Part of an automobile, motorcycle, or other vehicle body that frames a wheel well
This article is about the part of an automobile that frames a wheel well. Not to be confused with Bumper (car), the part of an automobile designed to absorb minor impacts.
Fender is the American English term for the part of an automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle body that frames a wheel well (the fender underside). Its primary purpose is to prevent sand, mud, rocks, liquids, and other road spray from being thrown into the air by the rotating tire. Fenders are typically rigid and can be damaged by contact with the road surface.
Sticky materials, such as mud, may adhere to the smooth outer tire surface, while smooth, loose objects, such as stones, can become temporarily embedded in the tread grooves as the tire rolls over the ground. These materials can be ejected from the tire's surface at high velocity as the tire imparts kinetic energy to the attached objects. For a vehicle moving forward, the top of the tire rotates upward and forward and can throw objects into the air at other cars or pedestrians in front of the vehicle.
In British English, the fender is called the wing. (This may refer to either the front or rear fenders. However, in modern unibody vehicles, rear fenders may also be called quarter panels.) The equivalent component of a bicycle or motorcycle, or the "cycle wing" style of wing fitted to vintage cars, or over tires on lorries which is not integral with the bodywork, is called a mudguard in Britain, as it guards other road users – and in the case of a bicycle or motorcycle, the rider as well – from mud, and spray, thrown up by the wheels.
In modern Indian and Sri Lankan English usage, the wing is called a mudguard. However, the term mudguard appears to have been in use in the U.S. at one point. The American author E.B. White, in his October 1940 Harper's essay "Motor Cars", refers to "...mudguards, or 'fenders' as the younger generation calls them."[1]
Early automobile fenders were set over the wheels to prevent mud, sand, and dust from being thrown onto the body and the occupants.[2] Fenders typically became a more integral part of overall auto bodies by the mid-1930s.[3] In contrast to the slab-sided cars, the Volkswagen Beetle had real bolt-on fenders over both its front and rear wheels.[4]
In current US auto industry nomenclature, only the panels over the front wheels are usually called fenders. The auto industry changed from rear fenders bolted onto a quarter panel to an enlarged welded-on quarter panel that fulfilled both functions. This resulted in one piece where there had previously been two, and the name of the larger welded piece, the quarter panel, survived the consolidation. Quarter panels are at the rear, with an exception made for dual rear-wheel trucks, where the panel at the rear is called a fender. For vehicles with a narrow car body that exposes the tire, the fender is an exposed curve over the top of the tire. For wide-body vehicles that cover the tire, the fender forms the wheel well surrounding the tire and is not directly visible from above the car body.
The fender's openings for the wheel wells tend to be much larger than the tire's diameter because they accommodate suspension travel and must be large enough to allow the full range of tire motion on the suspension without touching the interior of the wheel well. The streamlined 1949 Nash 600 and Ambassador design were the first to feature fenders that enclosed the front wheels.[5] More elaborate designs include fender skirts for enclosing the outside edge of the wheel well, and stylized pontoon fenders for exposed fenders.
The bolted panel that covers the wheel on dual-rear-wheel pickup trucks is called a fender. A pickup truck with a separate bed but without bolt-on fenders has a bedside, which performs the function of a fender. When the side of the bed is welded to the cab, as with the Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Avalanche, it is called a quarter panel.
While the standard of bolted versus welded applies typically, some exceptions exist. Although attached by welding, the panels over the front wheels on cars such as the early 1960s Lincoln Continental, the Corvair, and the early-1960s Chrysler Imperial are called fenders. Similarly, even though bolted on, the panels covering the rear wheels on the Saturn S series are called quarter panels.
An aftermarket pickup truck accessory is fender flares, which block mud and stones or cover rust. Manufacturers sometimes use them on models with wider tires than basic models. Using this method, the manufacturer can provide the needed tire coverage without producing a different fender, bedside, or quarter panel for what may be a low-production model.
Fender flares are used on SUVs, pickup trucks, off-road vehicles, and sports cars. They either come with a vehicle as standard equipment or are added later as an aftermarket accessory. Fender flares are often made of fiberglass or ABS plastic to provide flexibility and lighter weight; however, some trucks and SUVs have metal fender flares to ensure better durability. There are three common styles of fender flares: OE style (narrow flares with smooth surfaces), bolt-on (wider fender flares with exposed bolts), and Cut-Out (oversized flares that require a fender trim). The most important characteristic of a fender flare is the width, as it shows the tire coverage. Common fender flares are 1–8 inches (2.5–20cm) wide.
