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RA Mudflaps - Why buy them?

15K views 48 replies 36 participants last post by  Leftbehind126  
#1 ·
So i'm looking at getting some flaps, and a little set back at paying $130 for a piece of plastic. Why do people pay so much for such a simple piece? I'm not trying to knock RA but if someone came out with a similar quality flap at half-price why wouldn't you buy it?
 
#26 ·
It's a combination of a couple of things, as a few folks have mentioned before.

- R&D. You're paying for a product that's engineered to fit this car, and is completely reversible if you ever want to take them off without damage.

- Paint protection. While they're not going to stop every rock you drive over from hitting your car, they will help. In addition to my mudflaps, I also paid a significant amount of money to have the paint chip-prone areas of the car clear bra'ed that weren't protected from the factory. Think of it as a supplement - toothpaste by itself helps keep your teeth clean, but only if you use it with a toothbrush.

- Looks. I think these things give the car that extra something... a rally-esque look.
 
#10 ·
So i'm looking at getting some flaps, and a little set back at paying $130 for a piece of plastic...
Sure you can go buy $20 flaps at Autozone and put sheet metal screws in your fender. You aren't paying for the plastic so much as the accompanying hardware and R&D that went into the mounting solution. If you install a set (or just look at the directions online) you can see it isn't a trivial process. The point is that it's completely reversible and doesn't damage your car.
 
#20 ·
They don't do much good in stopping the rock chipping these cars are known for so what good are they?
i developed some chips on the panels, i then put in the panels doesnt seem to have gotten worse now, ive even drove a little on a rocky dirt road (very little but still) and dont really see any additional damage after getting them on.

i think they look great too, well not the rears dont, but i just drilled new holes to move em in and down more, only the fronts needs to stick out some.
 
#23 ·
I love my RA flaps - only have them on the front, but they have been lifesavers.
 
#33 ·
I had a set of Basics and the rear ones started to warp something wicked, So I chose to not spend a huge chunk of money for their UR ones. I decided to buy a set of Sparco UR universal mud flaps. I used my Rallyarmor ones as a template and traced their shape out. So for $40 you can't beat that! But I want something very durable and protective of my paint.
 
#42 ·
I've got the black UR with grey lettering also. I've had them for 10 months, and they look like they did the day I installed them. I've put about 7,000 miles on with them, and I like throwing the car around on dirt roads in the desert. The bottoms of my rocker panels look a little chewed up, but there aren't any chips down the sides of the car. I'm very impressed with how they've worked so far, and I think they are definitely worth $130. It's amazing just driving around on paved roads at 25mph what they catch. Around here, I can go 10 miles and they are loaded with dead ants, among other things.
 
#45 ·
So I am going to pick up a set of these but I can not decide what color lettering to get.

Should I get the blue ones to match my car? Will they even match well, some pictures it looks like the blue lettering may fade and not look good after a while.

Or should I get the dark grey letting so they are not as noticeable? decisions, decisions. Anyone have any pictures of these on the '06 WRB STi?