Hey everyone!

I'm new here, so please be gentle.

I just moved from Vancouver to Calgary, and my poor baby (Mazda Protege 5, SE, Sunburst Yellow) is going to have a rough winter.. She's not used to snow.

I'm thinking that in order to protect my wheel wells and such, I should probably get some mud flaps, or shields, or guards, or whatever they're called (Thoughts? Better suggestions? I know they're kinda ugly).

Anyways, I'm curious if anyone can recommend to me what's best for my baby - as I don't want rocks and salt rippin' up my paint.. Also - anyone know how tough it is to install these things, or if there's a brand to look for?

I haven't been as hands on with my car as I'd like, but the times are a changin'.. Mud flaps are a small step towards my eventual tech prowess.

Thanks for your help!!

-e-

 

I know Mazda make mudflaps for the pro sedan, I don't know about the 5. And they look easy enough to install.

 

Don't worry. Your body panels are galvanized (coated with a zinc dip during manufacture, like all modern cars). Now for a little chemistry. Zinc is more willing to oxidize (combine chemically with Oxygen to form a new compound) than steel - it wants to give up an electron more easily that Fe. Thus, as long as there is some zinc left on the stell, the steel will not rust. Once all of the zinc is gone, the car will begin to rust, because it will be the iron's turn to give up an electron and combine with the oxygen. In places like Michigan (or I assume Calgary) where the roads are salted, it usually takes about 10-12 years for the zinc to disappear. Years ago, cars were not well galvanized (and in some cases not at all) and started to rust soon after purchase. But these days, cars have a nice, generous amount of zinc in the body, and they don't rust quickly. By the time it starts rusting, it will be old and have a lot of miles on it anyhow.

If you are still worried about it, I would not look to mud flaps to do much. A good undercoating will do a much better job of keeping the bottom of the car and backside of the panels rust free. But, this adds weight.

 

How much weight and about how much does an undercoating cost?

 

Depends on the shop, the product they use, and how much of it is applied. If you want to do this, I would check around in your local phone book or on the web to find qualified shops in your area that can apply a quality undercoating. If they know what they are doing, they will know how much weight it is going to add and how much it will run.

 

So is it like the same stuff they coat truck beds with?

 

ive used the rubberized undercoating on my fenderwells,cleans up nice too.i got it at walmart for about $3.00 a can and sprayed it myself(cost friendly),good luck with the decision.

 

Wow, newbies everywhere the last few days. That's great. Welcome to both of you.

 

Wow, awesome. Thanks for everything, including the refresher chemistry lesson.

I guess the reason I was (and maybe still am?) looking to mud flaps, or what have you, is because I'm scared of rocks chipping up the wheel wells, thereby stripping off the paint and exposing the metal..

I suppose I don't know much about galvanizing - if it's just "dipped", it means the outer surface is coated in it.. Wouldn't I be vulnerable if rocks are kicked up?

(My old car had a great paint job/body, but around the wheel wells, it started to flake away from this..)

Please let me know if I'm mis-diagnosing the issue, however.

 

Personally I wouldn't put mud flaps on your car for three reasons. #1, they're ugly, #2, there needs to be holes drilled into the steel to install them and #3 they're ugly. These holes make the zinc coating worthless considering the steel is dipped. I also wouldn't go the route of anything like an underspray coating. It seems like a waste of money and adds weight to the car if you're into any kind of enthusiast driving. Some undercarriage spray companies also drill through steel to ensure a good coverage but that seems to defeat the point of the zinc as well. The best way to combat rust from salt during winters is to give your car a good hot pressure washing in the wheel wells (be sure to clean out the lip) and on the undercarriage. This seems to work just fine for me seeing as how I haven't had any rust on any of the cars I've had. We also get pretty bad lake effect snow here in Kalamazoo MI, so I do it maybe once/twice a month during winter and then again as soon as spring hits. Hope this helps. And welcome aboard.

 

Undercoating may actually induce rust to happen sooner, if any moisture gets trapped between the coating & metal. I wouldn't recommend it.

I also wouldn't recommend mudflaps for the reasons previously state. You may want to look into the clear protecting film(like what's already installed from the factory along the door bottoms/rocker panels)if you're that concerned about rocks.(Do you drive on gravel roads frequently? If not, I probably wouldn't bother with it.)

There are 2-steps I'm taking to combat rust....though the first is for the chassis:

I'm spraying every nut & bolt on the undercarriage - brakes, suspension, subframes, etc. - with a product designed for boats. It's available under a few different names, by several manufactuers; but basically, it combines the properties of a penetrating oil, with a waxy residue, so it penetrates into the fastener, displacing any moisture that may have accumulated, then leaves a waxy film to seal & prevent any more moisture from getting in. It's not permanent - I plan on coating mine every year before the snow falls - but a can is only ~$6us or so.

The other thing I've noticed on my car(03 LX), is the car was apparently kept outside by it's original owner, and the area behind the bottom of the front fender, between the wheelwell and front door, was *packed* full of leaves/twigs/dirt - I imagine that would cause rust prematurely as well. I removed the bottom fender bolt & gained enough room to clean out what was there, but to be safe, I plan on cleaning out again each spring.

Just my $.02
Pete

 

Yeah what he said.. hehe

 

Mud flaps will only keep stuff from getting onto the side of the car and some of the undercarriage. But it wiil not stop anything from getting to the wheel well. If you were to coat the wells it's not going to add too much weight. Just don't spray it on real thick. Most of the time the coating needs to be put on nice and thin. Alot of Jeep guys Herculine(undercoating) their interior, since alot of mud and water get's in the interior. It works really good. I'm lucky enough that when it snows the MP5 gets retired until all snow is melted. That's when I bring out the play toy . Decide on what you are trying to accomplish and then pick way that will solve it.