I was trawling used car forecourts with my aunt trying to find a replacement for her Octavia.
A random observation, which I now can’t unsee, is the amount of cars who have slight protrusions on their rear wheel arches, presumably to comply with rules that say the tyre must not stick out from the bodywork.
Once I noticed this, every car got examined, and many probably only extended by 10 mm or so. But just looked silly! Some had a slight flare on the wheel arch and others seemed to just have an added bit of plastic trim to comply.
Have a look yourself!
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Might be for aerodynamics, as turbulence around the back wheels is unhelpful.
A few cars have the rear bumper modified slightly behind the wheel to modify airflow.
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I think you are being a little over sensitive.
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Do you mean little flat pieces of plastic? The MX-5 has them, no more than a few sq cm in area and maybe up to 15mm protrusion for around 100mm in length. So small that I assumed it was a regulatory thing as it does slightly increase the wheel arch coverage of the top half of the tyre where the bodywork curves inwards.
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That’s the type Manatee.
Always seems strange that they can’t shape the wheel arch in production rather than add on a bit of plastic.
Unless maybe the car comes with different widths of tyres and these are only added for the wider tyres?
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Perhaps the plastic "lip" is sacrificial - easier to replace after a minor scrape on the widest part of the bodywork than a costly paint job.
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>> Perhaps the plastic "lip" is sacrificial - easier to replace after a minor scrape on
>> the widest part of the bodywork than a costly paint job.
It's not big enough for that, and it's not at the widest part either.
I found this
"...European regulations dictate that fenders must cover the entire tread width as measured from 30 degrees forward of the tire’s top center to 50 degrees rearward. Black plastic fins like those you’ll find on the Jaguar F-type allow stylists to create that provocative view while still adhering to the letter of the law."
www.caranddriver.com/news/a19660495/designer-genes-how-regulations-dictate-the-look-of-new-cars/
They must just work to the widest common denominator - my MX-5 has the smaller of two possible standard sizes and has the same spats as the other variant.
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These bits are aero:
www.coxmotorparts.co.uk/honda-shop/genuine-honda-civic-right-rear-spoiler-fender-2012-2016/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvIie-_eZ8gIVSuJ3Ch2pTQHyEAQYBCABEgJlWvD_BwE
ISTR some years ago they were only added to the Civic diesel as they brought the NEDC consumption down from 121g/km to 120g/km which was a big drop in VED.
The petrol doesn't have them.
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I have a macbook air in the tech stable, I use a bluetooth keyboard and cast the output to a tele over wifi.
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>> I have a macbook air.....
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...does it have flared wheel arches....?
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What size tyres have you got on it?
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Yes they are to do with the wheel sizes... a new GTi with 18" alloys doesn't need them whereas one with 19" does... apparently an MoT fail without them.
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How TF did that get in there.
MOD, MOD, get yer rse in gear and put this in the right place
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They’re in the pub, which is where I’m heading now cos I don’t garden in the rain.
Cheers
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I’m not sure it’s a modern thing - my 1984 Escort XR3i had black plastic protrusions on the leading edge of the rear wheel arches. Maybe to cope with the massive 185/60/14 low profile tyres fitted to cope with the power ;)
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They had to stick plastic ears on the Sierra to keep it on the straight and narrow in side winds
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>> They had to stick plastic ears on the Sierra to keep it on the straight
>> and narrow in side winds
I preferred the explanation: "to keep the back wheels behind the fronts".
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Modern wheel arches - Lygonos
