Is a 7” wide fender flare the right size?

DCarson

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Dec 26, 2018
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28
Location
Lillington, NC
OK, I have 12.5 tires with what I think are the stock plastic fender flares on 01 tj. I am thinking about going to a wider size to keep from slinging up quite so much on the sides. What size do I need to use to cover the tire without being too wide. Is 7" the right size? Road and mud use. We do not do anything on rocks where we get crazy with suspension movement.
 
Depends on your wheel back spacing. Do you know what that is? Rubi flares are 1" wider. Anything wider than 6" of flare starts to look goofy IMO.
 
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Here is are some photos with 6 inch mc and 6 inch bushwacker fenders. They cover really well and I no longer get water or dirt spraying the side of the door.
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Bringing this back from the dead... I think I might need 7 inch flares to pass inspection with my new LJ. 17x8.5 wheels (3.5' total BS) with 35x12.5 tires. I was hoping with the LJ body, 5" lift, and 35" tires, that the big flares might not look as goofy. Compared to a TJ with 31x10.5s and the 6-7" flares.
 
6.25" flares barely cover the tread of a 35x12.5 or 315 tire on 3.75" net backspacing for 8" wide wheels.

To cover the tread on the 3.5" backspacing 8.5" wide wheels, you would need 0.375" extra coverage per side. So a true 7" flare would work.

Many of the advertised "6.5"" or "7"" flares are actually 6.25" wide from the body
 
Cool, thanks for the info. I might swap these wheels and tires for something a bit narrower or less BS. I'm also having other 35" tire problems
 
I run 315/75R16 on stock Rubicon rims with a 1.25" hub centric spacer, which nets 3.75" of backspacing.

I haven't had any issues with inspections. I spent as much time as I could trying to find a flare that would barely cover the tread.

Technically, any fender flare over 3" is illegal in PA. Though that would mean that every Jeep produced since 1997 is illegal. Generally, most inspection stations only apply that rule to pickup trucks.

The hub adapter wheel spacers are another gray area in PA law. The law states that any spacer above 1/4" is not allowed. However, it is not clear if it only applies to the plate spacers you can buy in that thickness range, or also the ones that are built like a hub adapter. The purpose behind the law is to ensure adequate thread engagement on all studs, which tends to only be an issue with the plate spacers.

Regarding the fender and flare coverage, only the tread of the tire, not the entire profile, has to be covered. Based on the amount of Jeeps and trucks I see blatantly disregarding this law, I suspect there are some unethical mechanics around, and that other owners may just have small tires for inspections. I don't mess with the tread coverage law, as I don't need a ticket.


Other inspection notes:

Make sure you have a center high mount stop light (CHMSL) installed, even if it is aftermarket.

Legal fog lights must be DOT stamped, and must turn off automatically when the high beams come on. Driving lights can only be wired to a high beam. All other aftermarket lights are supposed to be covered.

There is a law that says coil spring spacers are not allowed, but I've never heard of anyone having issues there.

Bumper height laws in PA are very permissive. As long as some part of the bumper is within 30 inches of the ground, you're fine.
 
Cool, thanks for all the details. I definitely need to find a 3rd brake light solution, as I have nothing right now. I figured that and covering my tires was all I needed. No coild spacers here, and ill have to measure the bumper height
 
Cool, thanks for all the details. I definitely need to find a 3rd brake light solution, as I have nothing right now. I figured that and covering my tires was all I needed. No coild spacers here, and ill have to measure the bumper height
I started out with these brake lights that fit in the two unused lug nut holes:
https://www.quadratec.com/products/16181_101.htm
I ended up relocating the license plate and used the ORO platelite:
https://www.rockhard4x4.com/product_p/oro-platelite.htmI have both sets of brake lights hooked up so if I move the license plate back, I'm still covered.
 
I have a 3.25” backspace wheels with 31x10.5-15 tires and put 6” flat flares. I think it looks bitchin.
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I was debating just getting 6-7" wide stock style flares for mine. They just look so blocky and square. My Rubi flares don't cover much.


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I put on those 7 inch 'stock' looking flares once, spent a few days trying to convince myself I liked them before caving in & ripping them back off in favor of, bushcrackers, although they didn't look as bad to me they sure lived up to their name so after breaking them in multiple places while rolling down the trail they came off in rather short order in favor of my original flares which I kept, musta known they'd find their way back on

I always liked them best but I got temporarily caught up in the 'flares have to cover the tire' idea, PA State law, but came to realize no one cares :ROFLMAO:

I'd dance with the one that brung ya

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Cool, thanks for all the details. I definitely need to find a 3rd brake light solution, as I have nothing right now. I figured that and covering my tires was all I needed. No coild spacers here, and ill have to measure the bumper height
My 3rd brake light solution.
BRAKE LIGHT NIGHT (2) (2017_11_20 00_38_12 UTC).jpg
 
I put on those 7 inch 'stock' looking flares once, spent a few days trying to convince myself I liked them before caving in & ripping them back off in favor of, bushcrackers, although they didn't look as bad to me they sure lived up to their name so after breaking them in multiple places while rolling down the trail they came off in rather short order in favor of my original flares which I kept, musta known they'd find their way back on

I always liked them best but I got temporarily caught up in the 'flares have to cover the tire' idea, PA State law, but came to realize no one cares :ROFLMAO:

I'd dance with the one that brung ya

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Thanks for that. I think I would feel the same way and just waste my money buying the wide ones. My stock Rubicon flares are pitted up from rocks. Nobody makes any 4.25" wide knockoffs (that I know of). I will probably buy some regular width TJ flares or use bedliner on mine to cover the pits.
 
Thanks everyone.

Got a third brake light on. Forgot the seller included one of those rings with the little LEDs. It's awful looking (rusty, and no spare), but should be legal.

Also, had one fog out, and they were wired really lazily, so I just took them off for now and unplugged at the connector under the fender.

Found some xenon flairs for 75 on FB. Tried to put them on and realized they were "tj style" for yj. A few holes drilled and lip edges cut (on the flares, not on my fenders), and they're sloppily on there with 3-4 bolts each. Again, look terrible, but I'll fix them later. The rears stick out a bit, but fronts look good.

Figured I was good to go, but got a small evap leak CEL yesterday, and it just won't go away, no matter how many times I drive it. Can I clear it without a code reader by disconnecting the battery for a while and then going for a ride?

flares.jpg
 
You might be able to clear it, but you'll have to drive it for a couple hours after resetting for the computer to complete all of the diagnostics. Otherwise it will fail emissions for a "not ready" condition. There's always the chance the CEL shows back up during the period.