Can someone with a petrol Edition or petrol SE L specd with 19" Craters explain how the plastic wheel arch trim is fitted to the car please.

I am playing with the idea of removing them from mine when I finally collect it. (1.5TSi manual Edition currently sitting at Emden).

However I believe they are not fitted to the 2.0Tdi 4x4 Edition due to the wheels being not as wide (225/45 R19), compared to the petrol (235/40 R19). 

Therefore I'm wondering if they serve a funtional purpose due to the wider wheels, or just an aesthetic one filling in some arch gap due to the profile difference.

If it is the former I will be leaving them on the car.

The main reason for removal is that I'm worried about a build up of dirt sitting behind eating away at the paint and bodywork. Plus I do think the car looks better without.

Any advice welcome, thanks in advance.

 

 

This is pure speculation, but I considered 235 wide 17" tyres as a replacement. The distance between the tyre and the front strut with the standard 225/50 18" set-up is only about 10 mm, so with the standard 18 and 17" wheels with 44/45 mm off-set, the 235 tyres would have been 5 mm closer to the strut. I suppose the wheel off-set for the 235/40 - 19" wheels is different, so the tyres are further away from the strut - and the trim needed to keep the tyre "inside" the car.

Which 'trim' are we talking about?

 

The 2 pieces that cover the wheel arch on the bodywork. Basically the two sections - on the door curve / wheel arch, and section that covers the rest of the wheel arch attached to the rear wing.

I wonder if they're like the Kodiaq? The trim is clipped on, removing them might leave the car looking like this, unless they're glued on the Karoq instead?

 

Meh...Im sure the next owner wouldnt notice that!