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Do the after market splash guards in front, the ones behind the front tires protect the rear fender where the plastic protection is in front the rear tires? The reason I ask is because I notice a few stone nicks on the plastic. Didn't go to the paint, but you can feel them on the plastic protection as you run your fingers over it. I know that side skirts protect, but was curious about front splash guards protecting that area. I have no stone chips on either side of the car other than scaring on the plastic film.
I depends on the width of the aftermarket guards. The wider the guards the better the protection. Many have reported positive results with the GM guards for the Stingray, which are probably the most narrow of all of them but are not full-proof. The ACS version are wider, and some have retrofitted SUV/truck style guards. It’s a compromise of form over function.
I have GM splash guards on front and rear from time of delivery and with side skirts no chip or marks yet . I took delivery in late June and about 1500 miles only so far. Might want to check out APSIS Integrated spats/splash guards. They are wider than GM splash and don't narrow down behind wheel, I'm thinking of getting a set in Carbon Flash.
I put the acs splash guards on front, GM on back. The ACS splash front guards are a little wider, and look fine. I recommend them. I also have side skirts, but have zero issues with paint chips.
I have the GM guards front and back with xpel along the lower rockers and over the area where the factory plastic was. I have over 40,000 miles, with 16,000 of those on less-sticky all-seasons, and the xpel has definitely seen better days. No hits have gone through to the paint, but i've been thinking about reapplying xpel to the rockers just for appearances. Every nick in the xpel shows over my dark paint.
Edit: wheels are factory 18-19s
Last edited by mdiiulio; Sep 30, 2017 at 08:00 PM.
I have both, My thinking is one without the other increases the likely hood of getting chips. So the cost GM of front and rear splash guards along with side skirts that came with GS was worth in to me. So having just splash guards in front leaves a lot of the side of car open to chips. If you don't want both or don't want to pay out that much for both now. Checkout those APSIS integrated spat /splash that I mentioned in earlier post they are wider and extend down more than GM splash. Might give you the look without skirts and a little more protection.
'16 Z51. I installed the GM splash guards front and back. After 18k miles, 2/3 of those miles highway road trips, the area in front of the rear wheels look like they were sandblasted. Fortunately, I had the original worthless piece of plastic removed, and the whole area covered with Xpel.
In my experience the splash guards, alone, do little to nothing in preventing road rash in front of the rear wheel opening.
After I have the destroyed Xpel removed and replaced, I'm going with side skirts. Not crazy about the look on a non-wide body C7, but I understand it will help reduce the road rash.
I'm trying to determine if splash guards in front without skirts prevent rock chips.
With no side skirts, I've avoided all rock damage on my narrow-body Z51 with the GM splash guards coupled w/ XPEL on the rockers and area in front of and behind the rear wheels. On a wide-body w/ the more vulnerable duct and wider rear fenders, I suspect it would be different w/o side skirts.
I don't care for the skirts, and also prefer the narrow-body, so fortunately I don't have to make that decision. It would be tough for me because I also think the wide-body models look better w/o skirts.
Joe, put the GM guards on mine the day I brought it home. The rear ones have protected the rear fine, and the front ones while they do keep the majority of crap off the door panels (which is good) I still got a gouge in the left rear quarter clear film. I broke down, and bought the side skirts for my own peace of mind. I'm at 6600 miles on the odo of my '16.
Last edited by Rebel Yell; Oct 1, 2017 at 02:36 PM.
I'm trying to determine if splash guards in front without skirts prevent rock chips.
Joe I put on the simple, cheap and easy GM splash guards. I figured that they can't hurt, and they look fine. They about disappear down there, and maybe not wide enough to do much good. I don't know. I do have similar damage to the plastic protector, I think when they chip sealed the Cherry Tree area up the hill. I also have about the narrowest side skirts.
Could someone with the GM splash guards post a couple of photos of front and rear, please? (If someone has a yellow C7 that would be great, but any color would be fine so I can see what they look like on the car.) Thanks.
Could someone with the GM splash guards post a couple of photos of front and rear, please? (If someone has a yellow C7 that would be great, but any color would be fine so I can see what they look like on the car.) Thanks.
The stock guards are so small it's actually hard to see them. From the picture below you can see how they disappear. And that's a good thing. They do protect the side of the door but what hits the back quarter panel with the plastic protector are stones that are throw up "under" the splash guards and because the way the side contour curves in, it exposes the rear quarter panel. You need side skirts to protect that area. Getting wider guards is no help because the debris is coming from under the guards.
I was never a fan of side skirts. But I knew I needed something to protect the rear quarter panel. (Hated the plastic protectors on a white car) But when I found the RPI Stage One skirts, I decided I could live with their understated appearance. And after I installed them, I decided that they actually improve the look of car by adding a "frame" to bottom silhouette of the car.
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Last edited by Walt White Coupe; Oct 1, 2017 at 04:11 PM.
I have both, My thinking is one without the other increases the likely hood of getting chips. So the cost GM of front and rear splash guards along with side skirts that came with GS was worth in to me. So having just splash guards in front leaves a lot of the side of car open to chips. If you don't want both or don't want to pay out that much for both now. Checkout those APSIS integrated spat /splash that I mentioned in earlier post they are wider and extend down more than GM splash. Might give you the look without skirts and a little more protection.
Thank you, but I have 44,000 miles on my car so far and the only scarring is on the plastic film in front of the rear wheels. Not one stone chip on any part of the car on the sides at all. Go figure. Just the stock splash guards and no skirts. I figured if I could just get away using the ACS splash guards in front to protect that plastic film area in front of the rear tires might be just right.
Splash Guards Question
