After getting my revolver shackles, I was amazed at how much damage one can do to their fenders if you don't have enough clearance for the tires. Metal Made Rite's claims of addtional compression travel as well as droop have definitely been proven by me.

I have a 2.5" suspension lift and a 1" body lift, running stock bumpstops and 32" BFG A/T's. However, my 32's only measure 30" tall. So, how the heck can I be mashing my fenders with a 30" tire and 3.5" of lift? Want proof?

The wonderfully tight, twisty and flexy trails of Truckhaven did that damage. On the other fender, the sheet metal is not only bowed outwards, but actually ripped all the way to the top.

A lot of solutions are available to fix this sort of tire rub, but only one made sense to me. I wasn't about to go lower that a 30" tall tire and I also wasn't about to put longer bumpstops in just to lose travel that I spent a lot of hard earned dollars trying to get. A 4" suspension lift is an option, but I already have slight vibrations with my 2.5" lift and I can't afford a SYE (aka Short Xfer Case Main Shaft kit) and CV driveshaft at the moment. I also don't want to go to a larger body lift as my 1" body lift and 1.5" transfer case drop are already making shifting the ol' 5-speed hard enough. The solution? Xenon 6" TJ flares! They not only give me the added clearance I need (and probably more) but they also make me technically street legal in CA.

I had the misfortune of being sent the Steel Horse 6" TJ Flares on accident and I had the chance to compare the Xenon flares with their Steel Horse counterpart. There is no comparison! Spend the extra 40 bucks and get the Xenon's! The Steel Horse flares were dull and even cracked in some places. They were already quite scratched up and the edges were quite rough. I also noticed that the two rear ones had a substantially different shape so I was not impressed with their quality controls. The Xenon's, on the other hand, were pre-protected, shiny and more flexible that the Steel Horse flares while still having perfect memory of their original shape!

So, if you've decided that this is a cool idea, I must add that this is a surgical operation that takes time and is not for the faint of heart. If you truly want to get maximum clearance for your tires, you are going to have to seriously hack at your fenders!!

If you're still interested, follow along as I go to town on my YJ with my cut-off wheel and reciprocating saw...

The Cutting:

Since I had the full length stock side flares/side steps on my YJ, it took me quite a long time to remove everything. (I had to partially unbolt the front seat, for instance, to get at the bolt holding the drivers side step onto the body.) Here's how it looked before I went crazy cutting...

I wouldn't make it 5 feet down the highway before I would be pulled over with tires sticking out that far!!

The Rear:

I then proceeded to clamp on the rear flare so that the top of it would be level with the top of the front fenders. I did this to keep everything in the same proportion even though the TJ flares would still be higher than my YJ flares. The front to back placement was determined mainly by the front of the rear wheel well. You can only go so far forward before you hit the sheet metal that defines the interior of the vehicle. Next, I then used a knife to score where I wanted to cut. The cut netted about 1.5" at the top, only about 1" in front and about 3" in back. Here's what the rear looked like completed.

As you can see, the rear of the flare goes almost to the edge of the rear quarterpanel...

All of the mounting holes had to be redrilled and some ended up going into the tub of the Jeep. Also, some went into inaccessible areas of sheetmetal, so I ditched the stock mounting screws and plastic nuts in exchange for larger sheet metal screws. I simply used a washer and put the screws into the body.

Also, quite a bit of the inner, rubber liner had to be cut or removed but I tried to retain as much as possible in order to protect the tub. All bare metal was ground smooth and repainted.

The Front:

I didn't have any rubbing in the rear with my stock flares but I still tried to maximize the wheel well. In the front, however, was where I was doing damage to the fender so I was determine to maximize the clearance there. Here's a close up of the fender before cutting:

And here's what it looked like after:

Now, this is the opposite fender but it still gives you an idea of how much was trimmed off. I could have trimmed the piece of fender that used to hold the light, but I deemed it unneccessary as the tire was not going to hit there. I also wanted to keep it so that I could retain as many of the mounting holes as I could.

In the rear of the front wheel wells I could have trimmed off maybe 1.5 to 2" of sheet metal until it was flush with the sheet metal that defines the interior of the Jeep, but once again, I did not as it would take seriously large tires for me to rub there!

My main concern was the top area right above the tire. I trimmed it within 1/4" of being completely flush with the top of the fender. (In other words, at the end of the flat part of the fender, the metal only curves 1/4" down after I cut it, versus around 1.5-1.75".) I didn't trim it any more, because the fender does not have square corners and if I cut the rolling edge off completely, there would have been a gap between the metal part of the fender and the flare. Here's a shot of the inside of the fender:

The area is flat and all metal edges were ground smooth and repainted...

One other thing you'll notice is that the front of the flares has a different shape than the YJ fender...

The TJ flare not only has a steeper angle to it but it also hangs down below the YJ metal fender. I simply cut the bottom off the flare so that it was level with the fender. You'll notice above, though, that the raised portion of the flare is lower that the same spot on the fender! Oh well!

As with the rear flare, all of the mounting holes had to be redrilled and some were again in places unaccessible. I used sheetmetal screws and washers here to secure the flare.

Another item to be addressed is procuring and installing the new side marker lights into the flares. The reflectors snap into place, first the top and then the bottom. I noticed on Andrew's TJ, that the bottom plastic stud of the reflector is secured using a nut. So, be sure to have a nut on hand that you can thread onto the plastic stud (making the threads as you go...) If you're like me and had to buy the reflectors from the dealer at 17 bucks a pop, you sure don't want to see your reflectors in your rear view mirror!

As for the wiring of the side marker, you need to extend your current wiring approximately 6". It's possible to unclip it from the fender and gain some room, so if you went with factory TJ flares, its possible that you won't have to extend the wiring at all.

The end of the stock wiring (aka the plug) is compatible, but the YJ plug has 4 tabs on it and you need two if it's going to fit into the TJ reflector. The key is to cut off the two opposing tabs that do not have the little plastic ramps on them. These ramps are there so that as you turn the plug, the plug snaps into place. (You'll see what I mean when you look at your YJ plug).

Here are some shots of my Jeep with the flare installation completed:

I also trimmed part of the flares so that they would fit snug against my new rocker panels.

Conclusion:

Well, I'm thrilled with how much additional wheel fender clearance I have ( I measured around 1.5" for all four wheels) and I'm also glad to have less stuff thrown at the side of my Jeep. I once again recommend the Xenon flares and I recommend the TJ flare installation on a YJ (or CJ). I knew those TJ's were good for something!!!!!

Update!

Here are some pics of me flexing it up in Truckhaven! I have zero rub whatsoever and I actually have about 3/4" to spare in front and maybe 2-3" in back! Time for 33's!!