SWRUBI

Question as to when do you have to change or cut your fenders one you have lifted your Jeep.
My Jeep is a 2010 that was lifted with HD Old Man Emu coils and shocks - this yielded about a 2-2.5" lift. Tire wise, I added 35" Nitto Trail Grapplers. Front currently measures (fender flare to top of tire) 5.5" - 5.75". In the rear I have a little more clearance of about 6.5" from the top of the flare measured to the top of the tire. Million dollar question is do I HAVE to swap or cut the fenders or is there good enough clearance with the set up as is to where this isn't an issue.

Thanks in advance for your replies and I look forward to hearing what some of the experts out there think!

karls10jk

Only you can provide that answer. If you have adequate bumpstops then you don't need to cut the flares at all. Stuff your tires and see what touches.

afpilot82

You don't HAVE to do anything. Are you rubbing? Yes, trim the fenders or swap for aftermarket. No, leave them alone. If you just like the look of flat fenders, swap them out.

Ajkaz

If your adequately bump stopped and not rubbing or losing up travel I would leave them alone. Flat fenders are gong to make those 35's look alot smaller...

TheTerminator

You'll know if you need to cut them if you ever hear rubbing. For me it was the very first time I went off roading and was a no brainer. I would get rid of all bump stops and just cut the fenders. If it still rubs somewhere and nothing can be done about it, only then add the bump stops.

larry0071

I'm a fan of the factory fenders, so I must be the minority in the Jeep world.

I set up my shock length and bumps to run a 37" tire with no cutting/trimming of body or of the stock flares. But, it did take almost 5" of lift and 28" shocks to get me where the stuff in to near bottoming the shock didn't tear off the flare.

I use 3" bumps front and rear and when I am hard into the bump stops I have about a 1/2" of shock left un-used, so I don't have anything to gain with the setup as is by cutting flares or going to flat flares. But again, most people tend to prefer this low center of gravity thing.

Maybe I'm old, but I like a lifted vehicle to look lifted. Anyways, like they said above, you really need to disconnect and get it twisted up and start looking and taking measurements. See what hits and what it takes to stop it. You have to recall that if you set it up to just touch at full twist, and then you go out in the real world and are moving/bouncing, you will do more than just touch. You want to be stationary and full into the bump stops and still have at least 1/2" to an inch, otherwise when you rotate into the bumps on the trail under motion and momentum you may well tear the fender flares off.

I'm extremely happy with my end results. I realize that my way isn't everyone's way and some likely hate the look of my Jeep with 3.5" suspension and 1.25" body lift, but it got built my way and it works very well. There are many ways to skin a cat, we all have our methods and reasons.

BoraBora

Chopping the factory flares is a personal thing. Some people hate the look. I was skeptical at first, but gave it a go and love it.

A few things to think about:

1) Factory fender flares can be found on C-list for cheap, sometimes even free. If you're nervous about the look, just give it a go. Many different ways you can cut them to taste.

2) They're super malleable. I've smashed them into trees, ripped them off on trails, and even took a direct hit from my buddies JK that damaged my sheet metal...but no damage to the fenders besides some scuff marks and needing new edge trim.

3) They're really light...ya know...if your JK is on a diet or something

I love the look of the aftermarket fenders like the Metalcloak, Poison Spyder, and Genright...but can't justify the $ on them until I deem my drivetrain and axles as "done."

Keeping a LCOG was important to me as it's my DD.

TacticalTankJKUR

Ok so as the sayings go, opinions are like ____ ... everyone has one! So here's mine...

I think modifying my fenders is a top priority, because I am running stock wheels/tires and would like to upgrade. It is cheaper to do fenders than to lift. The ultimate cheapest is to cut my stock flares and buy the wheels/tires... that is tempting, but I'd probably hack them up and I don't want my $45k Jeep to look like crap so I will be parting with the $1k on "nice" aftermarket fenders. I like the look anyway. Then I can decide how much lift I want in the future.

To me, 3" bumpstops with a 3" lift don't really buy you much uptravel... you've already lifted, so if you are thinking about a fender upgrade, you may as well try cutting the stockers to see how it goes, and you can always upgrade to an aftermarket fender if you don't like the results. Nothing to lose but a couple hours in that scenario.

Edit: I am definately NOT an expert so please disregard everything I just wrote since the OP is looking for expert opinoins!!! Lol...

larry0071

As I explained, my shocks are about a 1/2" from full compression with the 3" bump extensions installed. So if I remove the 3" bump extensions, I don't gain anything (other than maybe destroying the shocks) using the 28" Fox shocks I am running in front and the 25" with Rock Star brackets in the rear (Rock Stars add 1.5" of drop at the cost of 1.5" to the up travel).

I'm getting almost everything there is to get as far as up travel. And I am also getting full down travel to where the spring can be jerked with the hand and it's lightly on the seats at full drop of the shocks. So, I can't go up any further, and I can't go down any further without the springs literally being loose from the seats. I'm using all that there is, even with the 3" bumps. The next step would be using a different shock configuration or moving to coil overs that offer more total stroke to get more raise and drop, and to take on more raise I would in fact need to cut flares or move to flats.

TacticalTankJKUR

Glad you are experiencing max travel out of your suspension! My comment was hypothetical not necessarily directed at your setup. Certainly bump stops serve a purpose. I was really thinking of the Dirtman's FAQ about lifts and how lifts don't always provide an increase in travel.