Is my wheel arch paint normal?

[i3m3Andrew]

Loving my M3 LR and after three months have already clocked up 6,000 miles, but with only three supercharge sessions.

After hand washing today I noticed the ares to the lower sill immediately behind the front wheel and the same height immediately behind the rear wheels seems to have changed colour, almost as if the paint is rubbing away - is this “normal”? Never had it on a car before....

 

[Jason71]

Normal for other brands - no
Normal for Tesla model 3 - maybe not "normal" but surprisingly common by all accounts.
You might want to concider mudguards.

 

[ElectricJoules]

I'm seeing the same behind my rear wheels. Not very impressive. Looks like the paint coats are being blasted away by muck off the wheels. It certainly was not like that 5,000 miles ago.

 

[MrBadger]

Its a long read, first and last few pages probably cover most of it Model 3 paint wearing off

 

[Lupe]

Best place for blue mudguards?

Cleaned mine today and noticed quite a few stone chips. This thing just given one thin coat?

 

[pgkevet]

Best place for blue mudguards?

Cleaned mine today and noticed quite a few stone chips. This thing just given one thin coat?

Paint? That costs money. All they do is put the car in a plastic bag and wait for it to turn blue....

 

[Bobly]

Paint? That costs money. All they do is put the car in a plastic bag and wait for it to turn blue....

I’ve been thinking, Rather than mud guards, would a little strip of paint protection film down there help. Cars I’ve had in the past have appeared to have something similar right at the bottom of the sills. Looking online it appears you can get small strips for a fairly low cost, and I wouldn’t be too upset about a little “line” if it’s going to save the paint.

 

[ElectricJoules]

I’ve been thinking, Rather than mud guards, would a little strip of paint protection film down there help. Cars I’ve had in the past have appeared to have something similar right at the bottom of the sills. Looking online it appears you can get small strips for a fairly low cost, and I wouldn’t be too upset about a little “line” if it’s going to save the paint.

Yes, those strips look like a good solution. But looking at various reviews it seems the product is often very difficult to fit on a curved surface, or is just poor quality and just does not stick. Lots of unbranded Chinese PPF out there.
Has anybody gone down this DIY route with good results? If so what product did they buy?

 

[MrBadger]

We have both paint protection film in that area (XPEL installed rocker kit) and later fitted mud flaps. Mud flaps certainly do a better job at keeping debris away from the areas that even PPF cannot reach. I'm glad we have both, but if I was doing just one, it would be the mud flaps.

 

[davyjohns]

Isn't just Tesla. When I bought my first Jaguar XF I was told by the sales rep that the flare on the rear of the sill by the rear door becomes peppered with road dirt. I fitted mud flaps and didn't notice any deterioration. First thing I did on the my Model 3.

 

[John_L]

Mud flaps seen like a good idea. Which ones would people recommend? I'd prefer not to have drill holes in my bodywork.

 

[Rustybkts]

I fitted mud flaps from evaccessories.co.uk the day I got mine home. £29.99 for all four.
Matched the colour perfectly (mine is red) and will certainly stop paint being sand blasted off. Just required two small holes drilling in the front plastic inner wheel arch as they mainly pick up on the existing wheel arch plastic rivets.
Also bought the CCS port dust flap as it will fill with rain whenever it is open to charge at home.

They must self host their web site on a 286 PC and be on the end of a piece of wet string as it is very slow but they are very eager to please as they made a cover for my daughters Zoe charge port on their 3D printer.

 

[Jason71]

Mud flaps seen like a good idea. Which ones would people recommend? I'd prefer not to have drill holes in my bodywork.

The cheap ones on Ebay do the job but the quality is not great. Expect large speed bumps hit at speed to break them. I lined mine with foam tape where they touch the paint to prevent damage. They are also a little tricky to fit. look OK though once on.

 

[Jason71]

I fitted mud flaps from evaccessories.co.uk the day I got mine home. £29.99 for all four.
Matched the colour perfectly (mine is red) and will certainly stop paint being sand blasted off. Just required two small holes drilling in the front plastic inner wheel arch as they mainly pick up on the existing wheel arch plastic rivets.
Also bought the CCS port dust flap as it will fill with rain whenever it is open to charge at home.

They must self host their web site on a 286 PC and be on the end of a piece of wet string as it is very slow but they are very eager to please as they made a cover for my daughters Zoe charge port on their 3D printer.

They don't look any different to the ones on Ebay for about half the price as far as I can see from the pictures:

FOR Tesla Model 3 2016 2017 2018 2019 MUD FLAP SPLASH GUARDS MUDGUARD WHITE | eBay

https://www.evaccessories.co.uk/product/tesla-model-3-mud-flaps-white/

 

[Rustybkts]

Doesn't surprise me as they will be sourced from China anyway but prefer to pay a tenner or so extra for a local supplier.

 

[Jason71]

Doesn't surprise me as they will be sourced from China anyway but prefer to pay a tenner or so extra for a local supplier.

I bought them last year. Belgium was considered local back then.

 

[i3m3Andrew]

I fitted mud flaps from evaccessories.co.uk the day I got mine home. £29.99 for all four.
Matched the colour perfectly (mine is red) and will certainly stop paint being sand blasted off. Just required two small holes drilling in the front plastic inner wheel arch as they mainly pick up on the existing wheel arch plastic rivets.
Also bought the CCS port dust flap as it will fill with rain whenever it is open to charge at home.

They must self host their web site on a 286 PC and be on the end of a piece of wet string as it is very slow but they are very eager to please as they made a cover for my daughters Zoe charge port on their 3D printer.

Cheers Rustybkts, flaps ordered from EV Accessories and fitted today. They didn’t have any blue left in stock but went for the classic black look. I see what you mean about the website...

 

[Rustybkts]

Looking good and will pay for themselves in days protecting the paint behind the wheels.

 

[MrBadger]

Did they have clips or screws for top mounting point of front flaps?

 

[Rustybkts]

Screws on mine. They just fix to the plastic inner arch. I felt that the clips needed to allow for the extra depth of the mud flap but are still holding.