Cycle wing
Cycle wings on a Lotus 7 Series 1, 1957 to 1960
Certain types of cars with narrow bodies, such as the Lotus and later Caterham Seven or the Allard J2, use what are called cycle fenders in the US or cycle wings in Britain, for their resemblance to those used on bicycles. They are attached to the wheel suspension and remain at a fixed distance from the tire regardless of wheel motion. They can, therefore, be much closer to the tire than fixed wheel wells. This was popular on early Classic Trials cars because the fenders were lightweight and allowed for a thin, streamlined body. They persist on cars wanting a "vintage" look.
There are original manufacturer-designed and aftermarket generic fenders (mudguards) for bicycles that can be fitted to most bicycle frames. These catch and redirect road spray thrown up by the tires, allowing the rider to remain clean. They are not common on bicycles in the more car-dependent English-speaking countries [citation needed], since bikes in these countries tend to be sports-oriented, with minimal clearance between tires and frame tubes for fenders, or were ridden only in mild conditions. However, a few fenders are designed to be attached to the seat post. The trend towards urban biking, which has doubled in the past decade [when?], led to a production, import, and use boom in utility bikes. European utility bicycles, traditional roadsters, serious touring bicycles, and beach cruisers are nearly always fitted with fenders.
Motorcycles
In the UK, a motorcycle is legally required to be fitted with mudguards.[6] While motorcycles are invariably fitted with mudguards, only touring cycles generally have fully functional mudguards. Some machines can be seen with a stub of a mudguard only a few inches long, which satisfies the legal requirements but does not provide any protection from thrown mud and spray.
Sporty-styled or racing motorcycles sometimes come with or have added as an aftermarket accessory, a "hugger" rear fender, attached to the rear swingarm and very close to the tire rather than attached to the rear subframe and away from the tire.[7][8] Conversely, the practice of removing the front fender and reducing the size of the rear fender produced the bobber customization style of the 1950s onwards.
↑ Whittaker, Wayne (November 1948). "Debut for the '49 Nash". Popular Mechanics. Vol.90, no.5. pp.115–118, 264, 266. Retrieved 10 June 2024– via Google Books.
↑ Seeley, Alan (2004), The Motorcycle Book: Everything You Need to Know about Owning, Enjoying, and ..., Motorbooks International, p.116, ISBN978-0-7603-1745-7, Most monoshock bikes have very little protection from road dirt the elements for the rear shock and linkages. A hugger mounted to the swingarm will reduce the amount of water and muck being thrown at the shock, swingarm, and back of the engine. Most replace the standard chainguard, too.
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle is supported. In the latter case, a bearing or bushing sits inside a central hole in the wheel to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. Sometimes, especially on bicycles, the latter type of axle is referred to as a spindle.
A touring bicycle is a bicycle designed or modified to handle bicycle touring. To make the bikes sufficiently robust, comfortable and capable of carrying heavy loads, special features may include a long wheelbase, frame materials that favor flexibility over rigidity, heavy duty wheels, and multiple mounting points.
The Chevrolet S-10 is a compact pickup truck produced by Chevrolet. It was the first domestically-built compact pickup of the big three American automakers. When it was first introduced as a "quarter-ton pickup" in 1981 for the 1982 model year, the GMC version was known as the S-15 and later renamed the GMC Sonoma. A high-performance version of the latter was released in 1991, called "Syclone." The pickup was also sold by Isuzu as the Hombre from 1996 through 2000, but only in North America. There was also an SUV version, the Chevrolet S-10 Blazer/GMC S-15 Jimmy. An electric version was leased as a fleet vehicle in 1997 and 1998. These models are sometimes internally referred to as the S/T series to denote two and four wheel drive models respectively despite all versions being badged with 'S' nomenclature.
The wheel size for a motor vehicle or similar wheel has a number of parameters.
The Ford Bronco is a model line of SUVs manufactured and marketed by Ford. The first SUV model developed by the company, five generations of the Bronco were sold from the 1966 to 1996 model years. A sixth generation of the model line was introduced for the 2021 model year. The nameplate has been used on other Ford SUVs, namely the 1984–1990 Bronco II compact SUV and the 2021 Bronco Sport compact crossover.
