That dreadded PAINFUL sound!

[Wildcherry13]

First of all, im in a position where my wife needs to take our other vehicle to work. So that leaves me taking the Camaro to work everyday, yes its unfortunate and I have no choice for now until I can buy a beater car as my daily driver. Luckily for me, its only a 15 minute commute to get to work, but it feels like the LONGEST 15 minutes of my life ever! Theres 2 spots on my way to work that have small rocks and dirt where big trucks leave in and out all day from a gravel company. When I get to that spot I drive really slow but man that painful sound of all the rocks and dirt HITTING the side of the car is KILLING me!! I just installed the rock/spalsh guards a while ago and it did ok at first, but it seems like rocks are still getting by. I dont know, maybe the guards aren't sticking out enough? Maybe the sound is in the undercarriage and not the side/gills? I will definitely be adjusting them this weekend but still, It sucks! I'm afraid to even look if theres any damage to the paint. Like I said I do drive by there very slow but I can still hear it! If anyone of you have any ideas or suggestions of what I can do, please chime in! I also posted it here since its a Camaro with the 1le package and we have the same sticky tires and Id like to hear what some of you guys are doing to helps this if yall have this similar problem.. Thanks!

[Brandonmos]

i drive mine pretty quick through the tank trails on base (rocky unimproved trails) and i have no scratches or chips on any of my side areas.. my undercarriage gets filthy but a little water and np!

btw the rocks stick like hell in the tires dont they haha

[Chief8404]

I drive the crap out of mine and no issues besides tire wear. I have a lot of construction around work too and when i run over dirt it sounds like its raining but no damage from rocks or whatever else. I think its mostly in the fender wells anyway.

[Vbh_1LE]

When I lived in GA this was a common problem for me. My front tires would pick up small rocks off the road and it sounded like my car was being shot blasted. I noticed that I have very small rock chips on my "gills", which I know can be fixed with a little touch up paint and some sanding/buffing. I have since moved to California, and no longer have the problem. I think it's because it rains very little here, and there are no rocks/pebbles deposited on the roads by the flowing water. I would suggest covering the "gills" with some type of clear paint protection (film) to keep the rocks from chipping the paint. I would also suggest spraying the inner fenders with some type of rubberized coating, like Lizzard Skin, or 3M brand undercoating. I think that rocks hitting the hard plastic liners sounds much worse than it actually is.

[Wollmank]

Im in south Florida. I hear it almost on every road I drive..sand..shells. The mid flaps just don't cut it!

[Wildcherry13]

Originally Posted by Brandonmos

i drive mine pretty quick through the tank trails on base (rocky unimproved trails) and i have no scratches or chips on any of my side areas.. my undercarriage gets filthy but a little water and np!

btw the rocks stick like hell in the tires dont they haha

Yes they stick bad!! I notice the undercarriage gets bad as well.

[Wildcherry13]

Originally Posted by 20141le

I drive the crap out of mine and no issues besides tire wear. I have a lot of construction around work too and when i run over dirt it sounds like its raining but no damage from rocks or whatever else. I think its mostly in the fender wells anyway.

Man you gave me peace of mind! I sure hope its the fender wells. Now that you mention it sure can be just that! Cause I noticed when I first put the guards on they were working just fine. Its just that now I hear a the rocks just like you say, Like rain!

[Wildcherry13]

Originally Posted by Vbh_1LE

When I lived in GA this was a common problem for me. My front tires would pick up small rocks off the road and it sounded like my car was being shot blasted. I noticed that I have very small rock chips on my "gills", which I know can be fixed with a little touch up paint and some sanding/buffing. I have since moved to California, and no longer have the problem. I think it's because it rains very little here, and there are no rocks/pebbles deposited on the roads by the flowing water. I would suggest covering the "gills" with some type of clear paint protection (film) to keep the rocks from chipping the paint. I would also suggest spraying the inner fenders with some type of rubberized coating, like Lizzard Skin, or 3M brand undercoating. I think that rocks hitting the hard plastic liners sounds much worse than it actually is.

Sound like a good idea! I need to look into that! Now im willing to bet it is the fender wells that sound worse than it really is! Putting some kind of coating just may eliminate the sound completely. That will be great to know that it is that! Thanks for the advise!

[Wildcherry13]

Originally Posted by Wollmank

Im in south Florida. I hear it almost on every road I drive..sand..shells. The mid flaps just don't cut it!

Nope, they dont. Like others have said, it might be the wheel wells. I noticed no more mud on my car after I put the rock guards before I started taking my car to work. I just never heard anything like now since I have to pass by that rocky road... Im actually a little relief to hear that it might be the fender wells. A lot cheaper to repair/replace than the paint!

The area in front of the rear wheel will start showing rock chips over time.
I hate to see these cars in a few years and some miles.

[kevinw]

i dont see how the mud guards do not help. i have the gm flares put on my car at dealer before i took delivery, given its a black car. i had the front bumper and facia clear bra with 3M. but, my flares stick out beyound the fenders on the car and are almost flush with my 19 inch tires, so i would think they will help. may not be 100% but better than no flares at all.

[Wildcherry13]

Originally Posted by KlugSS

The area in front of the rear wheel will start showing rock chips over time.
I hate to see these cars in a few years and some miles.

I hate it too. I hope I'll have a beater for work by that time..

[Infinite-T]

I hate thst sound too, I hear it a lot. There used to be A LOT of talk on this forum in 10-11-12 about how fragile the paint is on these cars. My daily was a 01 Altima with 130k miles, in just 5k miles, my Camaro had more rock chips than the the Altima. I havent seen that much talk about the paint recently, maybe it has been improved since the 10 and 11s.

I have the ZL1 front and rear splash guards. They help, but not completely and I still cringe every time I hear that ping, clink, ting and still find a new little chip about every few weeks.

Nope paint still sucks.