Rear Fender Flares/Rolling/etc

[WE3RX7]

I'll be moving in about 2 months and when I do so, I want to drop the FC off at the body shop for the rest of the body work/paint. Right now, I have the SA-Foresight front fenders +30mm and would like an equal increase out back on the rear, but I cant seem to decide on doing overfenders (not my preference) or seeing possibly just roling the fenders would increase it enough, or actually adding custom sheet metal fenders that are welded in place opposed to overfenders typically made of FG.

Does anybody have actual photos of these items installed on an FC? Most of what I find is a generic photo that is hard to see. If you're running a 275+ tire out back, what did you do for the rear? Anybody with custom setups/custom fenders, etc...


I'm just in the thought stage of this, so any photos/details you all may have would be appreciated. I really would like to keep it as close to stock lines as possible with increasing the width (the front fenders do a good job of this from SA).

[WE3RX7]

Something like this is what I'm leaning towards:

These are from AWR:
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d86/RPM-1/099.jpg

I dont like that it removes the molding and its a little TOO wide....

[josh18_2k]

you can fit 275's under stock fenders.
pulling the rear fenders is super easy tho. i've done it on a few different cars, and FC's are by far the easiest to do nicely. i just went nuts with mine (wasnt being very cautious), and they still look good.
btw, my setup is 17x10.5 +24 w/ 275/40/17
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p297/josh18_2k/LS1%20FC/DSC02444.jpg

[classicauto]

What he said.

When you say you want an equal increase in the rear, do you mean an extra 30mm width? Or that you want to run a square tire combo? (the same size tires all around)

Because to do a sqaure combo with stock(ish) rears, you'll be able to run up to about a 275, but the front is where you need to add the clearance. The rear, bone stock, can easily house a 255.

[WE3RX7]

Sorry to not clarify - I wanted to run equal width on the fenders, so an extra 30mm out back if needed. Front tires are going to be a 245 or 255, rear will be 275.

Josh - thats the pic I remember seeing and liked, and your setup is almost spot on to what I want to run for the wheel as well. Any other pics of the rear fender, from different angles? How did you pull it out?

[josh18_2k]

i used a fender roller. theyre ~240 bucks, but chances are you could find one to rent/borrow (i rent mine locally)
all the pics i have are in my photobucket (just do some diggin).
http://s131.photobucket.com/albums/p297/josh18_2k/
i recently pulled them a little more to clear 285's on a 18x10.5 +15. i should have pics of that after this weekend, and i'll make a thread.

[TehMonkay]

did you use a bar/bat or a real actually roller josh?

[josh18_2k]

Eastwood fender roller. ive heard a bat can give excellent results as well, but that all depends on the wheel/tire you have mounted and the ride height

[Phoenix7]

I like Josh's fenders more than the widebody kits....Now, is there a reason why you stopped at the top half? I always thought it looked odd how the wide fenders don't go all the way down to hte bottom of the fender.

[Ender]

I like Josh's fenders more than the widebody kits....Now, is there a reason why you stopped at the top half? I always thought it looked odd how the wide fenders don't go all the way down to hte bottom of the fender.
Or at least take longer to taper down.

This is good stuff to know, I'll eventually need to do this on my FC('s).

[josh18_2k]

is there a reason why you stopped at the top half?

if this question is for me, plz clarify. i dunno what you mean

[WE3RX7]

I think they (and myself) are curious why only the top section of the rear fender is rolled out... was that because thats all you needed, or is because its all you could pull the way the fender is?

[Phoenix7]

I think they (and myself) are curious why only the top section of the rear fender is rolled out... was that because thats all you needed, or is because its all you could pull the way the fender is?
WHat he said.

[josh18_2k]

theres only a certain range in teh fender that needs to be pulled for clearance.
also, you cant go too far in the back without causing problems, due to that weird double kink back there (look at your fender and you'll see).
the front side is flared down to the molding

[josh18_2k]

this pic kinda shows what i mean (you dont have to pull the back section at all really)
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p297/josh18_2k/DSC06688.jpg

[josh18_2k]

and in this one, you can see why its difficult to pull the back part (the double kink)
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p297/josh18_2k/DSC06689.jpg

[Phoenix7]

ah, I see what you mean.

