K, here's an out-of-the-box idea that I've had for some time. I saw a set of axle-mounted flares on an offroad forklift, sort of a plastic or poly material. They're mounted to the axle knuckles with angle iron, holding the molded flare within 2" of the tire tread.
A company named minimizer.com makes the flare, and you would have to fab up some sort of mounting system. It would have to mount to the knuckle or axle tube, and go up and attach to the flares. I thought of using 2 or 3 strips of flat-bar per wheel... drill and tap the knuckle, and mount the flares using the flat-bar.
Obviously, you would have to order the correct size flare for your wheel diameter, and figure out how to mount it.
This way, the flare would move with the tire, and you wouldn't have to attach any sort of flare to the jeep body. I think it could work great, but haven't got around to trying it.
An added benefit may be that that the tire would also be protected from any sheet metal edges... should a bump stop fail etc... This flare has 'lips' on the edges and covers the entire tread, keeping everything clean. A downside may be that, should a tire catch the flare, it could bend the mounts etc. These flares have 'ribs' in them I believe, allowing screw-heads or small bolts to be in the recess, so that the tire can't contact them.
Just a thought. :idea:
