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To keep...or remove...?

17K views 48 replies 28 participants last post by  Tyeler86 
#1 ·
Just looking for opinions about keeping or removing the factory mud flaps. I notice a lot of Frontiers don't have them.
 
#13 ·
For those that wheel/off-road...I hear the OEM mudflaps (that don't flex) can wrinkle the attached body panels ($$$$) if taking a hard direct hit from below?!? Assuming that's true, I know I'd opt for something more flexible if not totally removing them for any serious escapades.
 
#16 ·
Yep 100% true. Previous owner of my truck did this and I have crinkled body panels where they once were. The day I bought the truck the mud flaps were the first thing removed.

As far as avoiding rock chips...
Pick your poison, rock chips? or dented up body? I'll take rock chips all day long.
 
#17 ·
I took mine off because I needed the extra clearance. After having a closer look at the significant rock chipping I'm getting now at the front of the rear wheel well I think I might have to put something back on the front. im looking at fender flares more seriously to.
 

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#18 · (Edited)
I like the look with them but I'm more of a stock kinda guy - too each their own though.

Apparently, my passenger front side decided to take itself off already. I haven't even been off road yet and only have 3500 miles on the truck.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Sounds like a trip to the dealer if it were me - I have 5200 on mine and no issues like that. I assume (it better) that would be covered under warranty?
 
#20 ·
I removed mine about 4 years ago. I do not have an increase in rock chips that others have mentioned. Not sure why, i probably take the truck off road through mud 15-20 times a year, as well as driving in the winter with salt and other cinders on the road from november to april.

I think some paints are more easily chipped than others.
 
#21 ·
If you off road at all I'd get rid of them. I had my truck for 3 months the first time I took it off road. I was driving across a hay meadow on my friend's farm and hit a badger hole with the rear passenger tire and the mud flap cracked after coming into contact with the ground. This was a 2-3mph incident. The rear flap was only cracked about an inch across, but made me quite irritated.

After about a week of my own research and reading through this site, I removed my OEM flaps, air dam, etc and ordered some Rally Armor flaps. I'm actually meeting a guy after work today to offload my OEM mud flaps. I don't even run front flaps anymore, just the rear ones to keep crap from flying up under my rear bumper and as a courtesy to drivers behind me. The rally armors come in a 4 pack, I kept the other two as spares.
 
#22 ·
It depends!

@Archer22 is right! If you do not offroad, then you do not need them. If you do offroad, then get better ones because the OEM are not the best. My new 2016 CC 4x2 S Fronty comes with some tiny ones and I am planning to leave them. Why? Because I do not offroad. If I take them off, then there will be a gaping hole waiting to rust and cause problems in the long run.
 
#25 ·
@Archer22 is right! If you do not offroad, then you do not need them. If you do offroad, then get better ones because the OEM are not the best. My new 2016 CC 4x2 S Fronty comes with some tiny ones and I am planning to leave them. Why? Because I do not offroad. If I take them off, then there will be a gaping hole waiting to rust and cause problems in the long run.

As mentioned the definition of off road comes into play. If you are driving fire roads and service roads that are mostly dirt and gravel they will benefit you. If you are truly off road, driving over rocks, logs and other obstacles remove them immediately.

If you remove the flaps there will NOT be a "gaping hole". You just screw the screws back into the hole and there is no sign there was ever a mud flap there.
 
#23 ·
Wait now... we should make the distinction that what most of you are referring to as "off-road" doesn't represent everything that is literally off the road. I mean, not everyone who goes off-road climbs rocks and tree stumps and the like. Some people who drive their vehicles off the pavement drive through dirt or gravel routes, or fire roads, etc. where the flaps would still be fully functional in these kinds of environments.

I think the conclusion here is that the OP should look at how they use their vehicle, and decide based on that.
 
#26 ·
Yeah, a couple of the comments regarding the definition of "off road" make sense, I suppose it is relative. I refer to the term "off road" in the most literal sense; I mean, when you are not on a ROAD. Cattle pasture, hay fields, drainage ditches, rock gardens, sand dunes, etc. etc. If you drive on a surface, not intended as a "road" you are "off roading". That is not to say some fire roads or gravel roads aren't treacherous, but it still has the word "road" in it so I don't count it.

If it's a fire road/gravel road with a ton of obstacles and is really technical, I'd call it a poorly maintained road, not "off road".
 
#29 ·
I refer to the term "off road" in the most literal sense; I mean, when you are not on a ROAD. Cattle pasture, hay fields, drainage ditches, rock gardens, sand dunes, etc. etc. If you drive on a surface, not intended as a "road" you are "off roading". That is not to say some fire roads or gravel roads aren't treacherous, but it still has the word "road" in it so I don't count it.

If it's a fire road/gravel road with a ton of obstacles and is really technical, I'd call it a poorly maintained road, not "off road".
Same with me. I live out in the country and anything off of my driveway is considered to me as off road. I got a whole bunch of dirt, pebbles, logs, dips, twigs, dead animals, etc in my yard and to me that is all off the road.
 
#27 ·
Measured my front OEM mud flaps: 8" from ground to mud flap bottom on a non-lifted SV 4x2 w/ stock wheels and stock sized tires.

Offroad/non-offroad hypothetical: slowly/carefully(?!) driving off of a 'tall enough vertical curb/drop-off' could be all it takes to ram the bottom of the non-flex OEM mud flaps UPWARD => causing possible damage to the supporting body quarter panel/fender.
 
#31 ·
My recommendation is to get rid of the hard plastic ones that come from the factory and put rubber ones on. I learned the hard way. I didn't take them off soon enough and a rock caught one of them on a trail. The mud flap bent back and was stiff enough with enough leverage that it actually put a large dent in the truck body right where the flaps connect. I took them off after that.
 
#32 ·
Mine are coming off pretty damn quick, they're just begging to get broken and they pack themselves full of snow in the winter. I might get something for the rears, cuz I need them to stay legal but I don't like the price of the Rally Armour flaps.
 
#38 ·
2 options



2 options for ya.... can get a set or 2 or generic flat 'hard rubber' mudflaps from Autozone/Napa/... or just cut out the bottom of the OEM flap so the snow doesn't build up/pack up in there. First winter I had SO MUCH show pack into them... took a razor knife to them, removing the bottom 'shelf' and much better, far less snow.
 
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#33 · (Edited)
anyone notice the front rear plastic flaps or aerodynamic things that you see in the frontier brochure? they go in front of the rear tires. on my truck i can even see the holes where they would connect....but none of the trucks come with those and they aren't an option? is that just something for outside the usa market or something? would it help your mpgs? you can see them in these pics.
My truck came with them... and my truck is a 2014 SV 4x4 VTP.
 
#37 ·
Before my Frontier I had a 2012 Tacoma. The factory mudflaps on it were so long that they would hit over a speed bump in a parking lot. I took them off and replaced them with some soft rubber type flaps. I have not had any problem with the ones on my Frontier as they are much shorter. It looks like any vehicle meant to go off road would come with soft flaps but I guess that would be too much to ask....
 
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#39 ·
none of them here have them. not a single truck on two nissan dealer lots. :laugh:

maybe they took them off in 2016 or 2017?

they aren't on the trucks in youtube videos about frontiers either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLoxgqcMPFc
Weird hahah - I had to return some stuff at the dealership after work today, and the few I looked at near where I parked had them.
 
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