Stone chip protection: mudflaps vs Tesla paint protection film?

[MonoPoly307]

Hi guys,

New Model 3 owner here!

Looking for some advice on protecting my rear wheel guards from stone chips. We tend to drive on quite a lot of long-distance roads in Australia, which often have stones and other debris.

I'd like to make sure the bodywork in front of the rear wheels doesn't get stone-chipped by stones being flung from the front wheels of the car. Tesla has a few products in their own accessories store to address this. First, a clear PPE-style film that you can apply yourself ("paint protecton film") and then two different sizes of mudflaps for the front wheels, which I assume would also prevent stones from flying onto the side of the car. Here they are:

I'm wondering if anyone has used these accessories from Tesla? Have they done the job?

Do the mud-guards prevent stones from flying up? And which option of mud-guard did you use (they come with two sizes... compact and long)?
If I go with the mud-guards, do I need to bother using the protective film as well? And if so, does anyone have any experience with it?

Thanks guys, appreciate your thoughts on this one!

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Perscitus]

Hi Mike, your best bet is a combo of both... PPF all along the rockers, ideally on both doors and fender/quarter panel
AND some type of mudflaps.

Of course even when combined, they will not fully protect from rock chips, but they will offer some protection and/or a sacrificial layer to be damaged before paint is involved.

There are countless kinds of mudflaps out there now (used to be zero when we first started, for well over a year, nearly two). Pick what works for you just careful with the ones that are a. very rigid b. large (hit to range) c. overlap painted parts (unless PPFed, they will eventually collect sand/dirt/etc and damage the paint underneath if ever removed).

See threads from users across Canada/Alaska and Scandinavia about sandblasted rocker panels and paint removed to bare metal or plastic after just a few short weeks/months without mudflaps or PPF.

 

[MonoPoly307]

Good advice. Thanks!
Mike

 

[P3dStealth]

I have both the Tesla mud flaps and the ppf. I am in the Northeast USA so I experience bad winters and we cover our roads with sand and salt to drive.

The Tesla mud flaps work really well. The box will come with the small and then the large rubber extension that goes over it. I only use the large rubber extension in the winter. the larger extension overlay is held on with two plastic rivets and double sided tape so it's easy to pop out the rivets and remove every year.
When the large extension is on its so low you will drag them in the ground over speed bumps and other small bumps. I like this because it's also so low you get no rock chips.

The PPF works well also but originally I had the PPF alone and I noticed the obvious... If you get hit with a larger rock going fast the PPF will get damaged and your paint will chip right through it. Also it doesn't protect the rest of the rocker area.

I do recommend both if you have a lot of sand and rocks. If I was going to get one though it would be the flaps. The flaps protect the entire rocker panel really well.

I have no PPF on my doors or along the whole bottom of the rocker. I have no damage to the paint there after years so I don't think it's needed with the mud flaps.

 

[MonoPoly307]

Thanks for such a detailed comment, this really helps. I think I will go with both, and use the longer mud-flap extension most of the time. Feels like that will provide pretty bulletproof protection to the whole side area.
Cheers and thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Mike

 

[JayV8or]

Hey Mike,

Tesla installed the mud flaps on my car before I picked it up. I do not have any protective film installed (wish I did).

I’ve only got 15,000km (9,000 miles) and the paint is flaking off along the rocker panels. I’ve never driven on a gravel or dirt road. Just suburban driving to the grocery store and some highway driving.

You should definitely install the protective film. Tesla will not cover any paint issues after your first few days of taking delivery. I’ve owned a lot of cars and this paint is by far the worst, it needs all the help it can get.

Heres a pic right after I washed it. There’s so many little chips (like a hundred) when you look closely.

Good Luck!

 

[P3dStealth]

Hey Mike,

Tesla installed the mud flaps on my car before I picked it up. I do not have any protective film installed (wish I did).

I’ve only got 15,000km (9,000 miles) and the paint is flaking off along the rocker panels. I’ve never driven on a gravel or dirt road. Just suburban driving to the grocery store and some highway driving.

You should definitely install the protective film. Tesla will not cover any paint issues after your first few days of taking delivery. I’ve owned a lot of cars and this paint is by far the worst, it needs all the help it can get.

Heres a pic right after I washed it. There’s so many little chips (like a hundred) when you look closely.