[WE3RX7]

Yea - thats sort of what I figured as well.

[nitronatefc]

Awesome thread. Much like WE3RX7, I have ShineAuto front fenders sitting in the garage awaiting install. I wanted to widen the rears slightly as well, just to keep the front/rear width perspective equal. I like what you did, Josh. As I have access to an eastwood roller locally, I think this is the route I will take on my car too. I have a Vert, so I was skeptical how molding on a wide rear fender would turn out looking (Nobody needs to post a picture of Juice's car. I am referring to "narrow" 30-50mm wider rear fenders :)) In the end, I want my car to appear stock to the average person who has never heard of an RX-7

[TitaniumTT]

Sorry to not clarify - I wanted to run equal width on the fenders, so an extra 30mm out back if needed. Front tires are going to be a 245 or 255, rear will be 275.

Josh - thats the pic I remember seeing and liked, and your setup is almost spot on to what I want to run for the wheel as well. Any other pics of the rear fender, from different angles? How did you pull it out?

With the right offset you can fit a 255/40 and 275/40 stagger with stock fenders. The front may require a slight roll but there is no need for replacement fenders to fit that size tire.

I believe wheels will be 8.5 +30 front and 9.5 + 35 in the rear. Check the FC Wheel fitment tread on the evil forum and look for Blue TII's setup.

Now if you want a rear fender to match your front fenders, I believe you are in for a little custom work. Either FG or sheet metal. If you do FiberGlass, i would pulls a mold off of the near finished product incase you end up in a wreck. Use the mold to pull a new piece and viola, done.

Making your own rear fenders from scratch wouldn't be that hard at all, just VERY time consuming.

[WE3RX7]

I'm about 65% at body work. I can make it look ok for an IT7 car that just gets smacked, but this one I want perfect.

I think I'm going to have the body shop thats doing the rest of the work do custom sheet metal rear fenders, nothing crazy - but it would be easier to repair in the future should anything happen. All the events for this car will be solo'd so the only person damaging it is going to be me, lol...


Thanks for the info on the wheels. I know the stock setup can fit a beefy wheel, but I wanted the added security and flexibility in my front suspension without having to worry about fender width, etc.

[josh18_2k]

if you wanna go maximo tires on a decent front fender (not tripoint 60mm rediculousness), Corksport 30mm fronts are the way to go. They fit nicely, look good, and I'm running 285/30/18 up front. They clear enough to hit the frame rail on full compression (gotta raise the car a tiny bit). i'll make a thread about the fender/tire setup when i can get a camera and some good pics.
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p297/josh18_2k/LS1%20FC/rx2.jpg

[Phoenix7]

damn, 285?? that's a wide tire man...

[Max777]

What would be a good width/offset if I wanted to run a 17" and have it fit flush with those fenders? My fenders are junk, and I want some FG ones, but I dont want to have to buy 285 tires for a street car.

[josh18_2k]

i'm running 18x9.5 +15 with 2.5 degrees of camber, and there is a little more room to spare on the outside (maybe 5mm). so you'd have to do a little math on that one. camber makes a big difference on how much tire you can run.
i'll make a nice informative thread when i can get a camera.

from what I gather, shine's forsight fenders and corksports are styled almost identical, aside from the vent, and corksport is ~10mm wider. Frijolee on rx7club has a thread about running 255's on shine fenders, and he has about he same clearance as i do (not sure about his camber).

[Max777]

What would be cool is if you could tell me more about the cork sport fenders, like material, price, fitment, etc.

I know that shine stuff is A+ in all those areas already, but I might go corksport if they are cheaper, because drifting tends to destroy aero, lol.

[josh18_2k]

corksport.com
they are local to me, which is the main reason i bought them (no shipping made them the cheapest 'good' fenders). material? um, fiberglass i guess. i dont know anything about materials or body kits or whatever.
CS fitment is great and clears a whole lot of tire. i guess what it comes down to is- if you want to go lower offset and have a vent, go CS. not quite as wide, but no vent, go Shine.

this is the only other decent fender pic i have at the moment (hi def and cropped for usefullness)
btw thats not a gap between the door and fender. my door is dented in.
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p297/josh18_2k/01012007003_P10100031.jpg