Pix of factory mud flaps. The car is rap in Xpal. Then ceramic coated. I wash weekly PH balance car shampoo, foam gun, two buckets, blow dry, last dry with micro fiber towel and detail spray. Clay and re-apply ceramic coating 2 or three times a year.
Have you had a chance to see how much they actually help? I'm interested in some for the winter but am not convicted that tiny piece of plastic will do a whole lot... Right now I'm leaning towards rally-style mud flaps and taking them off in the summer if they reduce the range too much.
Here I thought I was the only SE owner with mud flaps. I have a long gravel drive so I see the benefits of them daily. The front flaps make a huge difference, keeping mud off the sides. The back flaps help a lot too, but there's still a fair amount of dust that gets on the rear window due to the air flow of the hatch body style.
I need to get a brush that is sized well for the scissor opening. The hand sponge is a bit of a pain to get into each opening.
Winter?!?! I see pavement under your SE! The sight of pavement is just a memory for me right now. Just like my dim recollection of when my windows used to roll down a quarter-inch when I opened the doors. I'll be taking my SE to the 16-quarter car wash on the next warm (32°F) day, knowing it will be filthy again the day after. These days I sure am glad MINI Coopers have a rear washer/wiper. I can't believe Hyundai and Kia are confident aerodynamics alone will keep the rear windows of the new Ioniq 5 and EV6 clean in all situations--even through slushy 20 mph city traffic.
That's the dumbest thing ever. It's even worse with muddy water! The lack of a wiper can work for 3-box car designs but not so much for 2-box hatchback/SUVs.
Does anyone have a part number for the mud flaps? Looking for some to install in spring, and there is a lot of overlapping F56 PN’s that is confusing me (2020 SE).
@Urbanengineer - Here are the part numbers for the OEM mud flaps I installed on my 2021 SE: Front: 82162338565 Rear: 82162338566
I washed my Mini today for the first time in 8 weeks and it’s looking good. The car was coated with Protect X by the dealer but today I used Meguiars hybrid ceramic spray wax after snowfoaming and then a two bucket wash. It goes on after you rinse the car but before you dry it, which I’ve not done before. I’ve always used products that require the car to be fully dry before you use them, but it worked a treat. I do love enigmatic black; especially when it’s just been cleaned! What do people use to keep the plastic trim around the wheel arches, door sills and bottom of the bumpers nice and dark? I have Meguiars black plastic restorer which I use on the few bits of my bikes which are black plastic, but it doesn’t seem to last very long once it’s on.
I've had reasonable luck with 303. I've used it on the arches, on that plastic piece between the bonnet and the windscreen, and on the plastic bits under the bonnet. Spray it on, wipe it around with a clean microfiber cloth. Any overspray doesn't hurt the paint. I think it was originally intended for marine stuff, but it works nicely on cars that sit in the sun. Easier to use than Keep It Black.