Sarra
12-25-2006, 03:53 AM
My first Legacy Wagon, a 1995 L, had no spoiler or anything at all on the top of the rear gate. The rear window got kinda dirty during normal driving.
Mom's 2003 Outback Limited has a dust strip, a little plastic strip above the top of the rear gate, that blows dust and crap off the rear window. That thing keeps the rear window pretty clean, unless it's really raining hard.
My 1998 Legacy 2.5GT Wagon has the sporty spoiler, and wow, the rear window is freaking filthy after just a few days! Does the spoiler on the back create a negative pressure zone right on the rear window or otherwise cause water/dirt/whatever is on the ground to get sucked up and stuck to the rear window that badly? I also noticed that when driving, the car has a huge roostertail in the rain. I've never had a car that did that before, my Sedan hardly kicked up spray at all when driving, even through heavy rain.
So, the question is, does the rear spoiler effect how dirty the rear window gets and how fast, or should I be looking at my tires instead? The tires are siped, and have no tread left. If the tires are kicking up lots of spray/dust/dirt, for whatever reason, would putting some mud flaps on help keep the windows cleaner?
And, last bit, I know there are no "made to fit" aftermarket rally-style mud guards, but I've seen people with home-made or custom mudflaps. What material to use, and where to get it? I can figure out where to make the holes, and how to affix them to the car, just would like to know about materials. I'd like flexible, durable flaps that hang down nearly to the ground, I figure that if they're that big, they'll prevent any nasty chips in the paint from when I drive on logging roads, and if they're flexible, they won't break if I hit a bump or otherwise compress the suspension and lower the body closer to the ground.
Mom's 2003 Outback Limited has a dust strip, a little plastic strip above the top of the rear gate, that blows dust and crap off the rear window. That thing keeps the rear window pretty clean, unless it's really raining hard.
My 1998 Legacy 2.5GT Wagon has the sporty spoiler, and wow, the rear window is freaking filthy after just a few days! Does the spoiler on the back create a negative pressure zone right on the rear window or otherwise cause water/dirt/whatever is on the ground to get sucked up and stuck to the rear window that badly? I also noticed that when driving, the car has a huge roostertail in the rain. I've never had a car that did that before, my Sedan hardly kicked up spray at all when driving, even through heavy rain.
So, the question is, does the rear spoiler effect how dirty the rear window gets and how fast, or should I be looking at my tires instead? The tires are siped, and have no tread left. If the tires are kicking up lots of spray/dust/dirt, for whatever reason, would putting some mud flaps on help keep the windows cleaner?
And, last bit, I know there are no "made to fit" aftermarket rally-style mud guards, but I've seen people with home-made or custom mudflaps. What material to use, and where to get it? I can figure out where to make the holes, and how to affix them to the car, just would like to know about materials. I'd like flexible, durable flaps that hang down nearly to the ground, I figure that if they're that big, they'll prevent any nasty chips in the paint from when I drive on logging roads, and if they're flexible, they won't break if I hit a bump or otherwise compress the suspension and lower the body closer to the ground.