Many of us with 33s (and larger) have had to remove the front splash guards. While it's a quick and easy solution, my intention has always been to modify the guards to maintain underbody protection and aesthetics. Without the guards, the tire kicks debris into the underbody, and more specifically, I didn't want the tire kicking salt into the open chassis body mount that is right behind the tire, potentially creating a corrosion trouble spot.
Here's what I've done to my LX570. Note the LX570 side steps are a bit different than the LC, so the splash guard might be as well. So LC owners take this with a grain of salt. Note also this is for a 305/55/20 tire, which is a 33.2" tire.
Also in this series is how to modify the front fender liner.
The rub point is specifically when the tire is 1/3-1/2 way turned, and will rub about 3" in from the face of the well. This is also where the mudflap transitions off the sidestep and can be heated and re-contoured to sit farther back against the body mount.
3 steps:
1) There is a bracket coming off the lower body seam that supports the step and splash guard. The trick is to bend it back more so the splash guard is pulled away from the tire. Easy to bring it back by ~1/2" with adjustable wrenches for leverage. Since bending it backward also moves the hole inward, you'll have to drill a new hole in the plastic to meet this new position.
2) Cut a half moon into the splash guard. This is done so the right hand side of the splash guard stackup can be tucked behind the step encouraging it to sit father away from the tire. So instead of bracket>step>splash guard, it's bracket>splash guard>step.
3) From there, mount it all back up. Take a heat gun and gently heat the splash guard. With a dry towel and constant application of heat, I was able to re-contour the splash guard away from the tire, with about 1/2" of clearance at rest all around. The rub point is everything below the prominent horizontal ridge just right to the center screw hole. So the whole thing has to be massaged back.
Note how in the final fit-up, that the inward part of the splash guard is mounted and tucked behind the step, while massaged to lie away from the tire
Clearance after mod. Without this mod, the tire would be on the flap.
Here's what I've done to my LX570. Note the LX570 side steps are a bit different than the LC, so the splash guard might be as well. So LC owners take this with a grain of salt. Note also this is for a 305/55/20 tire, which is a 33.2" tire.
Also in this series is how to modify the front fender liner.
The rub point is specifically when the tire is 1/3-1/2 way turned, and will rub about 3" in from the face of the well. This is also where the mudflap transitions off the sidestep and can be heated and re-contoured to sit farther back against the body mount.
3 steps:
1) There is a bracket coming off the lower body seam that supports the step and splash guard. The trick is to bend it back more so the splash guard is pulled away from the tire. Easy to bring it back by ~1/2" with adjustable wrenches for leverage. Since bending it backward also moves the hole inward, you'll have to drill a new hole in the plastic to meet this new position.
2) Cut a half moon into the splash guard. This is done so the right hand side of the splash guard stackup can be tucked behind the step encouraging it to sit father away from the tire. So instead of bracket>step>splash guard, it's bracket>splash guard>step.
3) From there, mount it all back up. Take a heat gun and gently heat the splash guard. With a dry towel and constant application of heat, I was able to re-contour the splash guard away from the tire, with about 1/2" of clearance at rest all around. The rub point is everything below the prominent horizontal ridge just right to the center screw hole. So the whole thing has to be massaged back.
Note how in the final fit-up, that the inward part of the splash guard is mounted and tucked behind the step, while massaged to lie away from the tire
Clearance after mod. Without this mod, the tire would be on the flap.
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