DeathfireD

Hey everybody. I've been wanting to get a pair of Bushwacker's flat flares for a while but was putting it off since I liked the look of my tires going past the fenders...needless to say the police did not like this and gave me a warning. It's kind of funny since my jeep has been like this for 2 years without any problems with the law or inspections. I guess it was just a bad luck kind of day .

Anyway, I'm not sure how the flat fender flares would look with smaller tires. I have 235/75R15 tires with iON Alloy rims which apparently have somewhere between 3.5 and 4.5 backspacing which I'm guessing is why my tires overshoot the fenders almost an inch.

If any one has photos of them with my sized tires it would be greatly appreciated!

motorcharge

What state do you live in? If you hadn't had an issue with it for over 2 years including during inspections then it sounds more like one idiot cop who just assumed it was illegal. You shouldn't be sticking out much at all on 235s.

DeathfireD

NH, and we apparently do have a law..which is weird since no one here follows it haha. As I was pulled over two other trucks drove by with larger tires than mine :/.

I found out from the cop that the cops in NH don't actively pull people over unless it's blatantly obvious that the tires are larger than normal. It's supposed to be left up to the garages to fail you on inspection and force you to do something about it. I'm not exactly sure why I was on this guy's **** list but he was nice enough to let me off with just a warning.

I'm not exactly sure why my 235's shoot past the fender so much. I bought the XJ used with them already on. I was cool with it since they where brand new. They shoot out just under an inch and they do rub when I turn the wheel somewhat sharp. I had to trim up the plastic bumper when I first got the jeep.

motorcharge

Ah yeah, bummer. NH is some the least restrictive laws in the country, but for whatever reason they're really strict about cars.

Are the wheels aftermarket? If so your cheapest option is probably just to switch to stock wheels. I see em on craigslist all the time for like $50 a set.

DeathfireD

The tires are wrangler goodyear SR-A and the Wheels are iON Alloy I'm not sure which version since they came with the jeep.
http://www.quadratec.com/products/92616_9X0X_B_PG.htm

Ya, I see a few on craigslist too. I'm fine with getting new fender flares though. I found a full set of bushwacker flats for $165. It says 4.5" width for the front and 3.25" for the rear. I'm not sure if that means that's they're total width or if that's how much it adds past the stock fenders. I'd like to see what they'd look like with 235/75R15s that have 3.5-4.5 backspacing before actually buying them and finding out I have 4 extra inches to work with lol.

Illuminator

I put bushwacker flat flares on my xj, but I've got a 3" lift and 31"s. Here's some pics anyways.

DeathfireD

They look great man. Did you have to do any cutting or where they just bolt on?

Mind measuring the front and rear flares for me? I'd like to know if their actual width is 4.5" front flare and 3.25" rear flare.

Illuminator

Thanks, I've been really pleased with them. Those measurement sound about right from the metal to the outside of the flare. There's some cutting involved but the directions are very good and a 3" cutoff saw makes good work of making the cuts. Bushwacker has the instructions online, that will show you all that's involved with the install.

NewJerseyXJ609

We're your fenders trimmed before the install or no? I REALLY want to get the flat flares but I'm going to have to drill my own holes since I'm trimmed.. But my jeep is mildly trimmed at that.

OP I know what you mean. I hate when the flare overpowers the tire. I've rolled around flare less with my 33x12.50's on 3.75bs rims with no problems. Then recently I got a warning. But I've never heard of anyone actually getting ticketed... Anyways.. I think you'll be fine with the flats bc they don't come out all that far. Plus it could be some motivation for bigger tires down the road.

motorcharge

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1045189

Btw that's what I plan on doing. Might be worth looking into if it's an option for you. Hell, you could buy the material and have someone local weld them up for you and it would still likely be cheaper than Bushwackers. You could get the material for under $100 easily.

DeathfireD

@Illuminator - thanks for the photos! I was looking for the instructions on multiple sites yesterday to see if there was any cutting but couldn't find any links. Do you happen to have a link on hand?

@NewJerseyXJ609 - I agree. I was matching up some 4.5" and 3.25" cardboard pieces on my jeep yesterday and it looks like they'll cover the tires perfectly. I may have some extra fender overhang though which I don't think will look too bad and it'll give me some room to increase my tire size later.

@motorcharge - I'd definitely do that if I didn't have the coupon code for the bushwacker flares already. I can get a full set for $165 which I think I'll do now that I know they wont over shoot my tires by too much. Thanks for the link, I'll definitely bookmark for the future though.

NewJerseyXJ609

Wow, that dude did an awesome job with them!!

Illuminator

My flares were only trimmed a little at the front bottom, but that part got cut off anyway with the flare install. Some of the upper holes get reused so if you've trimmed those off already you need new holes lined up.

Illuminator

You're welcome. This one should work. http://www.bushwacker.com/Instructions/10922_r0.pdf

DeathfireD

Thanks again! Damn that's more trimming than I was hoping to do. I guess once I do this I won't have the option to go stock again unless I buy new fender panels haha.


Attached are some photos for anyone who's curious about how much my tires stick out.