Aftermarket fender flares

I've been looking around for aftermarket flares that would extend out enough to cover the 31x10.5" BFG AT/KO's I have on my 2000 4-door XJ. I've come across several in my search and I am looking for advice on which to purchase.

I saw that Rusty's was offering a deal on their extended fender flare sets for the XJ. Has anyone purchased these before? Do they come with all the hardware need for installation? I have since removed the mounting brackets for my non-existent rear flares, and I do not feel like paying additional money to replace the factory hardware.

I also saw that Bushwacker made a set of aftermarket fender flares for XJ's on Rustysoffroad.com, but they only went up to 96'. Does bushwacker make a set of fender flares for the 97'-01' XJ?

Are there any other brands of aftermarket fender flares that are worth checking out? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Bryan

bushwacker makes flares that will work on all the XJ's, but in the 97+ the washer fluid botle on the divers side hangs where most people would cut or screw the flare on - and BW doesnt want to be held liable...


-Ranger

Should I just go for the Rusty fender flares then, to avoid the problems with the Bushwacker fender flares in the 97' and up XJs?

If money matters, buy some TJ flares from Quadratec--they'll cost you less than $100 shipped if I remember when I bought mine. Unless you have obscenely wide tires, they should be wide enough. I've used Bushwaker flares on another XJ and really liked them, but I hated how much they cost me.

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A buddy of mine just ordered the Rusty's ones, and no hardware was included. They look decent, but come in a shiney finish. I plan to go with (4) rear TJ flares on mine.

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just curious, whats your BS? i have 3.5" BS and no flares and my tires stick out about 2" maybe... for the money on the some new flares, why not just get some bigger BS and have those tires stuff in? JMO. i ripped my stocked flares off on a tree, so i trimmed and put protekto trim on the fenders edges. looks just as good as stock, clean, and crisp. i'd never spend $$ on BW or rustys flares

just something to consider
brandon

I too went through this whole thing. Right now, I could find 3 solutions.

- Bushwhackers -- expensive, my opinion is they look "too big" for 33" and below
- Rusty's -- less expensive, same look as BWs.
- TJ flares -- even less expensive, bit better look, many use 4 rear flares, looks pretty good.

Also account for the fact that any black plastic fender flare can fade quickly (if you care about looks).

My current solution is to run flareless and see how long it takes (or even if) I get pulled over for it. I stick out about 1.5-2" up front without flares. Check your state limit. I still have my rear flares on for now also, but they are coming off.

I will one day remount the stock flares in new positions. But, as with most any flare, they will get knocked off or destroyed, so I'm debating how to mount them. And that brings me back to running flareless each time. Sadly, I *could* get ticketed for it, but to me it's the best solution. Some worry that you can kick rocks without flares and hurt other's vehicles -- I think the only think that would stop rocks from being kicked up is big ass flares (like BW or Rusty's) and street sweeper type mudflaps. Even then you'll kick some stuff up on other people by chance.

That's my $.02.

Thank you for the all feedback.

From what I've been hearing it sounds like the way to go would be to buy 4 rear TJ fender flares as the tires only stick out 1.5 - 2". The Rusty's or BW may be a bit too big for my tiny 31's.

I don't have the original mounting brackets for my two rear flares, though. Would I need to order the mounting brackets in addition to the flares from Quadratec?

Does anyone have pictures of a XJ with rear TJ flares the whole way around? I'm thinking of also running 4 rear TJ flares on my 2 door XJ.

DaveHillier said:

Does anyone have pictures of a XJ with rear TJ flares the whole way around? I'm thinking of also running 4 rear TJ flares on my 2 door XJ.

Click to expand...

Rear TJ's on all four corners. Not the best pics. But all I have.

I like the looks of using the rear TJ flares all around too. But keep in mind that they require a lot more work on your part. You have to fit them to the body lines of the Cherokee since the TJ is flat sided. Either do an search on TJ Fender Flares, or you can check this site for decent picts.
TJ Flares on PhotoBucket :repair:

I will suggest to go a direction other than bushwackers if your going to stay with 31s. I have 31s with my bushwackers and they look tiny! I love the look, but cant wait until i stuff 33s with extra lift.

If your going to ever put bigger than 31's on it and you NEVER rub a tree or a rock ...or touch the flair in anyway other than to wash it....Then Rustys are definatly the way to go, they look great, HOWEVER...if you actually WHEEL your XJ and DO bump trees, rocks, etc.. and your going to put bigger than 31's on it(someday) Then the BW can't be beat. You can beat the crap out of those things (if you've installed the correctly), they take a lot of beating to dent and forget about breaking them ,that won't happen. Now if 31's are JUST YOU and what you're going to run for now on (I'm personally hoping that's not the case...but anywhoo) the the TJ flairs are the way to go for either street or trail.

I love my Rusty's flares, but I do think they would look funny with your 31s. I ran them with 30s for about a month - it didn't look right. The only bad thing about Rusty's flares is that they are fiber glass. I haven't broken one yet (about a year now) but it'll happen sooner or later - Murphy's Law. I have heard that Rusty's is pretty good about working with you if you break one. Check out some poser pics at the end of my sig.