Plastic flaps under engine? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Retrospekt · 09-07-2009, 06:25 PM

Do these serve a specific purpose? I tried taking them off to reach the front exhaust pipe and snapped the heads off of most of the screws...thus making it impossible to put back on.

bigbird · 09-07-2009, 07:13 PM

thoes are your splash guards...and they keep your engine bay dry. toyota doesnt have parts with no purpose...much.

abew330 · 09-07-2009, 07:16 PM

im missing mine (broken/ ripped off)
i always thought they were splash guards...
i think... not sure but when it rains and i go over water i kinda lose steering and a little braking.. i think the water hits the belts

***Gothmog3VZ*** · 09-07-2009, 07:36 PM

yeh, I was wondering that about the big round thing in my trunk once, got rid of it. Then I got a flat :P

Retrospekt · 09-07-2009, 08:24 PM

Mine was about half broken off and I tried removing it gently, the bolts cracked off with barely any force. What can I do about this now? :/

touringcamry · 09-07-2009, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigbird

thoes are your splash guards...and they keep your engine bay dry. toyota doesnt have parts with no purpose...much.

They're also there to smooth air flow under the vehicle to reduce turbulence and increase aerodynamic efficiency. Race cars have smooth under trays to reduce drag.

Jimnist · 09-07-2009, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by touringcamry

They're also there to smooth air flow under the vehicle to reduce turbulence and increase aerodynamic efficiency. Race cars have smooth under trays to reduce drag.

That too. There was a thread about someone who made a custom one from fibreglass and it improved his MPG by a noticeable amount. That covered it all very well and was pretty solid.

If you do decide to do it, only make it go as far as the centremember, the engine bay needs airflow to expel the heat.

Have you tried a chisel and screwdriver or screw extractors?

bigbird · 09-08-2009, 04:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by touringcamry

They're also there to smooth air flow under the vehicle to reduce turbulence and increase aerodynamic efficiency. Race cars have smooth under trays to reduce drag.

im sure that was a heavy consideration when toyota was putting the 5s automatic in a 3100lb car

.

but hes right, they also have that ability too.

Suprarush · 09-08-2009, 10:13 AM

Have a look under a Honda, Nissan or Mitsubishi and you will see (especially a Canadian Car) how dusty, rusty and dirty the engine bay looks.

These are good to have when you get snow and salt thrown up there during the winter. Once the summer heat hits, there's a good chance the bay hasn't been cleaned so the rust process begins and before you know it your bay looks like crap.

ghettosled · 09-08-2009, 11:44 AM

replace the rusty clips with new ones from a car parts store. in spots where there arent clips, you can either drill and tap the hole or drill a pilot hole and use self-tapping screws. i would reinstall the splash guards. at least its just a plastic cover so it doesnt have to be perfect.

i just did some body work to my car and snapped about 4 screws off when trying to remove the part of the splash guard and fender.

Retrospekt · 09-08-2009, 01:00 PM

The clips that hold the front end of the guard to the bumper are in tact. The clips that hold the flap to the side flaps by the wheels broke, however. I'm sure I can find a replacement for those somewhere.

What are my easiest options to reattach this securely...with having to spend as little money as possible.

bcp477 · 09-08-2009, 09:03 PM

On a street car like the Camry, the splash guards don't accomplish a great deal. Yes, they are primarily there to keep the engine bay a bit drier - but, that is not much of an issue, unless one regularly drives through deep puddles - ALOT. As such, the splash guards are not terribly important - that is, being without them will NOT hurt anything.

As for aerodynamics, yes, they do have a SMALL effect. A SMALL EFFECT. Around town, NO effect that could ever be measured. In extended highway driving, they COULD possibly be good for perhaps 1/2 to 1 mpg....at the MOST. Any stories about "special undertrays" boosting mpg significantly could ONLY have any possible effect at sustained, high speeds. At city driving speeds, aerodynamic forces are much smaller than on the highway. Certainly, undertrays are important for aerodynamics on RACING cars. But, that is "apples and oranges" in comparison to street- driven vehicles. At "city" speeds, tyre rolling resistance has as much or more of an effect than aerodynamics. So, I'd be careful about which of these "stories" you believe, gentlemen.

In any case, being without the splash guards will not hurt anything, really. Whether to "fix" them and reinstall them is your choice, but don't lose too much sleep over it - it isn't worth THAT much effort.

JCamry94 · 09-09-2009, 01:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigbird

im sure that was a heavy consideration when toyota was putting the 5s automatic in a 3100lb car

.

but hes right, they also have that ability too.

bigbird · 09-09-2009, 04:22 AM

keep them...period. despite naysayers. they DO make a differance in wet weather. been there and seen it.

touringcamry · 09-09-2009, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigbird

im sure that was a heavy consideration when toyota was putting the 5s automatic in a 3100lb car

.

but hes right, they also have that ability too.

What are you saying, the Camry I4 was not designed to be a fast vehicle.

In some parts of the world, it's possible to get a Mercedes Benz S280 which is a 4300 lb vehicle with a 3.0 V6...