Cutting Rear Panels for Widebody Fenders?

[AAA240SX]

Ok, the body shop wants to know how much (in mm) of the rear quarter panels to cut? There is a groove on the inside where the fender meets the rest of the body. Should they got that deep? LMK, I'm going there 2morrow morning...

[ryan hagen]

i asked the same basic quiestion last year, you ll get alot of veiws, and maybe a couple person will say the body shop should know, or just pull your fenders. cause i dont think that many people do it, and alot that do (seen em on ebay) put the wide fender over the exsisting.

but what they should actaully do is take the spring off your shock and compress it so you can see what your tire hits so you know how much room you need, i saw a article where the did the wide body on the twins turbo wide body supra, they just built a inner fender to fit the tires size, then attached the flared/wide body panel to the car..........my cousin(runs body shop) said thats the way to do it right.

[AAA240SX]

hmm sounds interesting. yea i noticed, there r a lot of views but i guess no1 knows the specifics. i was thinking heartwork and dousan would know but they never posted...they kno about this.

i guess i'll leave it up to the shop and ask them how they'd do it...thanks man...

[SilviaDriver]

cut it all off

[ryan hagen]

my cousins plan for mine was cut it out, leaving 1" extra all around, and using the same 3m two part "vette glue" to attach them, alnd several rivits that would be drilled out after the glue cured. but he would extend the metal inner fender liner so it would match up and not rub my tires. and to do that he would have had to do what i said abouve with the spring off etc.

[turbod240]

I installed my widebody fenders myself, we didnt cut the rear panels at all. I used the 3m smc fiberglass adhesive or vetter glass some call it. I used screws to hold the over fender in place while the glue set then took them out after the glue dried. I completely molded my over fenders in, they blend completely with the body lines ans they look like they came with the car. It pays to mold them in because it looks better than just rivets and all unfinished looking. I custom made metal wheel well panels to fill in the bottom gaps and also around the fuel door. Molding the fenders in was alot of work but definitely worth it.

[Andrew Bohan]

imo, if you don't have to cut your fenders, you don't need widebody fenders

[SilviaDriver]

I installed my widebody fenders myself, we didnt cut the rear panels at all. .

errr..if u put wide body panels on and DIDNT cut the fenders..whats the point of putting it on?

the point is..u put it on cut the fenders so you can run WIDER and lower offset wheels. if u still have stock fenders under..ur still limited to watever it was before

[AAA240SX]

i also asked sizzoo about his and he didn't cut the inner fender at all (I was questioning his purpose for molding the 50mm in). mine are actually the 30mm (1 in wider each side), so it's not too dramatic.

im definetly going to need to cut the fenders, rolling will not cut it. I was thinking of doing a 2 in. perimeter on the inner fender. I was also considering maybe 1.5in.

Will this affect the dynamics of the car at all? And include opinions on the depth of the cut. For those that haven't measured 1.5 or 2.0 on their rear fenders: 2.0in is exactly where the upper molding begins (the reccessed body line that goes from the rear to the front fender). 1.5in is just under that.

My plans are to use 17" wheels with really low offset and lots of beef. 18" look great but ride isn't as smooth. So, 2.0" or 1.5" off the inner fender may be overkill. Yet, it will allow for me to use any wheel I want in the future (if i do decide on 18's). I'm just trying to think smart about this.

please reply soon (I'm taking the car back to the body shop Thursday), you've all been very helpful and thanks in advance!

[AAA240SX]

Anyone else with input?