Installed some mud flaps today - they were desperately needed

One of the first thing I noticed about this car was how much it needed a set of mud flaps to keep from throwing all sorts of road grime onto the sides of the car. Took a little bit longer than I probably needed to decide on the Rokblokz - despite how they spell their name.

I'm sure the AOSK are great but I have read more than a couple reviews of them breaking in the winter with snow and ice, and I'm in upstate NY, so it was at least a little concern. I also don't think they offer a ton of coverage. I had Rally Armor on my WRX a few years ago and really liked them. But I just wasn't ready to pay that much again for a set of mud flaps.

So I ended up with the rally style Rokblokz and I think they're a good compromise. The coverage is good (assuming they'll probably affect overall efficiency, but I doubt it's much, we'll see) and the seem to suit the car well, IMO. Install was pretty easy too - though the top screw on both of the rear flaps didn't seem to tighten as much as the other two. I suspect the little insert is rotating with the screw. I mean, it "tightened", just not as secure as the others. I'll be keeping an eye on it. One fun thing was trying to "level" the rear flaps. I did the install by taking the rear wheels off, so one side was jacked up at a time. Can't really level a mud flap when the car is not level. So I ended up putting a 12" level on top of the car and slowly letting the jack down until the car was level again, then I leveled and tightened the flap. Seemed to work OK.

I'm curious if this has any noticable effect on range?

Timberlake said:

I'm curious if this has any noticable effect on range?

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I had them installed on mine last summer. Keep in mind I also installed 255/45/20 Michelin non-ev tires and saw a 20% reduction in range on average.

While I don't have scientific evidence to back it up, I think it's reasonable to say the mudflaps hurt efficiency, but by how much I don't know.

I'd be shocked if it were more than 2 or 3%. But with the temps increasing for spring, I'm not sure I'm going to get a good comparison.

RallyArmor also just released a version of their more flexible UR flaps: https://www.rallyarmor.com/product_...ord-mach-black-mud-flap-dark-grey-logo-p-3809

I installed AOSK mud flaps and can't say I noticed a range hit although I expect there may be some minor hit.

AlpaChino said:

I had them installed on mine last summer. Keep in mind I also installed 255/45/20 Michelin non-ev tires and saw a 20% reduction in range on average.

While I don't have scientific evidence to back it up, I think it's reasonable to say the mudflaps hurt efficiency, but by how much I don't know.

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Unless you lifted your Mach E at the same time and added big heavy off-road tires…..20% is unlikely.

Your GOM might have changed, but mine changes more than 20% all the time without me changing anything. I wouldn’t put too much stake in that.

If you want a semi scientific test, calculate the surface area of the mudflaps that hang down and you could then calculate the wind resistance at 70 mph, then you could calculate how much energy it takes to overcome that resistance.

Then since the flaps are behind the tires you could probably divide that number by 4 because they aren’t directly in the path of the oncoming air.

It’s going to be a very small number.

AlpaChino said:

I had them installed on mine last summer. Keep in mind I also installed 255/45/20 Michelin non-ev tires and saw a 20% reduction in range on average.

While I don't have scientific evidence to back it up, I think it's reasonable to say the mudflaps hurt efficiency, but by how much I don't know.

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This is the thing I found out about the mudflaps on both my MME and Lightning. Ford would sell you mudflaps for their ICE vehicles...but....not for their EVs. There must be some drag there that they don't like and what it does to the efficiency numbers or the drag coefficient. Tesla vehicles don't have them either. I was expecting to see them and offered from Ford for the Lightning, but no, it is not an option or an accessory.
They look good and they are functional, but you have to do your own analysis as to how much it will affect your range, at what temps, at what speeds and different weather conditions.
Ford has done extensive cold weather testing on the MME in N Michigan, at their proving grounds, and I didn't see those MMEs wearing any mudflaps other than the stock hard plastic pieces that come with the vehicle.
Again, they look good, they have a purpose but Ford is not endorsing them.

Ha, strangely enough I just installed my Rokblokz splash guards (the smaller size of the two) last night. I asked on their website if I could get just a set of front flaps and they quickly obliged. I asked the same thing of Rally Armor years ago and they wouldn't do it, so win for RB! I don't really care what gets flung up behind me, but there is a lot of construction going on at my workplace and I was cringing hearing all the rocks and gravel flying up on my brand new car. During install, I could already see where the painted edge of the wheel well was getting sand blasted, the paint felt rough after only 3 months.

