As for sound deadening that could be on the backside of the smooth side of something that is the wheel well.

I have '86 mustang plastic wheel well liners with what looks like carpet padding on back side to dampen noise. Smooth plastic easy to clean and dampens sound too.

 

[Osco]

The real reason is probably less weight. I bet all four fiber inner fender skirts weigh less than one metal inner fender and that helps Ford overall meet Federal gas mileage mandates.

 

[69cuda340s]

Ahhh ohhh...
So mud and crud Gets behind the fuzzy material?!

It will on my driver side rear cause there is a gap I can see body colored metal through the gap. So debris can go in and get trapped.

 

[HUSBANDOFBS]

The wife's CX-5 had this. After a wash job and with a good spray out of the wells, I would let that stuff dry completely and then hit it all heavily with tire foam. It kept the stuff looking good for over 8 years and seemed always to be easy to wash out whatever was infesting it. It seems to be doing the same on the BS.

 

[AllTerrain]

I have '86 mustang plastic wheel well liners with what looks like carpet padding on back side to dampen noise. Smooth plastic easy to clean and dampens sound too.

Boom! ? There it is...
And from Ford!

 

[AllTerrain]

It will on my driver side rear cause there is a gap I can see body colored metal through the gap. So debris can go in and get trapped.

I do remember test driving some Broncos sports and seeing misaligned wheel well seams and sort of gapping as you mentioned.

Actually now that I think about it could see the material itself is not attached all the way around the circumference

 

[AllTerrain]

The wife's CX-5 had this. After a wash job and with a good spray out of the wells, I would let that stuff dry completely and then hit it all heavily with tire foam. It kept the stuff looking good for over 8 years and seemed always to be easy to wash out whatever was infesting it. It seems to be doing the same on the BS.

Process to clean/ maintain wheel wells...okay good to know

Never have needed to tho.

Going to guess / bet there will be a aftermarket resolution.
Maybe it will be just people spraying over them with bed liner material might do a lot

 

[Mark S.]

Fender liners do an important job; they protect the rest of the car from moisture and road debris. As such, they take a severe beating, especially in winter environments where you must drive in wet, slushy snow. Liners in older cars were made from metal, which seems like a more durable material than the thermoplastic used in today's cars. Automakers have learned, however, that metal fender liners transmit road noise to the cabin very effectively, and they eventually get nicked and dented from rocks and other road debris, creating a vector for corrosion. How much more difficult is it to deal with a corroded metal fender liner than simply replacing one made from thermoplastic?

In my mind, you should consider the fender liner to be a wear item, and replace them when they become worn or damaged enough. That will be sooner for folks in snowy environments.

 

[AllTerrain]

Fender liners do an important job; they protect the rest of the car from moisture and road debris. As such, they take a severe beating, especially in winter environments where you must drive in wet, slushy snow. Liners in older cars were made from metal, which seems like a more durable material than the thermoplastic used in today's cars. Automakers have learned, however, that metal fender liners transmit road noise to the cabin very effectively, and they eventually get nicked and dented from rocks and other road debris, creating a vector for corrosion. How much more difficult is it to deal with a corroded fender liner than simply replacing one made from thermoplastic?

In my mind, you should consider the fender liner to be a wear item, and replace them when they become worn or damaged enough. That will be sooner for folks in snowy environments.

Holy mackerel did i just read that?
'consider them a wear item'

Not to sound snarky or anything but there are so many other ways shapes forms they could have made them that is nonsensical.

This will be a have to be wait and see for me. Good chat everybody

 

[69cuda340s]

Holy mackerel did i just read that?
'consider them a wear item'

Not to sound snarky or anything but there are so many other ways shapes forms they could have made them that is nonsensical.

This will be a have to be wait and see for me. Good chat everybody

Plastic wheel liners in 80s mustangs will never wear. Unless accident tears them up they last life of vehicle. A lot of non-OEM manufacturers sell plastic wheel liners for a lot of vehicles as cheap replacements. So we might see plastic wheel liners become available on sites like rockauto.com at some point

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