If you have wide body fenders (Rocket Bunny, Stardast, Crown Carbon Crafting...
12-27-2016, 11:31 AM
#1
If you have wide body fenders (Rocket Bunny, Stardast, Crown Carbon Crafting...
Been researching these bolt on fenders for a few months now. I have a few questions for people who actually have these style fenders and have driven with them.
1) Is the advertised width increase (let's say +50mm, for example) to the outside of the bolt on fender, or the inside lip of the bolt on fender? So if my wheels are flush now (19x10 +15 and 19x11 +15) on the stock body, do I just calculate +50mm wider for new wheels?
2) Am I going to be flinging dirt, mud, water, from the front tires all along the side of my car?
3) If I install with nutserts or rivets, will there be any vibration? Some of the multipiece fenders (Stardast) look like they would be more susceptible to coming off the car at higher speeds? 3m or equivalent tape would be used I'm guessing to help secure the fenders. Just wondering what your experience has been.
4) I saw a review on YouTube where a guy test drove a 350Z with the Rocket Bunny kit who had wide wheels (14" width out back). He mentioned the car would wander and tramline at high speeds. Is widening the track this much going to result in this "instability" at highway speeds?
5) Do you know of a source for "affordable" wheels to fill up these fenders? I'd prefer to not use spacers. Other than dropping $4k for 19" works or volks, forgestar around $2k seems the best bet. But due to my calculations, even if I run a 19x11 and 19x12 stagger, I'll still need spacers based on their advertised offsets (see question 1). Are there other wheel makers out there who make something that will work without spacer for under $3k?
6) If you could do it all over again, would you still do the fenders? Why or why not.
I like the aggressive look, and if done correctly, it definitely makes the car stand out. Just trying to educate myself before taking the leap.
tldr: will the car handle like garbage with wider track and wheels that fill up the fenders, will the fenders rattle and fall off the car, would you do it all over again?
1) Is the advertised width increase (let's say +50mm, for example) to the outside of the bolt on fender, or the inside lip of the bolt on fender? So if my wheels are flush now (19x10 +15 and 19x11 +15) on the stock body, do I just calculate +50mm wider for new wheels?
2) Am I going to be flinging dirt, mud, water, from the front tires all along the side of my car?
3) If I install with nutserts or rivets, will there be any vibration? Some of the multipiece fenders (Stardast) look like they would be more susceptible to coming off the car at higher speeds? 3m or equivalent tape would be used I'm guessing to help secure the fenders. Just wondering what your experience has been.
4) I saw a review on YouTube where a guy test drove a 350Z with the Rocket Bunny kit who had wide wheels (14" width out back). He mentioned the car would wander and tramline at high speeds. Is widening the track this much going to result in this "instability" at highway speeds?
5) Do you know of a source for "affordable" wheels to fill up these fenders? I'd prefer to not use spacers. Other than dropping $4k for 19" works or volks, forgestar around $2k seems the best bet. But due to my calculations, even if I run a 19x11 and 19x12 stagger, I'll still need spacers based on their advertised offsets (see question 1). Are there other wheel makers out there who make something that will work without spacer for under $3k?
6) If you could do it all over again, would you still do the fenders? Why or why not.
I like the aggressive look, and if done correctly, it definitely makes the car stand out. Just trying to educate myself before taking the leap.
tldr: will the car handle like garbage with wider track and wheels that fill up the fenders, will the fenders rattle and fall off the car, would you do it all over again?
12-27-2016, 01:48 PM
#2
Vendor - Former Vendor
I cant answer all of your questions, but I do have experience with a flared Subaru or two.
2) Yes... You will fling A LOT down the side of your car if you have a front flare that tapers into the wheel well behind the front wheel. The other day I was driving 5-8 mph for rolling shots after a hard rain and the tires were flinging enough water straight up that I thought it was still raining.
3) There shouldn't be any vibration. You can get a gasket that is specifically designed for flares to sit along the edge of the flare and sandwiches in between the flare & body to help .
4) You're going to have more tire, and a much heavier rotational weight on your hub. As such, bumps and grooves in the road will feel more pronounced, but with a proper alignment you should be fine.
5) It really comes down to what you end up getting. Once you hit a certain width, forged is the only way to meet the desired specs you need, and at that point it comes down to the manufacturing company.
6)I think the more accurate question would be, did you go wide for looks or for performance? If they went for show, what difference did you feel, and do you mind it? If they went for performance... Was it an actual improvement?
2) Yes... You will fling A LOT down the side of your car if you have a front flare that tapers into the wheel well behind the front wheel. The other day I was driving 5-8 mph for rolling shots after a hard rain and the tires were flinging enough water straight up that I thought it was still raining.
3) There shouldn't be any vibration. You can get a gasket that is specifically designed for flares to sit along the edge of the flare and sandwiches in between the flare & body to help .
4) You're going to have more tire, and a much heavier rotational weight on your hub. As such, bumps and grooves in the road will feel more pronounced, but with a proper alignment you should be fine.
5) It really comes down to what you end up getting. Once you hit a certain width, forged is the only way to meet the desired specs you need, and at that point it comes down to the manufacturing company.
6)I think the more accurate question would be, did you go wide for looks or for performance? If they went for show, what difference did you feel, and do you mind it? If they went for performance... Was it an actual improvement?
The following users liked this post:
ARRRT (12-29-2016)
12-27-2016, 02:30 PM
#3
Thank you for the insight. I appreciate it. The car is set up for commuting and spirited street driving. Might retire it to weekend/track duty soon. Finishing up an 8 year build this year that was put on hold because life kinda got in the way. Just don't want to regret hacking up my fenders just to turn a few heads and hard park on Instagram.
12-27-2016, 02:53 PM
#4
Vendor - Former Vendor
My stance on the whole topic is, if you have the money to do a legit widebody, you have the money to reverse the wide body. Only thing thats hard to reverse is the rear quarter panel skins, but pick any body shop around you, and they've done full quarter panel replacements before. Front fenders you can just buy new OEM, same with bumpers.
The biggest thing to take into account with going widebody, is that your turning radius will suffer based on how wide you go, and your turn in will become less sensitive as you have a larger contact patch to turn. Your Acceleration and Braking will also suffer aside from initial grip.
The biggest thing to take into account with going widebody, is that your turning radius will suffer based on how wide you go, and your turn in will become less sensitive as you have a larger contact patch to turn. Your Acceleration and Braking will also suffer aside from initial grip.