Install on the front took all of maybe 30 minutes for both sides. The video was a little confusing, the PDF instructions were much better. I had an issue with the middle screw spinning on mine as well, but the flaps seem secure. I don't really love the way the top clip holds on, but it does prevent drilling any holes in the car. Probably would be better with a metal clip and machine screw instead of a plastic clip. My main gripe is the bare metal steel screws that stick out like a sort thumb. I'm looking to source some black hardware to replace everything, or I guess I'll paint the screw heads.

So far, the flaps themselves look great. Understated and low profile enough for a sporty vehicle, just big enough to hopefully keep gravel off the doors and some off the rocker panels. I want my GTPE to look like a hot hatch, not a rally car. Although if I could have secured an actual Rally edition at the same price, I would have in a heartbeat!

I installed the AOSK mudflaps. The generic fit mudflaps look awful in my opinion. The demand for mudflaps is a small percentage of owners, so that's why Ford didn't make any. The do have them for the Lightning, killing the notion of "not sold by Ford for their EVs".

RickMachE said:

I installed the AOSK mudflaps. The generic fit mudflaps look awful in my opinion. The demand for mudflaps is a small percentage of owners, so that's why Ford didn't make any. The do have them for the Lightning, killing the notion of "not sold by Ford for their EVs".

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Well, Ford actually did make mud flaps. They just aren’t marketed in North America. I just saw a US-spec car with Ford-made mud flaps that were purchased in the UK. Just like the lack of front cargo rings, lack of a factory trailer hitch, and lack of a tow hook, the mud flaps get no North American love.

Nikos said:

This is the thing I found out about the mudflaps on both my MME and Lightning. Ford would sell you mudflaps for their ICE vehicles...but....not for their EVs. There must be some drag there that they don't like and what it does to the efficiency numbers or the drag coefficient. Tesla vehicles don't have them either. I was expecting to see them and offered from Ford for the Lightning, but no, it is not an option or an accessory.
They look good and they are functional, but you have to do your own analysis as to how much it will affect your range, at what temps, at what speeds and different weather conditions.
Ford has done extensive cold weather testing on the MME in N Michigan, at their proving grounds, and I didn't see those MMEs wearing any mudflaps other than the stock hard plastic pieces that come with the vehicle.
Again, they look good, they have a purpose but Ford is not endorsing them.

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The dude in the Tire Rack video makes a great point: new tires ALWAYS have higher rolling resistance than old ones. You'll actually get the best range from your tires just before you turf them, sadly.

HuntingPudel said:

Well, Ford actually did make mud flaps. They just aren’t marketed in North America. I just saw a US-spec car with Ford-made mud flaps that were purchased in the UK. Just like the lack of front cargo rings, lack of a factory trailer hitch, and lack of a tow hook, the mud flaps get no North American love.

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Not sure if there's a matching rear, but must be these: https://shop.ford.co.uk/products/mustang-mach-e-mud-flaps-front-contoured-09-2020
Oh wait, here's the rear: https://shop.ford.co.uk/products/mustang-mach-e-mud-flaps-rear-contoured-09-2020

Kind of interesting. I'm curious now to see if those two holes that would be the "bottom" of the fender are actually there or if you're drilling.

ack154 said:

Not sure if there's a matching rear, but must be these: https://shop.ford.co.uk/products/mustang-mach-e-mud-flaps-front-contoured-09-2020
Oh wait, here's the rear: https://shop.ford.co.uk/products/mustang-mach-e-mud-flaps-rear-contoured-09-2020

Kind of interesting. I'm curious now to see if those two holes that would be the "bottom" of the fender are actually there or if you're drilling.

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Calling @Rickless

RickMachE said:

I installed the AOSK mudflaps. The generic fit mudflaps look awful in my opinion. The demand for mudflaps is a small percentage of owners, so that's why Ford didn't make any. The do have them for the Lightning, killing the notion of "not sold by Ford for their EVs".

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Added the AOSK this week on my GTPE. Super easy install