Jump to content
SAU Community

What Is This -> Black Plastic Cover Where Rear Mud Flap Should Be?

mario
 Share

Recommended Posts

mario Contributor

mario

Posted
Posted

hey guys,

Giving the car a good ol' detail the other day and while I'm washing I get to the rear wheel wells, and notice at the back of the

sideskirt where you would imagine a mudflap to located, that general area, there is a small black plastic cover/casing that seems

to serve no purpose other than to hold up to the last 6months of driving worth of dirt / glass / bits n pieces of whatever you ever

drive over and from wherever.

I didnt try get under the car to remove it, but there seems to be no hole so it doesnt act as a drain, its literally just there for what

seems to me, to catch dirt and make my cleaning job longer than what I had anticipated due to the amount of dirt that came out

of it.

Anyone able to shed some light on what this might actually be there for ?

You can almost bend it 120degree's to try remove the dirt it holds, and it wont snap or break and will just go straight back to its

original position also.

Be interesting to see what other people say/ think or even knew if it was there..

mario Contributor

mario

Posted
  • Author
Posted

time is limiting factor here with photos unfortunately, that and the fact it would be all black on black if I took something..

quite simple really... go to the rear wheel well of your car, you can see where the side skirt finishes, put your hand inside the wheel well

right behind the skirt and you will feel this big black plastic cover that is open at the top..

you can stick your fingers into the hole it creates, then you realise you can bend it back and all of a sudden you notice all the dirt n crap

it holds in it....

rs73 Grand Master

rs73

Posted
Posted

how would that work?

I didn't remember seeing anything around the door jamb when the doors were opened that could indicate some path of air to escape if that's to equalise the pressure...

maybe just a bad design, and they decided to put a plastic cover on top to reduce the whole crap load of sh1t it would have collected without the cover?

boodsGtr Enthusiast

boodsGtr

Posted
Posted
how would that work?

I didn't remember seeing anything around the door jamb when the doors were opened that could indicate some path of air to escape if that's to equalise the pressure...

Not necessarily from the door jam. Some cars have them so when you close the doors, the cabin pressure that builds up when you close the door is released through a vent at the rear, enabling the door to be closed easier.

Might not be the case for this, but a possibility.

Boods.

  • 2 weeks later...
scathing Grand Master

scathing

Posted
Posted (edited)

Is it behind the wheel? Almost like a L-shape when viewed from side on (a vertical piece, with a flat horizontal tray) where the horizontal bit is a quarter circle?

There'll be one on either side of the car, but have different shapes.

Edited by scathing
BLISTC Experienced

BLISTC

Posted
Posted
Is it behind the wheel? Almost like a L-shape when viewed from side on (a vertical piece, with a flat horizontal tray) where the horizontal bit is a quarter circle?

There'll be one on either side of the car, but have different shapes.

you still have not helped us solve the mystery... what does it do!?

mario Contributor

mario

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Is it behind the wheel? Almost like a L-shape when viewed from side on (a vertical piece, with a flat horizontal tray) where the horizontal bit is a quarter circle?

There'll be one on either side of the car, but have different shapes.

yeah thats it, no idea wtf it does or why it there though

scathing Grand Master

scathing

Posted
Posted (edited)
you still have not helped us solve the mystery... what does it do!?

Just making sure I'm talking about the right thing first. :(

yeah thats it, no idea wtf it does or why it there though

It is probably the OEM rear diffusers. They smooth the airflow leaving the rear wheel well.

On the Australian delivered 350Z, it's standard on the Track and optional on the Touring (I ended up picking up a set for my Touring from the USA). Apparently the Touring has a Cd of 0.30, and the Track (with a small chin spoiler, rear bootlid spoiler, and these rear diffusers) drop the Cd to 0.29.

When I spoke to Pro Concept about it they told me they took theirs off their race car. Like you, Josh said the only thing they were good for is collecting dirt whenever they came off the track. If it takes those 3 items above to drop the drag co-efficient by only 0.01, taking them off will probably do sweet f**k all.

