Fender (vehicle)

Part of an automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle body that frames a wheel well

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 surface of the tire at high velocity as the tire imparts kinetic energy to the attached objects. For a vehicle moving forward, the top of the tire is rotating upward and forward, and can throw objects into the air at other vehicles 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." In the United States, a minor car accident is often called a "fender bender".

Early automobile fenders set over the wheels to prevent mud, sand and dust being thrown on to the body and the occupants. Fenders typically became a more integral part of overall auto bodies by the mid 1930s. In contrast to the slab sided cars, the Volkswagen Beetle had real bolt on fenders over both its front and rear wheels. In current US auto industry nomenclature, usually only the panels over the front wheels are 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 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 diameter of the tire, because they do not move with the tire suspension and consequently 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 was first to feature fenders that enclosed the front wheels. 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 which 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 normally applies, there are some exceptions. Although attached by welding, the panels over the front wheels on cars such as the early '60s 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 accessory on pickup trucks are fender flares, which block mud and stones and/or cover rust. They are sometimes used by manufacturers on models that have wider tires than basic models. Using this method, the manufacturer can provide the needed tire coverage without producing a different fender, bed side, or quarter panel for what may be a low production model. Fender flares are used on SUVs, pickup trucks, off road vehicles, and sport cars. They either come with a vehicle as a standard equipment or are added afterwards as an aftermarket accessory. Fender flares are often made of fiberglass or ABS plastic to ensure flexibility and light weight; however, some trucks and SUVs come with metal fender flares to ensure better durability. There are three common styles of fender flares: OE style (narrow flares with smooth surface), 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 wide.

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, and 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 , 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, although there are a few fenders that are designed to be attached to the seat post. The trend towards urban biking, which has doubled in the past decade , 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.

In the UK it is a legal requirement that a motorcycle should be fitted with mudguards. 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 actually 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. 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.