Plastic Thingamajig

Anyone know what purpose these plastic flaps serve up front? I played around in the mud and hit some big bumps along the way. One of em bent and tire started rubbing, so I took em off. Not sure why they are there to begin with.

Here is the bent bracket that sits behind the bumper.

 

It serves 2 things. 1. when you go reverse in mudd or muddy water, it's protect the under the front bumper. 2. it also serve as wind deflector to help the aero dynamics with our big tires. I was told that it helps wind pass through the sides creating less drag...

 

Thanks for the info. Might work on bending the piece back to normal and reinstall. How many MPG do I lose with the increase in drag?

 

Thanks!

 

They're called "spats", and they're to deflect air around the leading face of the front tires.

 

Many of us who went with larger tires took these things off. If you upsize your tires, you are less likely to worried about mpg than rubbing.

 

I didn't even know there were "spats". Previous owner must have taken them off.

 

Thanks all!