I'm considering trimming the stock fenders on my 2015 JKU. I have a 2.5" MetalCloak lift with 33's but am looking to move up to 35's when these are worn. I've found tons of how-to's on cutting them, but I still have a question.

I don't really like the look of a narrow fender and want to keep it a little wider, like 6-8 inches in front. It seems that the stability of the fender is along the outer edge (that turns down) and if you remove this the fender itself will be pretty flimsy. With only 3-4" wide it doesn't seem like it would be a problem, but wider it looks like it may flop in the wind and pull it off at highway speeds.

Am I overthinking or is there a point that it is too wide to work properly?

Jim

 

There is a plastic support under the fender that provides support. It has to be trimmed to fit under your cute flares. Mine are about 7" wide and are just fine.

 

This is the best picture I have available, you can see the supports under the flat flares

 

Thanks, I'll take a look at mine when I get them apart. Is that part of the inner fender? All of the vidoes I've seen remove the entire inner liner.

 

Metalcloak 2.5", 35's, and stock trimmed flares here. I just cut the vertical faces, started out with taking an inch. I maintain the inner liners, structural support, and they don't look as trashy as another set of flares that I cut much closer towards the bend. My cut isn't for everyone, but it's functional without being obnoxious.

First picture is the current cut, second pic is the obnoxious set. Both function the same, I just didn't like the super close cut.

 

Personal opinion, it's all about maintaining a bit of the curvature up front.....moreso than at where the fender bends over on the side. purely based on looks though and not function. that said, i never see people with trimmed factory fenders saying "they're flopping all over the place!!!!"

 

It's a separate piece from the liner. This is the best shot I have of it, there's a part of the metalcloak fender liner installed in there as well but I think you can see the stock part fine. My flares are cut flat all around and don't flap. I'm planning on pulling the supports to see how they work on their own, I'd love to cut the metal fender bracket out for a little more clearance. I'm also considering reinforcing the flat fender (minus the support structure) with a piece of flat aluminum bar just to add some rigidity if it's required.

 

Thanks all. I'll start pulling mine off and looking to see what to do.

Karls10jk - do you have any rubbing with your setup?

 

No rubbing anywhere and that's without adjusting bumpstops...which should be done but I went with different length shocks with metalcloak relocation brackets front and rear.