39 replies to this topic

[76lxhatch]

Its very hard to get a good set of rear flares, they all curve too far inward at the front and rear exactly as yours do (they should not curve back toward the wheel at all). It is possible to stretch the front out further if you are careful but there's not much you can do at the back end. I run 265/50/15s which work out somewhere between 620mm and 635mm depending on exactly how you measure them, they fit reasonably well (only issue is at top with low car and wide wheels). Your wheels don't look like they are as big as 656mm - given the position of the diff it looks like you could make them clear just by tweaking the front of the flare out.

I have a crummy set of flares on it at present but gives you a bit of an idea of where to gain space at the front edge:

[MRLXSS]

My flares bow in, just like 76lxhatch has mentioned. To fit my 265/50's i had to cut away my flares...

Dont really have any pics to show what im talkin about though.



You can see how close mine is there..

This is when i first fitted my wheels and thought "bugger"

[Evan]

I had the exact same problem as you all , accept i was trying to get a 295/50/15 in.
i had to butcher up the flares that were on the car to get them to fit.
Rocket put me onto a guy that has extra wide flares for this exact problem.
i fitted myne up and they required no chopping. I was a very happy camper.
They are currently at the painters getting painted and i will post pics in the next week or so with how they look.

Evan.

[76lxhatch]

Evan would be very keen to see those. MRLXSS, I spent a lot of time and effort getting them as best I could but never even thought of cutting them! That would have been so much easier...

[76lxhatch]

The one in my photo is from Rare Spares too, I sent them some photos of them unfitted showing the hideous curve and they were most apologetic. Stretching them out is possible but fibreglass doesn't bend much so a fair amount of force (and care not to break!) is required as well as twisting - you would need to completely remove all the bolts and start again making fresh holes, from the centre of the flare. You can't really tell but the rear of mine is nowhere near in line with the bottom of the panel as it should be, it angles up badly toward the wheel (like 2 or 3 inches out).

[Evan]

yer for sure ill get some photo's up of myne when they get on.
Another thing that i learnt is spend the extra $$ on getting some low profile tyres. You have to do a lot of searching but you can get them, and they cost about double, but still cheaper than having to order new flares and hving to get them painted, etc because you had to butcher up your old flares and are not happy with it.

Evan.

[76lxhatch]

ass308 I bought mine less than 6 months ago, they did mention trying to find a new supplier but with no luck when I informed them of the quality.

Racelx I have 225/50/15s on the front which are the largest diameter I can comfortably fit with the firewall lip flattened. I think maybe clearance could be created for slightly bigger diameter before having to resort to more major modifications. I don't really like the larger wheels because the tyre ends up too low profile but see this for example: http://www.gmh-toran.......c=30311&hl= . I think the hardest part is trying not to have the front and rear look too mismatched in size. The width and offset of the wheel affects the front end a lot too because it hits when turning, wheels that don't fill out the flares get more clearance but don't look as good.

[76lxhatch]

Actually something that I never thought of is that you may not need much wheel lock on the track - since the wheels hit front and rear when turning hard lock (not at the top or sides) you might be able to get away with a lot more diameter up front.

[myss427]

My rolling diameter on the rear is 700mm( Micky Thompson L50's), and it took a lot of flair cutting and glassing to fit. The fronts are 14 x 245 x 50 and they don't touch anywhere did not need to cut flairs at all.

[GML-31]

you need to try and get your flares as quickly as they are made, that way the glass is green and can be stretched easier

[Evan]

heya guys
just got my wider flares back from the painters today and all fitted up. here are some pics as requested.
Am very happy with them. They don't look quite as good as the ones that have the fiberglass at the rear that goes to the body but, you have gotta make a compromise. You cant really see it any hows with the wheels on. The only cutting i did was i took about 5mm off the inside lip before sending them to paint.
With the 295/50/15's that a rolling diam of 676mm. Commodore offsets on the diff, so 24 mm each side longer and 10 inch rims. Standard ride height. No scrubbing... just.









Enjoy

Evan

Edited by Evan, 03 November 2008 - 09:56 PM.