Daily Driver, Go Where I Want To Build
- Thread starter jjvw
- Start date
OP
I have foam baffles in my fronts. You actually noticed an improvement going from foam baffles to the hard enclosures?
OP
Crisper and a bit more clarity. I'm not an audio guy, so I'm not sure how to best describe it.
Did you also fill the enclosures with polyfill? I also noticed you kept the foam baffles in there too. Reason?
OP
The enclosures come with polyfill. I only kept the outer flange of the baffles to seal the speakers against the enclosures. The "bowls" have been cut away.
OP
It's been a couple years, but my memory is that when I added the baffles, I got a bit more volume from the fronts compared to when they were exposed.
OP
Hello! I think you'll find a bit more going on here than some other places. Share your knowledge, especially on those hi lines.
OP
Yesterday, I replaced a failed USB outlet that I have buried inside the glove box for some accessories. The old outlet was warm, but no power was getting out. All better now.
Motorcycle USB Chargers
by MOTOPOWER
Link: http://a.co/dDKoWms
Motorcycle USB Chargers
by MOTOPOWER
Link: http://a.co/dDKoWms
OP
Several of us wandered the tangled mess of trails around Central City yesterday. One of the guys had recently installed MCE flares/fenders, so I finally got a chance to study them in person.
They are everything I expected them to be. Mostly I like the flares, but there are a few aesthetic issue that stand out to me.
First, the good things.
Generally, I like the overall look. The quality of the molding and fitment is very good. The surface texture is a light orange peel and looks appropriate to the Jeep. The shape of the flare looks right, similar to Poison Spyder DeFenders, in that the lip is not thick and heavy the way most tube fenders are.
Many people, when changing to aftermarket fenders, will move the turn signals to the grill, CJ- style. I think that looks really great. This would be the perfect excuse to do that.
I've mentioned the functional benefits several times, but these seen to go unnoticed by most. MCE fenders are plastic and flexible. Most people focus on the easy understanding that you can rub the fender against a tree or rock without damage to the fender or tub. But most do not grasp that this also opens up the possibly for more suspension up travel when compared to the factory fenders.
Just like Metalcloak, MCE flares eliminate the sheet metal extending beyond the hood, allowing the tire to flex above the hood line. If your front end is bump stopped to keep the tires out of the sheet metal at full flex (as you ought to be!
), then you will be able to reduce the amount of bump stop extension to the next point of interference. With 5" of total lift, 35s and raised shock mounts, it should be possible to achieve over 6" of up travel.
Unlike Metalcloak, the wheel opening is the same. However, the Jeep I studied reportedly only rubs the bolts on the back wall of the wheel well. Short of adding bump stop, a quick fix would be to replace those bolts with a lower profile hex socket bolt. A little tire rub on a smooth surface is fine. It also looks feasible to cut the body and push the back wall of the wheel opening further back. It seems like MCE had this in mind with the way the rear of the flare was made. This would result in all the benefits of Metalcloak without the questionable video game war machine looks of MC.
There are a few aesthetic issues. The flare covers the remaining portion of the factory fender.
I feel like this is a lot of flat black space that would benefit from a body line or some other means to visually break up the space. This would be less of an issue on a black or darker color Jeep. Color matching the flares to the body would also be helpful.
The back side of the flare is only attached at the top and loosely at the bottom. The reason, as I understand it, is the allow the flare to easily detach without damaging the tub.
On the Jeep I looked at, the body was slightly rippled. I know most are. However, with the MCE not being firmly attached, the gap between the body and flare was very evident. If I end up with MCE flares, I might want to try to minimize this gap. Maybe the addition of a tab to the middle of the flare and attach it to the body with double stick tape. That is just my initial idea.
The transition from the flare to the grill isn't very clean.
At the very least, color matching the bracket to the body color would draw less attention to this area. The rest, I don't know.
The reason I have been considering MCE for so long is that I have built the suspension for maximum up travel. I do not want to lose the ability for swift comfortable travel both on and off road. The Jeep currently has 33s. If/when I move to 35s, then I will lose an inch of up if I keep the factory fenders. Traditional flat fenders don't offer any benefits to me. Metalcloak Arches/Overlines are ugly and out of the question. Poison Spyder, Nemesis, JCR, etc hi lines are the best solution for ultimate clearance. But I have so many extra things attached to the inner fenders that keeping and moving everything is a tremendous amount of work after losing that space under the hood. MCE may be the best compromise for my build.
