So I bought some genuine BMW mud flaps for the Z4 coupe a few weeks back, I live down country lanes which have been bad for mud and stones lateley and as its my daily driver (60 miles a day) I wanted to get some protection.
THey arrived with instructions which looked simple, so today I start to fit the front flaps only (they are the priority). Removed wheels, cleaned local area and dried, offered flap up and used as template to drill holes. So far so good. Metal clips a pain but went on eventually. Offered up mud flap again and all holes align. So far so good.
I then remove the adhesive tape on the flap and add some additional black butyl tape on the rest of the flap that contacts the paintwork, pressed firmly against the body to bond, fitted the main screw and then the probems start.
Two small self tapping screws, went in ok but as the screws went in they jacked the lower sill away from the inner liner, tried re drilling to drill the liner but the damn thing is so flexible a hole cannot be drilled. Used brute force and got both screws in.
Then I try fitting the plastic rivets into the holes drilled on the inner liner. Holes line up fine but could I get the rivets in? No!
again using brute force managed to get one in but could not use the expanding thing, it simply snapped off. The second one would not go through its locating hole as the inner liner just kept pushing back. In the end I bonded the flap to the inner liner using black butyle tape!
Was eaxtra careful on the other side and had same problems.... nightmare but fitted and look ok.
I hate it when simple jobs take ages and have the potential to go wrong, at least any holes are only drilled into plastic sections so worst case I can patch them up easily if I decide to remove them.
Rant over.
THey arrived with instructions which looked simple, so today I start to fit the front flaps only (they are the priority). Removed wheels, cleaned local area and dried, offered flap up and used as template to drill holes. So far so good. Metal clips a pain but went on eventually. Offered up mud flap again and all holes align. So far so good.
I then remove the adhesive tape on the flap and add some additional black butyl tape on the rest of the flap that contacts the paintwork, pressed firmly against the body to bond, fitted the main screw and then the probems start.
Two small self tapping screws, went in ok but as the screws went in they jacked the lower sill away from the inner liner, tried re drilling to drill the liner but the damn thing is so flexible a hole cannot be drilled. Used brute force and got both screws in.
Then I try fitting the plastic rivets into the holes drilled on the inner liner. Holes line up fine but could I get the rivets in? No!
again using brute force managed to get one in but could not use the expanding thing, it simply snapped off. The second one would not go through its locating hole as the inner liner just kept pushing back. In the end I bonded the flap to the inner liner using black butyle tape! Was eaxtra careful on the other side and had same problems.... nightmare but fitted and look ok.
I hate it when simple jobs take ages and have the potential to go wrong, at least any holes are only drilled into plastic sections so worst case I can patch them up easily if I decide to remove them.
Rant over.
