Small flaps in front of front tires (1 Viewer)

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I looked for 45 min and couldn’t come up with anything in the search. So like the title says, has anyone removed those little flaps on the front end on the bottom infront of the front tires? I’m guessing it has to do with air flow but I lost one in the accident so I just pulled the other 3 off. Just wondering if it makes any difference not having them on.
 
I looked for 45 min and couldn’t come up with anything in the search. So like the title says, has anyone removed those little flaps on the front end on the bottom infront of the front tires? I’m guessing it has to do with air flow but I lost one in the accident so I just pulled the other 3 off. Just wondering if it makes any difference not having them on.

Toyota must believe they perform a valuable function (valuable = worth the additional cost of putting them on in the first place), but what that function is - exactly - is open to conjecture.

My guess is you are fine without them, FWIW.

HTH
 
Aerodynamics. They give a small addition to reduced drag and improved fuel mileage. If you look around you will see then on a lot of cars.
 
I would imagine most people here running 34" tires or larger have removed them. I'm sure it's some minuscule aerodynamic feature, but it's not worth replacing if you're missing one. All 3 200s I've had eventually saw them get removed sooner rather than later.
 
Agree they probably don’t do much once you upsize tires.
Somewhere someone told me they help utilize air flow to push some water away from front of tire to help higher speed wet handling. Idk if that’s true or not, but made some sense in theory so I’ve just left it there in the useless knowledge section of my brain.
 
Agree they probably don’t do much once you upsize tires.
Somewhere someone told me they help utilize air flow to push some water away from front of tire to help higher speed wet handling. Idk if that’s true or not, but made some sense in theory so I’ve just left it there in the useless knowledge section of my brain.
Makes sense, it’s called a fender liner pad.

C14A02E2-7F6C-45F1-B59E-6FB61B2E2325.jpeg
 
They are aero flaps, (4 in total, 2 on each side). They probably make a very, very slight improvement in aerodynamics. For me, I got rid of them a long time ago, along with the mudflaps and side steps. I consider all of those things UPC (useless plastic crap).
 
They are in the same category as those little "fins" behind the side view mirrors and on the sides of the taillights. According to the New Features document for the '14-15 trucks, those fins are actually "vortex generators" that improve aerodynamics and stability on the road. Ya, seriously.

AirFins-14-15.jpg
 
All my plastic and Tupperware is gone.
 
Mine are gone as well. Good riddance.
 
I believe they have something to do design rules implemented by some country’s.
Here in Australia this has something to do with the headlights and the forward spray of water etc at speed.

Here in Oz
200s with Halogen headlights didn’t have the flaps
But models with Zenon, HID and LED headlights do require them.

This isn’t gospel but having read the design rules here it is very involved and you would need a PHD in something to fully understand them.
 
They are aero flaps, (4 in total, 2 on each side). They probably make a very, very slight improvement in aerodynamics. For me, I got rid of them a long time ago, along with the mudflaps and side steps. I consider all of those things UPC (useless plastic crap).

Mine are in a landfill somewhere.
1000 years from now, someone will dig them up and say, “WTH??” -just like we do today. :hillbilly:
 
Took mine off just a couple of days ago. New bigger tires rubbed on the screws that held them on. No loss I'm sure.
 
It was only 18 bucks so I got one and reinstalled it with the other 3 that I took off.
 

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