Any aerodynamic mud guards?

[YisPatHere]

Hi All,

I know there are a lot of mudflap/mudguard/ rear quarter panel protection threads. Of all of the options available, I can only find two basic styles, flat, or concave. What I'm wondering is, has anyone seen an option that is slightly flared or convex, such that it directs air and road debris away from the body of the car, rather than trying to catch it like a traditional mudflap would? Alternatively, one of the flat ones that is sufficiently flexible that it would become flared at highway speeds may also be better than a rigid flat or concave option. Where I live is mostly dry so I'm less concerned about wet debris, mostly just trying to avoid rock chips.

Thanks for any information or discussion.

 

[jeffsawyer]

I don't have any advice on this. I ordered and received the ones from Tesla Accessories and News | TESMANIAN, but haven't installed them yet. However, I am curious if there's any data on just how much of an impact they have on aero and range? I hadn't thought much of it, but I can see that it might have some small impact - I had just assumed it'd be negligible.

 

[bluenycom]

Since the mud guards are essentially "drafting" behind the wheels, I'd guess that they have minimal effect on range.

 

[YisPatHere]

Thanks for the replies, I think effective mud guards normally stick out an inch or so from the outside edge of the tread so that when the wheels are turned slightly it will catch what gets kicked up. I can't find much information on any improvement in the traditional design for the Model Y or any other car though. I did find an entry to a design contest from last year that implements a slightly crude but seemingly well-characterized version of what I had imagined.

Trajectory-Based, Aerodynamic Mud Flaps

The Create the Future Design Contest was launched in 2002 by the publishers of NASA Tech Briefs magazine to help stimulate and reward engineering innovation. The annual event has attracted more than 8,000 product design ideas from engineers, entrepreneurs, and students worldwide.

contest.techbriefs.com