ttechris

My first time offroading with Bushwacker flat flares (they stuck out further than my tires)I was trying to climb a muddy slope in a Creek bed. My rear end slid into the creek wall and damaged my rear body panel. I'm not sure if it would happen with fenders other than the bushwackers, but the way they mount I had more damage to the jeep metal than I did to the plastic fenders (only had a slight scratch on the plastic) My buddy who was following me did the same thing, but bc he had narrow fenders only his tires touched the wall.
For that reason I will not run fenders that are wider than my wheel/tire setup.

Greek

In the country of California, the fenders must be up to the edge if not a bit wider than the tire sticking out...it's subjective to the cop pulling you over. Mud flaps are also required if the back part of your tire is exposed and sticking out past the fender.

Mike H.

as ttechris said, you want your tires to be in contact with rocks/trees etc rather than body panels/fenders.
some fenders will flex, some are strong enough to be a form of armor, some (stock ones for instance) will cause damage to the body.

Jonathan_JK

From what I'v seen on the Trails the rear OEM fenders get ripped off all the time on contact. Most of the time the clips break and people just throw that junk in the back....lol..

I have Smacked mine across trees, scraped trees and jumped up and down on mine. No damage what so ever. The only thing I have is a brown smudge on the tube part which I can touch up with some bed-liner.

My opinion is OEM are ugly fade and are pieces of crap.

Maertz

I run no flares half because im lazy and haven't made any for my application and secondly in rocks where i was they were in the way... Id have to make some pretty wide ones to cover my tires and i feel it may look stupid... I havent gotten pulles over out here yet but some states dont have laws on it.

westchester

I ran without front fenders whilst choosing which fenders to purchase. As others say, fenders lessen (not stop) mud and road muck thrown against the side and doors.

With no fenders you'll be using your wipers more -- fenders prevent the tires taking standing water after a rain shower hitting your windshield, and prevent stone chips -- with no fenders I also had the pinging of stones caught in the tire and hitting the rock rails --- wasn't a big deal, just an FYI.