Fender, Tires, and SYEs... Oh my!!!

i think this will turn into a rather long post, so before i begin and seeing as this is my first post; im walt, va resident. a bit of a thrill seeker. i learned to drive stick on the same xj i drive now when i was 11. 9 years later i still love my jeep. ive been lurking around here but never posted, so hello to all.

97' XJ - 4 door, 5spd, i6, chrystler rear end
RE 4.5" superflex kit
31x10.50 BFG A/Ts


first off... fender trimming. ive been looking at this tutorial and am not expexting any issues (2 years of auto body training in an ASE certified program). but to those of you who have done this, how have you done about finishing up the edges on the fender wells to make them presentable? this is also my daily drive so she has to look good! lol. (and comply with Va regulations) if need be, does anyone have experience with moldable flexy style flares or should i just stick with bushwacker/rustys? also, i have seen a couple builds that involve folding/cutting the rear quarter pannels under the tail light, the area where the plastic peice accents the rear bumper ends. is there a thread that has a good how to on this? im interested in it but not sure if itd be something for me/my jeep.

second... bump stops. after trimming i want to poperly adjust my bump stops. the front should take all of 5 minutes. if i need to make them longer, hockey pucks (i play junior A, so i have tons) and longer bolts should do the trick. now i know the the rear will tuck enough to rip off a flare, ive done it once. though not as easily done as the front, id rather have it done and not need it than need it and not have it. what would you suggest as the best way to adjust these.

third... tires. the A/Ts really arent cutting it. i realize there is only so much i can expect without lockers, but i do want something more aggressive. will my drive train (stock dana 30 and chrystler 8.25) be able to handle a bigger tire? can i safely mount something like a 33x12.50 on my 15x8 cragars or should i be looking at new wheels as well? most of my wheeling is beach use now (OBX, fishing and surfing) so it wont get beat on terribly.

last... SYEs. i had no idea what a SYE was until i lifted my jeep, and even now still dont really know what ill gain from one. can someone give me bit of imformation on these? and if i choose to install one, how much can i expect to spend including the new drive shaft.

i figure doing all these little things on my daily driver around my work schedule should keep me entertained long enough to finish up the custom bumpers/sliders im developing with a buddy. any help is appreciated. and happy jeeping!

There are gazillions of threads on SYEs, but if you look at your rear drive shaft, you will see that when the suspension cycles up and down, the yoke on the back of the transfer case will slide back and forth along a splined shaft coming out of the transfer case. When lifted, this slip yoke is pulled back and pressure is also pulling down on it. This, along with more extreme angles on your drive shaft u-joints can cause vibrations and unnecissary wear on your internal transfer case bearings. Eliminating this slip yoke puts a solid driveshaft mounting point on the back of the tcase along with a solid mounting point on the axle (already there of course) and a new driveshaft is installed with the slipping portion in the middle of it.