Front mud guards

[Alan W]

I understand that all the OEM stock are now completely sold out so has anyone managed to find a good aftermarket alternative that actually look like they were made for the car? All I'm bothered about is the front lip / edge of the sill that wraps around into the wheel arch and is very susceptible to stone chips. I was thinking whether there was some kind of inconspicuous black rubber strip I could stick on there, a bit like those things you stick on door edges to stop you chipping the paint on walls.. there are some pretty clever people on here and maybe someone can come up with an idea?

[Southernboy]

........ you called...
I can sort of imagine what you mean...I'll have a look at my motor in the morning and if I come up with a sensible idea, I'll let you know..

[Southernboy]

.... In fact, I recall that the front edge of the arch trim has a lip which extends about 20 - 30mm below the bumper...what you might do is duplicate that on the opposite end of the trim..but perhaps by 40mm. I would look for a similar material and you're as likely to find it from a visit to a breakers yard as anywhere. Then use some black blind rivets to attach it approriately to the existing arch trim. It's thin enough not to be conspicuos or interfere with the wheels etc...and I would imagine very inexpensive. The breakers probably toss tons of that plastic out evry week especially if the item can't be sold due to some damage...and you really dont needs anything like a large piece to do the job. 2 pieces the width of your wheel arch trim x about 120mm will suffice ??

[Alan W]

Hi Barry, knew you would see this as a challenge! However, reading your post I'm now not 100% sure we are talking about the same part so I have highlighted the area of the sill I am referring to. Bad design by BMW.. the wheelarch line protects the inner wing but the sill is still exposed.. maybe they just wanted everyone to buy mudflaps? And the other end of the sill which lips around into the front of the rear wheel arch is also susceptible to stone chips / rust so a 'kit' would be a really good idea.. (not sure if the photo is of a Z3 but its roughly the same set up)

[Koolflyer]

I think Alan's referring to the front of the sill (which is at the rear of the front wheel arch) and rear of the sill (front of rear wheel arch). My Zed has BMW OEM rubber/plastic mud guards/deflectors fitted, but my friend Rocky Dave doesn't is right now taking the surface blistering down to the metal, priming and spraying. Trouble is all the water and salt esp. after gritting over here in the winter months gets in the unprotected gap between the edge of the liner and the small wrap around of the sill. I agree that perhaps BMW could have done better in this area. I assume that's why we see quite a few photos of Z's with their sills taken off, to make good the internal damage?

[Southernboy]

...I get what you're asking...below is a small sketch..the "inner" line represents the curved edge of your car as you indicated in your pic. The "outer line represents the edge of the material..the small circles represent fixing points. You already have 2 screws which can be seen in your pic. Either, as per the sketch, allow the material to extend beyond the edge of the sill on the side - or not. But definitely allow it to extend aprox 30mm beyond the bottom edge of the sill...like a mini mud flap. I would use a light film of silicone (clear) between the material and the surface you are fixing it to so that any water cannot get between the car surface and the material you use. That will avoid a potential rust haven. Perhaps a 2mm or 3mm thick rubber / flexible plastic material would be most suitable??
Alternate, simply stick a layer of whatever material directly to the profile of the sill edge with a thin layer of clear or black silicone and replace the screws over it to secure. In which case anything 1mm - 2mm thick will suffice.

[Alan W]

Would replacement stainless steel sills be really expensive to make?

[Southernboy]

Ideal material to use would be neoprene...commonly used for mouse pads and wetsuits and in a thinner form for kinky "adult" clothing....

[Alan W]

What we need is a member with a spare sill or one off the car to make a template of both ends of the sill lip faces incl any holes and to share it. We could then all have a go at making these ourselves and share our experiences / attempts... hope the missus doesn't mind me cutting up my all in one gimp suit

[Southernboy]

.... I sense someone suggesting I crawl around on my knees and make some templates ???
No problem, I can do that... Question is, do you want a template which literally follows the edge line of the sill, or a template which extends beyond that edge line..and if so by how much would you want it to extend and where....

[John Wilson]

I've had this problem of rusting in this area and have recently taken the sills off and had them treated and resprayed. While I'm sure that part of the problem was stone chipping on this area, there is also a problem with muck getting down between the front edge of the sill and the wheel arch liner. I found that the sill which had the most rust on my car did not have the push rivet in place that keeps the bottom of the liner forward against the lip of the sill. This rivet goes through a hole underneath the sill and locates with a hole in the liner. It's worth a check to see this is in place.

[TitanTim]

Heres some pics of my OEM fronts if it helps for a template,







Have you tried Cooper BMW as they did have some fronts still available, might be worth checking. I bought mine off Roadster Solutions but just checked and they've all sold out now.

I don't know if these may be a solution, for the price it might be worth a shot and trimming them to fit,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1R-RUBBER-MOU ... 1c39409634

Tim.

[Southernboy]

The only issue I had when I had all 4 wheels fitted with mud flaps, was that sand / dust and water get in between the mudflap and the body anyway...it seemed a pointless anti - rust idea. Ideally one should remove /clean /treat and repaint the sills. Then, prior to fitting, use some butyl tape and stick it along the water ingress points. Butyl can be bought in rolls from 15mm wide and wider. It is the same material used to seal the soft top at the rear along the curved edge below the plastic window. It is extremely durable, and as long as it is carefully applied it will end all the issues with sills from the inside. The edges which get chipped and sand blasted, should ideally be treated with a cover as described above, or perhaps coated with a rubberised paint. It needn't be heavy duty stuff, but sufficient to act as a protective layer which can be touched up once a year or less. That type of paint is commonly water based, and frequently advertised a s "liquid plastic". It is extremely flexible and strong.... certainly worth a look at.

[pedro20001]

Hi, I had such a dilemma, in the end I modified some black plastic underfloor protectors from another manufacturer which do the job perfectly, enough to protect the edge of the sill / rocker fitted with plastic push pin clips for easy removal yet small enough so as not to stand out, will try and post some pics,

[Alan W]

Nice one Pedro that would be great!