The Chevrolet K5 Blazer is a full-size sport-utility vehicle that was built by General Motors. Being GM's smallest full-size SUV, the K5 Blazer is part of the C/K truck series. Introduced to the Chevrolet line for the 1969 model year, the K5 Blazer was replaced for 1995 by the Chevrolet Tahoe. In 1970, GMC introduced its own model of the truck, called the Jimmy, which was discontinued in 1991 and replaced by the Yukon. The "Jimmy" name was chosen to reflect how GM may sound in a similar manner to how Jeep was thought to be a pronunciation of GP in the competing market. Both were short-wheelbase trucks and available with either rear- or four-wheel drive. Despite all Chevrolet versions from 1969 to 1988 having the "K5" badge, GM never internally referred to the model as the K5 Blazer/K5 Jimmy. Officially, the vehicles have always been referred to as the Blazer/Jimmy, without the K5 prefix. After the release of the S-Series Blazer/Jimmy in 1983, the models were officially renamed "Chevrolet Full-Size Blazer" and "GMC K-Jimmy", though they are often unofficially still addressed as "K5" to avoid confusion.
A beadlock or bead lock is a mechanical device that secures the bead of a tire to the wheel of a vehicle. Tires and wheels are designed so that when the tire is inflated, the tire pressure pushes the bead of the tire against the inside of the wheel rim so that the tire stays on the wheel and the two rotate together. In situations where tire pressure is insufficient to hold the bead of the tire in place, a beadlock is needed.
The International Extreme Truck Series is a range of pickup trucks produced by Navistar International from 2004 to 2008. The first International-brand vehicle marketed for non-commercial sale since 1980, the XT line also marked the return of the company to pickup truck production since the final generation of the (smaller) Light Line pickup trucks in 1975.
A glossary of terms relating to automotive design.
A body kit or bodykit is a set of modified body parts or additional components that are installed on a car. They are typically composed of front and rear bumpers, side skirts, spoilers, bonnets, and sometimes front and rear side guards and roof scoops. There are many companies that offer alternatives to the original factory appearance of the vehicle. Body kit components are designed to complement each other and work together as a complete design, but often owners will 'mix and match' pieces from different body kits.
The rim is the "outer edge of a wheel, holding the tire". It makes up the outer circular design of the wheel on which the inside edge of the tire is mounted on vehicles such as automobiles. For example, on a bicycle wheel the rim is a large hoop attached to the outer ends of the spokes of the wheel that holds the tire and tube. In cross-section, the rim is deep in the center and shallow at the outer edges, thus forming a "U" shape that supports the bead of the tire casing.
A mudflap or mud guard is used in combination with the vehicle fender to protect the vehicle, passengers, other vehicles, and pedestrians from mud and other flying debris thrown into the air by the rotating tire. A mudflap is typically made from a flexible material such as rubber that is not easily damaged by contact with flying debris, the tire, or the road surface.
A nerf bar is a tubular device fitted to the side of a racecar, typically single-seat race cars that compete on asphalt or dirt oval tracks. A "nerf" is a small, sometimes intentional, collision between two cars in which one driver bumps the other to facilitate a successful pass. The nerf bar protects the sides of the vehicles and also keeps their tires from becoming entangled. If fast-spinning tires come in contact with each other, one or both of the cars may lose control or even become airborne. These are commonly used on Modifieds such as used in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series, and the wheel pods behind the rear wheels on a Dallara DW12 INDYCAR is often nicknamed the nerf bar because of the similar purpose.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to automobiles:
Motorcycle components and systems for a motorcycle are engineered, manufactured, and assembled in order to produce motorcycle models with the desired performance, aesthetics, and cost. The key components of modern motorcycles are presented below.
Motorcycle accessories are features and accessories selected by a motorcycle owner to enhance safety, performance, or comfort, and may include anything from mobile electronics to sidecars and trailers. An accessory may be added at the factory by the original equipment manufacturer or purchased and installed by the owner post-sale as aftermarket goods. The term Farkle is used within the motorcycle community, originally to denote useful add-ons, such as GPS or other upgraded components. Now also used at times in a humorous or mildly derogatory way to describe bling, such as anodized or chromed parts that add no functionality.
The Raptor is a nameplate used by Ford for its high-performance pickup trucks and SUVs. In use since the 2010 model year, the Raptor is designated as the highest-performance version of the F-150, Ranger and Bronco. Drawing its name from both bird of prey and the velociraptor, the model line is intended as a street-legal counterpart of an off-road racing trophy truck. The F-150 Raptor is currently in its third generation; the Ranger Raptor was introduced in 2019 while the Bronco Raptor was released in late 2021.
On a bicycle, a fender American English or mudguard British English is a part that encloses a tire so that it stops spray of water, sand, mud, stones and other road debris from thrown into the air by the rotating wheel. Full-covering fenders go over most of the upper side of the tire, and are considered standard equipment on utility bikes. Sports bikes can have smaller fenders or be completely fenderless, especially on bikes made for use in drier climates.
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