Mystery part - front of wheel wells "mud flaps" - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Perhaps like many of you, the original small pair of “mud flaps” at the front edge of my wheel wells had become damaged, and so I bought some new replacements. Upon the removal of the broken bits, I discovered that each side of the car had another piece of “something” attached to one of the screws which holds these flaps. These were broken-off plastic shield or bracket tabs, attached to the innermost of the three (3) screws which hold the flaps to the car. They were located between the flap and the car body on both sides of the car; see circled screw in the first picture for the driver’s side location. These are –not- part of the mud flaps, but they are something separate. The second picture shows what is left of the left and the right bracket tab portions, again circled, along with one of the damaged mud flaps for reference. Each tab has a different missing part, so it is obvious that there had been “something” attached to the other end of these tabs which has been broken off. Looking around this area of the car on a lift, I can see no evidence of the “other end” of these two broken brackets, nor can I see any clues as to what these may have been or for what purpose they might have served. Maybe some sort of a shield of some nature? To add to the mystery, when I check my parts manual, there is nothing like this shown in the diagram, see third picture. But mine is a model year 2000, and my copy of the parts manual is dated 2004, so perhaps this was some sort of a deal which is unique to the earlier cars and was dropped from the later models? Can anyone advise what this missing part might be? Thanks - DM

Not shure because of the photo 1 perspective, but it looks like the lower front part of part #1 is missing. Could you do another photo from the inner weld to the front bumper? What engine type is your car? Regards, Markus

I believe that is what used to be an air guide. It helps to reduce airflow under the car by directing the radiator air flow to the outside. Link attached. Pelican Parts - European Automotive Parts and Accessories - Porsche • BMW • Mercedes • Volkswagen • Audi • Saab • Volvo • MINI

I think what you refer to as a missing part might be a piece of the inner fender liner, that gets scraped off at the same time that flap departs your car... I don't have one on either side of my fronts...

I replaced both of mine buying from Woody

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That looks like it might be it, with thanks! Does anyone have a picture of one of these installed on the car? I have obviously never seen this item before. Was this something deleted in the later years, but which would have been fitted to a 2000?

I'll try to get a pic tomorrow. I installed on my 98 because I like the concept of reducing air flow under the car. I think it was an S item for all years 00-04.

The mystery missing piece appears to be this (see picture) which I found in a 996 parts catalog. Rather surprisingly, it does not appear to be shown in the similar drawing for our 986 series which I have posted above. In any case, I will order a pair of these and will post a picture in this thread once they arrive and have been fitted. Many thanks for the excellent detective work by all – you folks on this board really know your stuff! Cheers - DM

Sorry about delay but Pic as promised.

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And I had expected, mine does not have these, apparently long ago broken off. I have a pair of these incoming, and I will add my pictures of them to this thread for posterity once fitted. Stand by ......

These air scoops arrived today, and are now fitted. First picture shows the parts along with the broken pieces which caused me to start the search for them. Notice that the part numbers are visible for future reference. Next three pictures show them fitted (car is on my lift), along with the new mud flaps. It is easy to see how careless drivers could run the nose of the car up onto a traffic curb and wipe them all out at once. Thanks to all for helping me solve the mystery! DM

I could be mistaken, but it looks like you also added GT2 or GT3 brake air scoops to your 986.

Which now don't do much with the other air diversions. Not sure what Porsche was trying to solve with those various "flaps". That is the radiator air exit not the entrance. GT2/3 and Turbo divert air into the wheel wells and toward the brakes. I cut my liners in my spec box to do the same + have brake air scoops. Maybe it's for driving in heavy traffic when the radiator fans are off.

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Yes, that is the case. Sharp eyes! - DM

Can you even buy the GT3 brake scoops anymore?

Dave, I can check my 00 S .....but I am pretty sure they are on there. They can get crunched pretty easy

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Bumping an old, but relevant thread. To answer this question - Yes. But it depends. You can buy it from parts suppliers like Pelican Parts and others, but directly from a Porsche dealership - no. It will show up as "discontinued" or "NLA" for some dealers, or they simply won't order it. The GT3 brake scoops are considered a Porsche Motorsport part and supplied by Porsche Motorsport North America in Carson, CA. If you must order them from your local dealership, ask them to contact Porsche Motorsport directly, or else they will tell you to pound sand. I went through this ordeal three weeks ago, and it was a painful experience. Back to the mystery parts: I just discovered the driver side scoop / liner cracked and is flapping around while driving. I noticed this after the end of a DE weekend with my PCA club. When replacing the four plastic pieces, can you re-use the original hardware? Or is it recommended to replace with new hardware as well? Thanks in advance!

Last fall I ordered these: 99734148392 and 99734148492 from FCP Euro for about $6.50 a piece. It looks like they are $25 now.

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Oh, yes. They've definitely jumped in price.

I did have to modify them a bit with shears to fit my new meyle controls arms, but they are on and now I have extra cooling 😎