Good tutorial, but you seem to not realize why they protrude. They are designed that way for a reason. Good, functional rally spec mudflaps stick out. Prevents rocks from hitting the side of the car. If it was only under/behind the tire, that does a lot less to help prevent damage.
Thanks for the tutorial. I'm with you though, not a huge fan of the appearance. I wonder if these are truly very effective in preventing anything anyway? Lol. At least you love your car enough to be proactive about its defense. I just picked up a white performance model myself. I'm also going to NC in June for some spirited touring of the dragon as well.