I think that covers everything...
They are everything I expected them to be. Mostly I like the flares, but there are a few aesthetic issue that stand out to me.
First, the good things.
Generally, I like the overall look. The quality of the molding and fitment is very good. The surface texture is a light orange peel and looks appropriate to the Jeep. The shape of the flare looks right, similar to Poison Spyder DeFenders, in that the lip is not thick and heavy the way most tube fenders are.
Many people, when changing to aftermarket fenders, will move the turn signals to the grill, CJ- style. I think that looks really great. This would be the perfect excuse to do that.
I've mentioned the functional benefits several times, but these seen to go unnoticed by most. MCE fenders are plastic and flexible. Most people focus on the easy understanding that you can rub the fender against a tree or rock without damage to the fender or tub. But most do not grasp that this also opens up the possibly for more suspension up travel when compared to the factory fenders.
Just like Metalcloak, MCE flares eliminate the sheet metal extending beyond the hood, allowing the tire to flex above the hood line. If your front end is bump stopped to keep the tires out of the sheet metal at full flex (as you ought to be!
), then you will be able to reduce the amount of bump stop extension to the next point of interference. With 5" of total lift, 35s and raised shock mounts, it should be possible to achieve over 6" of up travel. Unlike Metalcloak, the wheel opening is the same. However, the Jeep I studied reportedly only rubs the bolts on the back wall of the wheel well. Short of adding bump stop, a quick fix would be to replace those bolts with a lower profile hex socket bolt. A little tire rub on a smooth surface is fine. It also looks feasible to cut the body and push the back wall of the wheel opening further back. It seems like MCE had this in mind with the way the rear of the flare was made. This would result in all the benefits of Metalcloak without the questionable video game war machine looks of MC.
There are a few aesthetic issues. The flare covers the remaining portion of the factory fender.
I feel like this is a lot of flat black space that would benefit from a body line or some other means to visually break up the space. This would be less of an issue on a black or darker color Jeep. Color matching the flares to the body would also be helpful.
The back side of the flare is only attached at the top and loosely at the bottom. The reason, as I understand it, is the allow the flare to easily detach without damaging the tub.
On the Jeep I looked at, the body was slightly rippled. I know most are. However, with the MCE not being firmly attached, the gap between the body and flare was very evident. If I end up with MCE flares, I might want to try to minimize this gap. Maybe the addition of a tab to the middle of the flare and attach it to the body with double stick tape. That is just my initial idea.
The transition from the flare to the grill isn't very clean.
At the very least, color matching the bracket to the body color would draw less attention to this area. The rest, I don't know.
The reason I have been considering MCE for so long is that I have built the suspension for maximum up travel. I do not want to lose the ability for swift comfortable travel both on and off road. The Jeep currently has 33s. If/when I move to 35s, then I will lose an inch of up if I keep the factory fenders. Traditional flat fenders don't offer any benefits to me. Metalcloak Arches/Overlines are ugly and out of the question. Poison Spyder, Nemesis, JCR, etc hi lines are the best solution for ultimate clearance. But I have so many extra things attached to the inner fenders that keeping and moving everything is a tremendous amount of work after losing that space under the hood. MCE may be the best compromise for my build.
I think that covers everything...
Last edited:
Several of us wandered the tangled mess of trails around Central City yesterday. One of the guys had recently installed MCE flares/fenders, so I finally got a chance to study them in person.
They are everything I expected them to be. Mostly I like the flares, but there are a few aesthetic issue that stand out to me.
First, the good things.
Generally, I like the overall look. The quality of the molding and fitment is very good. The surface texture is a light orange peel and looks appropriate to the Jeep. The shape of the flare looks right, similar to Poison Spyder DeFenders, in that the lip is not thick and heavy the way most tube fenders are.
Many people, when changing to aftermarket fenders, will move the turn signals to the grill, CJ- style. I think that looks really great. This would be the perfect excuse to do that.
I've mentioned the functional benefits several times, but these seen to go unnoticed by most. MCE fenders are plastic and flexible. Most people focus on the easy understanding that you can rub the fender against a tree or rock without damage to the fender or tub. But most do not grasp that this also opens up the possibly for more suspension up travel when compared to the factory fenders.
