Well the other day my driver side fender flare decided to rip off when i was driving down the road..
And as well as the passenger side today. I noticed when i bought the cherokee that they looked like they were gonna come off but i had no clue it would be this soon! So I went to remove the bracket they were held on so i could re attach them and bolt them back up and the bolts ALL broke. So now my decision is trim the fenders? or buy new bolts? But the problem with the 98 cherokee is the rear bumper cover is attached to the fenders?

What would be the most practical and smartest thing to do?

 

I'm an advocate for cutting the fenders if you want bigger tires. The bumper corner can still be used without the flares. I trimmed mine to match the line of the fenders.

Something to consider is local law enforcement. Where I am it is illegal to have the tires poking out from the side of the body at all. I haven't been pulled over yet (knock on wood) but you should be aware of your local laws.

 

At least where i live in New York it isn't a problem many people have done it here.. I just don't want it to look like **** right now it's my dd and still will be once I lift it I'm ordering a 3 inch lift soon here but It looks goofy with only two flares on the rear and nine up front do you think I should buy new flares or cut them

 

You can buy cut out fender flares for 344 bucks http://www.ruggedridge.com/all-terra...-11634-10.html

 

Would the cut outs look better then just trimming the fenders????

 

Depends who you ask,But i rather have a fender flare it keeps rocks and other junk being kicked up on your jeep.

 

I prefer fenders but my thing is with adding aftermarket fenders now I have stock suspension and wheels until I purchase my lift

 

OP: I'm a supporter of fender flares, and I actually didn't cut them at all because I like them.

I wanted to do aftermarket fender flares, but I never liked the prices, or they looked cheap in person.

You should do what you like. Some people like to hack their Jeeps all up, I'm the opposite. Pick a side!

 

With cut out fenders you'll want a bigger tire to fill the larger fender well. If you do a 3" with cut out fenders you would probably want 32s or 33s to fill the gap. You should decide if you want to go down the path of spending more money to build up to that, as well as the price of aftermarket flares if you go that route.

If you don't want to spend as much then I would recommend a small lift like 1.5"-2" and some 31s with the cut fenders. Less money spent on the lift and better road characteristics, with the same size tire.

There's plenty of choices for aftermarket flares. Most say bushwacker but I don't really like them. Notch customs and Napier are some cool ones to check out, although more pricey.

 

Here's my stock xj with trimmed fenders in case your wondering what it would look like.

 

Trimming the fenders will gook good if you know how do it right especially on smoothing the rough edges.

 

I am personally a fan of cut fenders and no flares but I really want some tj flares just to change my look

 

No fender trimming equals to less flex available with lower lifts. I easily ran 33x12:50x15's with a 3" lift with trimming.


As for flares I bought a set then decided not to install them, just less side clearance. They are still sitting in the shop collecting dust in the box.

 

Or you got metal tube fender flares http://www.rustysoffroad.com/jeep-ex...flares-xj.html and http://hooliganoffroad.com/products/...set-of-fenders