Can anyone tell me what is the function of this plastic piece on the side of our cars, installed forward of the front and rear wheels.

Thanks.

 

splash guard I suppose (probably really no function)

 

helps divert water from getting into your tires...

 

literally has no function and was one of the first things i tore off mine. looks much cleaner without

 

He is right. Don't remove it. It helps you handle better in bad weather.

 

Where did you get that info from? Care to explain how that helps handling in bad weather?

Prevent water from getting into the tires? lol

The rotation of the car spashes most water under the car to begin with and the rest that is caught by the guard flows town to the ground. I don't see how this in any way impacts handling in any kind of weather and i'm quite familiar with tire thread and water dispursement principles which none apply to a 1inch long plastic lip.

Ergo, it has NOTHING to do with handling.

What it is used for however is to prevent small rocks from flying up hitting your car or cars behind you as you drive but our cars are so low that a chance of that happening is slim to none anyway. Look at trucks, they have huge mud flaps to prevent debris and stuff from flying around but it has no performance or handling benefit.

 

Its to help minimize water splashing against the underside of the car / the side of the car.

 

agreed

 

Yeah, BMW spent the money on tooling for that piece, design/development, 12 total fastners, labor to install and the price of the part itself........because it has no function.

You may not know the function or understand it, but you cannot say flat out that it has no function.

 

yes i can they are a requirement in some states for certain vehicles (mostly Trucks) so BMW had no option. performance/handling wise they serve no function.