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Fender Flares

jeepcherokeethng

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Salisbury, NC
I have a 91 Cherokee and im lookin for some new flares. The bushwacker are nice but might make everything look smaller. I have 4.5in lift and 32's. Possably thinking about the rustys fender flares. Dont they make some flares that are almost like stock but a few inches wider? Also how much work do you have to do to fit the 97+ flares on the older model like mine? Thanks
 
I agree that BWs and 4.5/32" can look a little too small or "cartoonish" since the BWs are so big. I'm rubbing bad now and debating on what to do, and this is without offroading yet (mall crawler since it's without skids, work in progress).

I'd love to do a full trim and run flareless, but don't want the tickets.

I found a few nice write ups on re-fitting stock flares (various year models) by searching this site http://www.naxja.org/forum/search.php?searchid=406807, and reading some threads on www.jeepforum.com (made a post there about it today).

The three major "brands" I found while looking were BW, Rusty's and fatcory TJ flares modded a bit.

Not much help, I know, but I'm in the same situation.
 
I used rustys flares with my 4.5 and 32s and 33s. they looked real nice, installed easily enough, and ripped right off or cracked the first time out. Rusty was good enough to send me a new one for the PA Jeep Show (Took Third) but i have since torn them all off. So I;m flare less. Thinking about TJ rears front and back. Just want to keep the spray off the windshield and side windows. Interested to find out what you find.
 
My Bushwackers do look a goofy with 31 10.50's but I have gotten used to it. I think if you went with a 12.50 wide tire they would look much better on the smaller size tires. Just my opinion though.
 
i'm leaning toward the fact that if I pay that much for something, the look would grow on me pretty fast... heh.. it's a personal thing, and I've seen a few 31-32s that look good becuase other components (roof rack, bumpers, etc) kind of "set off" the flares
 
That was how I felt when I put them on mine. I have intentions of getting eather 32 11.50's or a 31 12.50's when ever I get a new set of rubber. I want the 32's but I would like to regear before I get them.
 
If you don't mind a not quite so "finished" look go to a MAC truck supply shop and get the rubber moulding they use on the front flares of dump trucks.

Just make sure to hammer over a lip when you trim your fenders

rodi_1830_13331281


http://www.autobarn.net/pac52171.html
 
I just joined but thought I would post a pict of my '90 XJ 2dr here it has bushwhacker cutout flares 3.5" lift and 31X12.50 and I think the balance is pretty good.

norvala.jpg


See Ya,
Mike
 
I run TJ flares(2 front and 2 rear) only because of the cost 100 verses 300 + for either BW or rusty's. I figure that if I loose one on a tree I am only out 25 bucks. Some just run 4 TJ rear flares.

Pros: They allow for a lot of triming on the fronts, COST, and you can turn the side marker lights into turn signals. They cover a 12.50" wide tire on a rim with 3.75" back spacing. I run a 35" tire on about 6.5" of lift.

Cons: They are kinda hard to cut and trim right for a 4 door XJ. If you don't trim that much off of the front they show way too much metal between the wheel opening and the flare. I have since fixed that on mine with some more triming.

All in all I like them and I don't mind bashing them off of trees or rocks and I would do them again.

normal_IMG_0093.jpg


______________________________________________________
90' Xj Re 5.5", 4.88's, Detroit Dana 44 rear, locked front and rear rolling on 35" Xterrains with lots of trimming.

Visit us at www.pa-wheeling.com A site that has a lot to offer.
 
trimmed is a very nice look but here in PA they are getting very harsh about tires outside the fenders. I am lucky that with my trimming and 33x10.5 LTB's are all inside the fender. I have seen guys that reformed the factory flairs that looked real good.
 
If you dont mind a rough look, get some lawn edging. I cut and installed the lawn edging and it looks pretty clean actually, I just have to rebolt a few places and reenforce with some steel sheet metal so the bolts dont pull through. I have seen some with the edging just bolted on, but I tried to keep it clean as possible. how one side is kinda a tube type of deal, I just cut a slit along the very top of it and pulled back half the plastic, put the bolt through the bottom half, and let the top portion fold back over.. Cant see the bolts at all and it goes right up against teh side of the Jeep, looks pretty clean. Then just trim off the remainder of the bolt inside the wheel well (I bent the cut body out rather than in, and used that as a mounting surface). Then herculine the inside of the fenders and the cut metal/nuts that will be sticking out a bit for protection, and your good to go.

PS, i know alot of that is prolly confusing as to what I did, I can get pics up if you want, I am just at work as of now and cant do much at all for that. Wasnt the clearest description, but I am supposed to be in a meeting now and gotta run, so short on time :D
 
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=77062&highlight=TJ+Flare+INstall+Writeup

I did this writeup a few months ago as a 'general guide' for using TJ flares. A lot of others added some advice to it, different ways they did it and such. I used normal TJ flares (2 front 2 rear). If I had to do it again, I'd use 4 rear flares all the way around. My zip-tie idea has held up so far and they look decent, but nuts and bolts or even rivets would make them look a bit cleaner and tighter.

Most importantly, measure, cut, measure, cut, measure adjust, measure, adjust. Take your time and you can make it look really good. If you haven't trimmed your fenders yet, I'd recommend getting a rough fit of the TJ flares first, see where you want to place them, and trim based on that. I trimmed way too high at first, and it took awhile to get my TJ flares to look decent.

Good luck

Chris
 
Ahhh gay, I just realized the pics were deleted. I'll try to get them back up.

Chris
 
Are you looking for appearance or function? I have a Rock Crawler 4.5 inch lift with 32's. I used a set of universal flares from Pacesetter Performance. They call them Flexy Flares. I got a pair from J.C. Whitney for $45. You do have to bend the fenders in order to mount them. But they give you 4 inch flares. They are somewhat like the lawn edging, but are 1/4 inch thick rubber and do take a beating without breaking. Look at my web page http://home.windstream.net/rsolomon/
The one that says "After Trail Riding" has the flare mod. I will post more pictures on my Jeep Projects page.
 
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