VW Butt Flap

"Party-vi" (party-vi) 10/03/2013 at 08:50 • Filed to: oppositelock

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A nice looking R32 pulled next to me at a light on my commute earlier this week. Looked good and the sound he made when leaving the light was even better, but I did notice something silly; his rear valance was flapping under the car - undulating as he drove faster and faster, as if it were waving at me. I've seen this on several VWs including GTIs and regular Golfs. Is there something broken under there or is this just what they do, driving around butt-flapping?

505Turbeaux > Party-vi 10/03/2013 at 08:52

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it is a VW, surprised it didnt fly off and hit you in the face.

rabbitman > Party-vi 10/03/2013 at 08:52

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That is a beautiful sound. I would be pissed about the flapping you have to be Able to hear it in cabin too.

Party-vi > rabbitman 10/03/2013 at 08:57

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That's exactly what I thought - he's got to know his butt is flapping!

VW Fan Boy > Party-vi 10/03/2013 at 08:58

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As my handle suggests, I've had many VW's. My father had this particular model R32 and I drove behind him on many occasions and never saw any 'flapping'. I had a GTI of the same generation and did not have any flapping on my rear valence (saw my car on video many times) Maybe an improper exhaust installation? Broken support?

Party-vi > 505Turbeaux 10/03/2013 at 08:58

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Hey now, there's nothing wrong with a cheaply built German car...

...except that it's a cheaply built German car.

burglar can't heart click anything > Party-vi 10/03/2013 at 09:01

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What a seriously cool motor.

505Turbeaux > Party-vi 10/03/2013 at 09:05

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a long time ago in a galaxy far far away VW was actually good quality for cheap. Or cheap enough that it didnt matter

Jagvar > Party-vi 10/03/2013 at 09:35

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It's definitely not supposed to do that.

pdish > Party-vi 10/03/2013 at 09:43

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I have seen this on many modern BMW 7 series as well where an aftermarket exhaust was hung and retention clips or bolt placement didn't align any more. It also could have been from a minor accident where "everything was ok" except the broken retention clips.

Thunder > Party-vi 10/03/2013 at 09:54

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My wife was rear-ended in her Mercedes E350 a while ago. The impact was somewhere between 8 and 15 MPH, as it was enough to pop the anti-whiplash headrests but not enough to damage the bumper structure.

We took it to Mercedes to ensure no damage was done, and that was confirmed.

Several months later, I noted some broken plastic supports under the rear valance - the very kind of thing that I would expect to prevent that flapping. I asked the independent shop I take it to to fix it, and asked about putting in stronger, metal supports. I was told that they were designed to break in an impact, so the underlying bumper takes the force and the cover doesn't break.

Perhaps something similar is going on with the R32 you saw.

sloPro > Party-vi 10/03/2013 at 10:44

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at first i read that, as VW butt fap. lol