Rolling/Flaring your fenders for an aggressive fitment!!

[xXGTBspecXx]

il be using this as a place holder so when i roll my fenders i can post up a DIY for it.. il be doing this pretty soon cause my current wheels/tire setup will rub badly unless i roll and flare my fenders.so within the next few days il be starting my project.. for now heres what im going by to do this..http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread/206183

[JDMLegacy]

I've seen vidoes on youtube of how to do it, its really simple, I'm actually gonna do it to, when I do my suspension and have my car sitting a bit lower, and get rims lol,

[Huffer]

Eastwood roller FTW. Don't use a baseball bat unless you want to repaint. Heat gun and proper roller and a lot of time.

Interested to see the DIY though!

[xXGTBspecXx]

well i dont have $230 for the roller and iver seen ppl using a curb to adjust how much roll/flair. i will be using a 3" pole to roll my fenders. and i have a torch to warm up the fender

[JDMLegacy]

yeah from what i saw the dude just gently taped it out, then used a pipe to smoothe it, plus its cool il just do it befor i paint my car, if any thing is chiped off, lol it'l be fixed in the shop

:)

[peugoby]

Rollers can often times be rented. I went to RalliTEK to have mine done. They used a heat gun to warm up the paint. This is an important process cause if you don't, it will often times flake off. They used a roller and it turned out awesome.

[jey]

I tried using the baseball bat technique and it didn't work. There was too MUCH wheel gap between my tires and the fender and I couldn't get the bat around the whole fender. Best to rent/borrow a fender roller.

[Okin DaVanh]

Definately go with the tool intended. I've been doing about 10 or more a year. It's definately easier, cleaner, less time consuming, safer (bat slipped once), not to mention if done according to the directions, would look a little better done with the roller. We have one that belongs to the shop, so I don't know how much they could be rented for.

[xXGTBspecXx]

id love to rent one but i cant find one for rent.. on ebay they had a service where u could rent a roller and a heat gun shipped both ways for $70 bucks for a week now i cant find it...im pissed man..

[sybir]

Post up on your local Impreza board of choice, i bet someone will have one. Locals around me know I rent out an Eastwood tool + heatgun for $40 + deposit.

FWIW, I did the rears on the wagon with a bat originally (this is 5+ years ago), and they came out decent, but nothing like the clean results you get with the correct tool - I honestly just got lucky. I used the tool to do the front fenders and it allowed me to keep enough of a lip to retain fender liners while running 235/40/18's on an 18x8 ET45 with less than a finger's worth of static clearance....patience is the key.

When you're doing it, either with a bat or with an Eastwood tool, STOP ROLLING an inch before the end of the quarter in the front or rear (where it meets the bumper) unless you're actually having clearance issues there. Metal being moved and tweaked has to "give" somewhere, and it's going to pull that intersection/bodyline all out of whack (ask me how I know). If you're rubbing there, you're already going lower than should be possible, and I'd expect to do real bodywork to make stuff fit - you're cutting unibody in front for axle clearance, for example, if you're low enough to rub there. If I save someone from tweaking their quarter unneccesarily, I've done my job. You need more room, have fun :D

Observe (note I'm not commenting on the car, just this little tweak that bugs me):
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/01/DSCN1536-1.jpg



My personal opinion is that if you do it right, it won't look like you flared the fenders.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/01/IMG_4461JPG-1.jpg

My fronts are rolled and pulled out ~3/16" and you can't tell; the rears aren't as good and you can see it (they're rolled completely flat and pulled out closer to 1/2".) If you have to roll your fenders to where it's super-noticeable, you're running the wrong fitment on a Subaru - again, IMO. There are certainly exceptions, but the HerraFrush kids are killing me, because it's ceased to be "fitment" and turned into a caricature. Might be a badass car, might be badass wheels, but run something that doesn't require 8 degrees of camber, or man up and bolt on flares and run something wider than a 235 on a 9.5" rim - this ain't hippari-style. :D

But I digress (constantly).
If anyone local needs a roller, let me know.

[xXGTBspecXx]

im saving up to buy one but JESUS what are those wheels? ive been looking for something with that spoke pattern for a while now.. and do you know the offset?

[sybir]

Which ones?

The gold ones? Good luck, those are 18x9.5 Grids, ET35. Those *will not* fit on anything you plan to actually drive and keep tires on.

[impreza_GC8]

I rolled the rear fenders on my RS autoX car with a baseball bat. The paint flaked just a bit but I painted rustoleum onto the flakes and haven't seen any issues. Any flaking took place underneath the lip, not visible when looking at the car. I'll probably reapply the rustoleum in the spring before AutoX season starts again.

[ToeKutter]

well i dont have $230 for the roller and iver seen ppl using a curb to adjust how much roll/flair. i will be using a 3" pole to roll my fenders. and i have a torch to warm up the fender

Here's a cheaper version :smile: :
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=98793 (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=98793)

[LegacyRob]

If you buy 1 then you could rent it out to make you money back.

[Okin DaVanh]

Here's a cheaper version :smile: :
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=98793 (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=98793)


From that Link:

The Specifications for this item are not currently available online, or the item has been discontinued


Just did a 2006 M3 for 19x8.5's up front and 20x9's in the rear with the actual tool. took a little over a slow paced 1/2 hr. from jacking the car up to finally tightening the last lug nut.

[xXGTBspecXx]

yea it doesnt take long.. im still buying this tool i have an STi to pimp out.

[Brockley]

I used and eastwood and a heat gun... took about 2 hrs (prolly 30 min of work... and 1.5 hrs of beer and bulshit) lol
on BC coilovers, I fit a 18x8.5 +35 5Zigen Fnor1. Daily a 17x7.5 +48 Rota Tarmac II. Looks better with 5mm spacers in the rear, but fronts are pretty flush.

[xXGTBspecXx]

il be ordering some bronze 17x10 Enkei RPF1's for my STi. ive got a widebody to fill. and the 265,45,17 tires to throw on it..


can you say grip monster???

[decke48]

265's yum.. cant wait to order the 335/30/18 for my project car. now the quest for 12" wide rims. mmm custom racing wheels 23lb of spun steel

[hallowpoint]

I used and eastwood and a heat gun... took about 2 hrs (prolly 30 min of work... and 1.5 hrs of beer and bulshit) lol
on BC coilovers, I fit a 18x8.5 +35 5Zigen Fnor1. Daily a 17x7.5 +48 Rota Tarmac II. Looks better with 5mm spacers in the rear, but fronts are pretty flush.
do you have pics, i have some 17x8 5zigen fno1r-c going on this week and want to see what they look like!!

[Okin DaVanh]

265's yum.. cant wait to order the 335/30/18 for my project car. now the quest for 12" wide rims. mmm custom racing wheels 23lb of spun steel


This should be something interesting. Seeing as I tried something similar (smaller diameter) and it looked insane in the rear.

We have custom made 17"x12" HRE 3 peice on the rear of the shops 911T for show and storage. The track Fikse are a little more practical. 1 day when I was bored, I tried the HRE's on..... Can you say "Extreme Widebody"!

[subaru13]

The only problem with pulling and rolling your fenders is that no matter what technique you use your paint is almost always going to chip or flake....its just the way subaru paint is, its really brittle.


I just had mine done and on all four corners it chipped and flaked but fortunately on the inside.