Good Luck!

View attachment 929420

That is not normal. What did Tesla tell you?

 

[JayV8or]

Here‘s the response from Tesla when I submitted the service request. I think the service response is consistent with other peoples experience. This would certainly have been a warranty claim with other car manufacturers. I’ve never seen anything so bad.

Any advice would be appreciated. Not sure what else I can do.

 

[MonoPoly307]

Hey Mike,

Tesla installed the mud flaps on my car before I picked it up. I do not have any protective film installed (wish I did).

I’ve only got 15,000km (9,000 miles) and the paint is flaking off along the rocker panels. I’ve never driven on a gravel or dirt road. Just suburban driving to the grocery store and some highway driving.

You should definitely install the protective film. Tesla will not cover any paint issues after your first few days of taking delivery. I’ve owned a lot of cars and this paint is by far the worst, it needs all the help it can get.

Heres a pic right after I washed it. There’s so many little chips (like a hundred) when you look closely.

Good Luck!

View attachment 929420

Wow, that is terrible!

It's got to be defective paint, surely? I can't see how it would happen with normal suburban driving.

I hope you are able to get it sorted through Tesla, the reply from service seems kind of terse.

Thanks for sharing, definitely another vote for getting the rocker panels protected, and adding mudflaps, before I take the car on a highway.

Cheers!
Mike

 

[MonoPoly307]

Hi Mike, your best bet is a combo of both... PPF all along the rockers, ideally on both doors and fender/quarter panel
AND some type of mudflaps.

Of course even when combined, they will not fully protect from rock chips, but they will offer some protection and/or a sacrificial layer to be damaged before paint is involved.

There are countless kinds of mudflaps out there now (used to be zero when we first started, for well over a year, nearly two). Pick what works for you just careful with the ones that are a. very rigid b. large (hit to range) c. overlap painted parts (unless PPFed, they will eventually collect sand/dirt/etc and damage the paint underneath if ever removed).

See threads from users across Canada/Alaska and Scandinavia about sandblasted rocker panels and paint removed to bare metal or plastic after just a few short weeks/months without mudflaps or PPF.

Thanks - great advice, I'll definitely get onto both options straight away.

I was looking at the Tesla original mudflaps... they seem to have two options (as part of the same product), a shorter, compact mudflap and a longer one.
The short one looks better and probably causes less resistance... I wonder if it still performs adequately in terms of preventing stones from hitting the rocker area?

Mike

 

[Tesly2000]

After 2 years of aftermarket mud guards...

 

[MonoPoly307]

After 2 years of aftermarket mud guards...

Woah - I wonder if the Tesla ones also do that? Perhaps they fit differently. Also a sign that Tesla paint isn't the best, I guess.

 

[DayTrippin]

I'd do the PPF and the mud guards. If you have a light colored car, the Tesla PPF yellows pretty quickly and it looks like crap. I went with better PPF (STEK) and it is pretty clear. I ultimately ended up doing the entire car. Likely overkill for many but less crap I have to worry about and easier to clean off. Plus when my kid runs down the side of the car with their lunchbox, I know it isn't going to dig into the soft paint.

 

[doctorkira]

Hi guys,

New Model 3 owner here!

Looking for some advice on protecting my rear wheel guards from stone chips. We tend to drive on quite a lot of long-distance roads in Australia, which often have stones and other debris.

I'd like to make sure the bodywork in front of the rear wheels doesn't get stone-chipped by stones being flung from the front wheels of the car. Tesla has a few products in their own accessories store to address this. First, a clear PPE-style film that you can apply yourself ("paint protecton film") and then two different sizes of mudflaps for the front wheels, which I assume would also prevent stones from flying onto the side of the car. Here they are:

View attachment 928845 View attachment 928847 View attachment 928846

I'm wondering if anyone has used these accessories from Tesla? Have they done the job?

Do the mud-guards prevent stones from flying up? And which option of mud-guard did you use (they come with two sizes... compact and long)?
If I go with the mud-guards, do I need to bother using the protective film as well? And if so, does anyone have any experience with it?

Thanks guys, appreciate your thoughts on this one!

Cheers,
Mike

There are way better brands of PPF--I had the Tesla one and it yellowed in a few months--got that removed and a premium product applied--worth it--matches the pain a year later.