Edited by scathing

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Duncan
      V37 Suspension change

      By Duncan · Posted

      And finally, the front lower mount. It was doubly weird. Firstly, the lower mount is held in with a bracket that has 3 bolts (it also acts as the steering lock stop), and then a nut on the shock lower mount itself. So, remove the 3x 14mm head bolts , then the 17mm nut that holds the shock in. From there, you can't actually remove the shock from the lower mount bolt (took me a while to work that out....) Sadly I don't have a pic of the other side, but the swaybar mounts to the same bolt that holds the shock in. You need to push that swaybar mount/bolt back so the shock can be pulled out past the lower control arm.  In this pic you can see the bolt partly pushed back, but it had to go further than that to release the shock. Once the shock is out, putting the new one in is "reverse of disassembly". Put the top of the shock through at least one hole and put a nut on loosely to hold it in place. Put the lower end in place and push the swaybar mount / shock bolt back in place, then loosely attach the other 2 top nuts. Bolt the bracket back in place with the 14mm head bolts and finally put the nut onto the lower bolt. Done....you have new suspension on your v37!
    • Duncan
      V37 Suspension change

      By Duncan · Posted

      And now to the front.  No pics of the 3 nuts holding the front struts on, they are easy to spot. Undo 2 and leave the closest one on loosely. Underneath we have to deal with the wiring again, but this time its worse because the plug is behind the guard liner. You'll have to decide how much of the guard liner to remove, I undid the lower liner's top, inside and lower clips, but didn't pull it full off the guard. Same issue undoing the plug as at the rear, you need to firmly push the release clip from below while equally firmly gripping the plug body and pulling it out of  the socket. I used my fancy electrical disconnect pliers to get in there There is also one clip for the wiring, unlike at the rear I could not get behind it so just had to lever it up and out.....not in great condition to re-use in future.
    • Duncan
      V37 Suspension change

      By Duncan · Posted

      Onto the rear lower shock mount. It's worth starting with a decent degrease to remove 10+ years of road grime, and perhaps also spray a penetrating oil on the shock lower nut. Don't forget to include the shock wiring and plug in the clean.... Deal with the wiring first; you need to release 2 clips where the wiring goes into the bracket (use long nose pliers behind the bracket to compress the clip so you can reuse it), and the rubber mount slides out, then release the plug.  I found it very hard to unplug, from underneath you can compress the tab with a screwdriver or similar, and gently but firmly pull the plug out of the socket (regular pliers may help but don't put too much pressure on the plastic. The lower mount is straightforward, 17mm nut and you can pull the shock out. As I wasn't putting a standard shock back in, I gave the car side wiring socket a generous gob of dialectric grease to keep crap out in the future. Putting the new shock in is straightforward, feed it into at least 1 of the bolt holes at the top and reach around to put a nut on it to hold it up. Then put on the other 2 top nuts loosely and put the shock onto the lower mounting bolt (you may need to lift the hub a little if the new shock is shorter). Tighten the lower nut and 3 upper nuts and you are done. In my case the BC Racing shocks came assembled for the fronts, but the rears needed to re-use the factory strut tops. For that you need spring compressors to take the pressure off the top nut (they are compressed enough when the spring can move between the top and bottom spring seats. Then a 17mm ring spanner to undo the nut while using an 8mm open spanner to stop the shaft turning (or, if you are really lucky you might get it off with a rattle gun).
    • Duncan
      V37 Suspension change

      By Duncan · Posted

      You will now be able to lift the parcel shelf trim enough to get to the shock cover bolts; if you need to full remove the parcel shelf trim for some reason you also remove the escutcheons around the rear seat release and you will have to unplug the high stop light wiring from the boot. Next up is removal of the bracket; 6 nuts and a bolt Good news, you've finally got to the strut top! Remove the dust cover and the 3 shock mount nuts (perhaps leave 1 on lightly for now....) Same on the other side, but easier now you've done it all before
    • Duncan
      V37 Suspension change

      By Duncan · Posted

      OK, so a bunch of trim needs to come off to get to the rear shock top mounts. Once the seat is out of the way, the plastic trim needs to come off. Remove 2 clips at the top then slide the trim towards the centre of the car to clear the lower clip Next you need to be able to lift the parcel shelf, which means you need to remove the mid dark trim around the door, and then the upper light trim above the parcel shelf. The mid trim has a clip in the middle to remove first, then lift the lowest trim off the top of the mid trim (unclips). At the top there is a hidden clip on the inner side to release first by pulling inwards, then the main clip releases by pulling the top towards the front of the car. The door seal comes off with the trim, just put them aside. The the lighter upper trim, this is easy to break to top clips so take it carefully. There is a hidden clip towards the bottom and another in the middle to release first by pulling inwards. Once they are out, there are 3 clips along the rear windscreen side of the panel that are hard to get under. This is what the rear of the panel looks like to assist:
×
×
  • Create New...