Just like Metalcloak, MCE flares eliminate the sheet metal extending beyond the hood, allowing the tire to flex above the hood line. If your front end is bump stopped to keep the tires out of the sheet metal at full flex (as you ought to be!
Unlike Metalcloak, the wheel opening is the same. However, the Jeep I studied reportedly only rubs the bolts on the back wall of the wheel well. A quick fix would be to replace those bolts with a lower profile hex socket bolt. It also looks feasible to cut the body and push the back wall of the wheel opening further back. It seems like MCE had this in mind with the way the rear of the flare was made. This would result is all the benefits of Metalcloak without the questionable video game war machine looks of MC.
There are a few aesthetic issues. The flare covers the remaining portion of the factory fender.
View attachment 46720
I feel like this is a lot of flat black space that would benefit from a body line or some other means to visually break up the space. This would be less of an issue on a black or darker color Jeep. Color matching the flares to the body would also be helpful.
The back side of the flare is only attached at the top and loosely at the bottom. The reason, as I understand it, is the allow the flare to easily detach without damaging the tub.
View attachment 46721
On the Jeep I looked at, the body was slightly rippled. I know most are. However, with the MCE not being firmly attached, the gap between the body and flare was very evident. If I end up with MCE flares, I might want to try to minimize this gap. Maybe the addition of a tab to the middle of the flare and attach it to the body with signed stick tape. There just my initial idea.
The transition from the flare to the grill isn't very clean.
View attachment 46722
At the very least, color matching the bracket to the body color would draw less attention to this area. The rest, I don't know.
The reason I have been considering MCE for so long is that I have built the suspension for maximum up travel. I do not want to lose the ability for swift comfortable travel both on and off road. The Jeep currently has 33s. If/when I move to 35s, then I will lose an inch of up if I keep the factory fenders. Traditional flat fenders don't offer any benefits to me. Metalcloak Arches/Overlines are ugly and out of the question. Poison Spyder, Nemesis, JCR, etc hi lines are the best solution for ultimate clearance. But I have so many extra things attached to the inner fenders that keeping and moving everything is a tremendous amount of work after losing that space under the hood. MCE may be the best comprise for my build.
I think that covers everything...
I'm very opinionated on aftermarket fenders (with the exception of the AEV Highline kit), but I actually don't mind those. They look pretty good!
OP
I agree with you that the stock fenders look the best at the end of the day. I go back and forth on the AEV highlines. I think the flares are too heavy looking. Especially with the thinned down hood. Functionally, I believe they do the mostly same thing as Metalcloak and MCE, due to the factory style inner fender. But I can visualize where there would be a bit more clearance. Just not as much as other highline options. Its been several years since a saw them in real life and I didn't fully understand what I was looking at.
I agree with that. I’ve seen them in person and I think they do look a bit heavy. However, they seem to look right at home on an LJ with 35s or 37s. I’m sure that has to do with the longer wheelbase making them look more proportional.
I don’t mind the Metalcloak fenders so much when the inner portion of it is painted to match the body. They look a lot better that way.
I guess at some point you really have no other option than to replace the stock fenders if you want to do the real serious off-road stuff.
OP
It's one of those things where the deeper you go, the more invented problems you create for yourself. If I didn't enjoy the building and refining so much, I wouldn't trouble myself so much with these details.
Yes, I can definitely understand that. Eventually you get to a point where you have no choice but to go with aftermarket fenders.
That's one nice thing about the JKs and JLs. Those things have such large fenders from the factory that you don't need to concern yourself with it as much as you do with the TJs.
Beasley had Hendrix work his MCE's when he went that route on his LJ. Can't remember exactly what he did, but I think he addressed some of the fitment issues to the factory fenders. Might be worth a look up to see exactly what he did. More up travel is important, but not important enough to me to take that plunge.
OP
That's an interesting topic. If big tires simply to have big tires are the end goal, then the JL is winner. It would be fun to compare stock to stock frame/belly clearances, wheel openings and suspension travels on the various model years.
To compare with what I'm most familiar with, what does it take to get the various CJs and Wranglers to have 17-19" of belly height and 6-7" of suspension up travel? In some cases there wouldn't be much Jeep left to achieve those numbers.
If the goal is to end up with an overall balanced build on a reasonably factory looking vehicle, then each model/body style is going to have its own specific considerations and limitations.