Anyone Here Own a Mz3 or MS3? Pic Request!

[Silentnoise713]

I am in need of a front passenger side wheel liner, it was missing since the day I got the car. I am hoping someone here also owns a Mz3/MS3 and can confirm that the wheel liners are interchangeable (fitment and screw/fastener placements). A quick visual will do. Dealers want $150 for that piece of plastic... Since Mz5s are hard to come by, figure I can look at Mz3 owners who are parting out damaged cars or local u-pull-it - this piece is usually junk. Much appreciated if someone can confirm. Thanks.

 

[00bluees]

no pic but i am parked beside a 3 right now and i can say its quite obvious to me that they are very different pieces.

 

[Silentnoise713]

darn...

Thanks 00bluees.

 

[thaxman]

Our 17" wheels std kinda confirms that our wheel openings are Dodge-large. I bet that the Mz3 has a much smaller opening.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Figure I update this incase anyone else needed the part. First, I PM’ed a member who owns a Mz5 and MS3 and here’s his response.

Finally took a look. You might know this better than I, but it appears there's a front, top and rear piece to the whole well. The top and rear pieces look identical or very close, but the front molds are definitely different. However, the screw points look to be in the same locations and while the 5's front piece does appear to offer more clearance, I'm not sure that clearance is necessary being that the MS3 has a larger wheel/tire in all directions. My guess is, if you can find some for cheap enough to make the risk worth it, that they would work or could be made to work. The 5's louvers in the front are much larger, which I find interesting, figuring the MS3 would have the most airflow for presumed braking performance, but they were nearly "shut" in comparison. All said the differences seem largely superficial unless there's something in the bay area that the 3 is accommodating, thus reducing clearance wheel-side. If that's the case then it wouldn't hurt the 5 any. At your own risk, but dirt- and salt-covered they appeared similar enough.

Rockauto now carries it under Body-Exterior -> Inner Fender. It should come in 3 pieces but best part -only $32.79 each side (~$15 S/H but also 5% discount code). Local dealer wants over $150 for that piece of plastic. HOWEVER, the image of the liner looks different (lacking the slits for air flow) but it may be the piece for a Mz3/MS3. Rockauto says it fits so I’ll give it a try.

You can also find replacement belly pan/ engine tray under Engine –Engine cover ($44). I don’t recommend driving without one as the oil filter sits in front of the engine block and valunerable to debri hits but that’s just IMHO.

 

[flcruising]

Hopefully the aftermarket fender liners from Rockauto are a better fitment now than they were about 6-8 years ago. I had to repurchase one from the dealer (another vehicle) because the mold was crappy.

 

[Davicho]

Just as an FYI I hear on a daily basis from my body shop customers that aftermarket fender liners are crap and never fit correctly. Just thought I'd chime in on this since I am exposed to this everyday.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Thanks for the warning. I have a feeling the fender liner I purchased is a one piece construction vs 3 separate pieces like the OEM one. I can only hope this aftermarket one has a somewhat decent fit that I can work with. I plan on cutting out what I need to replicate the missing piece so hopefully this will give me more flexibility.

When you guys say they are ‘crap’, what exactly do you mean?
Do the contours follow OE molding (this would suck)?
Does it look it is just a generic shape and not fit at all (this would suck)?
Do the mounting holes align (don’t mind as much)?
Is quality cheap (don’t mind as much)?
Can you make it fit (drill your own mounting hole and heat gun to bend/mend as needed)?

I just can't swallow paying $150 for this from the dealer. Granted, using part number search, Amazon has the OEM liner for a little over $110 (I think) -still too much for a piece of plastic.

 

[flcruising]

From what I remember, the contours did not 'follow OE molding'.

 

[Davicho]

All of the above mentioned from what I hear.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Arrived this morning. Quality and cut looks and feels very good, but it is a single piece construct... Will find out if it fits.


EDIT:
Everything says it is for the RH side of 06-10 Mazda5 but in one pieced. Looks and feels good so hopefully it's go on with little fanfare.

 

[Silentnoise713]

The replacement fender liners has a VERY good fit, I’d say 90-95% match and good material feel too! However, me being a tad foolish, cut the piece in half (for easy transport) as soon as I had it and before I test fit it or had a good look at the design of the original piece

The OEM piece actually comes in TWO pieces but they are stapled together to form one. It should really be considered as ONE piece!!! My front broke off with very clean lines so I though differently. I also did not have the proper replacement fasteners so the front piece, that I cut to size and held securely but not with all of the necessary fasteners, below off once I got to highway speeds and damaged by the front wheel –DOH!. I’m back to square one and need to buy another piece but this time I will replace the whole thing and ensure I have all the necessary fasteners. Another point, the OE liner has pre-cut vents, which I thought was for cooling air flow but now I truly believe they are meant to relieve air pressure build-up at highway speeds. The replacements liner did not have these precut groves and this is where it blew off…