Fender flare concerns

[digitalbliss]

Lmao a lot of guys in here seem pretty mad at my post , it wasn't a money thing or a "wannabe off roader " thing . Was just simply curious if it was going to end up being a pain in the ass to do afterMarket fenders now that there's several wires in the fenders , sorry to offend some of you lol jeez

To answer your question: No, it will not be a pain in the ass to relocate a couple of wires and turn signals.

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[The Great Grape Ape]

Lmao a lot of guys in here seem pretty mad at my post ,

Don't see anyone mad, simply incredulous that people are 'worried about' or 'complain about' LEDs in the fender when talking about mods, so much of the thread is pointing out that it's already accounted for in the after-market with existing side-markers in the current fender, so not an issue of much consequence.

If it's worth either the time or money to mod the fender, then it's worth it to maintain a road-legal vehicle for less than $1 in hardware.

If you're worried about easy mods like that, and think the above exposition of it cheap & easy fix is too critical, perhaps moding and Jeeping in general aren't for you? ... JeEEeZ !! :cwl:

 

[Dmaniates]

Lmao just was a question . Nice meeting you guys too

 

[myfirstjeep]

If I'm not mistaken, OP's initial post was asking about CUT fenders. On that note, I agree with him that it looks like it will be harder.

On the JK, since the fenders are mostly plastic, it wouldn't be a big deal to take a saw and start trimming the fenders to your own liking and design.

Seeing as the JL now has integrated LEDs and turn signals in the fenders (from what we can gather in the spy pics), taking a saw blade to an LED strip doesn't seem like a very smart idea.

For those of us that wanted to cut the fenders to our liking with a saw, it looks as if it will be much more difficult now that there is an LED piece. Now we will have to get aftermarket fenders instead of trimming the OEMs.

 

[The Great Grape Ape]

If I'm not mistaken, OP's initial post was asking about CUT fenders. On that note, I agree with him that it looks like it will be harder.

Harder is a relative term, and this changes things much less than y'all are making it sound. I also wonder how many mods and side marker relocates you guys have done considering the misconception of this as being a major new issue for a fender mod. That area is currently discarded and the wiring will be similar though double the current sidemarker relocation mod.

On the JK, since the fenders are mostly plastic, it wouldn't be a big deal to take a saw and start trimming the fenders to your own liking and design.

Still mostly plastic.

Seeing as the JL now has integrated LEDs and turn signals in the fenders (from what we can gather in the spy pics), taking a saw blade to an LED strip doesn't seem like a very smart idea.

Look at the rendering at the top of the page and where they are located. Seeing as they extend from the current fender end point and most fender mod cut back significantly above and behind the current end point, you would't be cutting through the LED strips, but again through the plastic shroud. You don't currently cut through the side marker lights when making a shorty mod, why would you need to cut through the LEDs?

For those of us that wanted to cut the fenders to our liking with a saw, it looks as if it will be much more difficult now that there is an LED piece. Now we will have to get aftermarket fenders instead of trimming the OEMs.

No, you won't have to any more tha you used to. In fact, just like the past, if you're a compentant modder, you will be able to do the mod and simply canibalize all the existing hardware with just some added solder & shrink-wrap and a clip mount or epoxy for angling the lights where you want.

Look at this video to show a similar light relocation re-using stock hardware, though in this case it's a current JK sidemark LED update on a cut fender. Same procedure, just mount the LEDs forward. You could even split the cable and have side and forward facing a,berLEDs for better turning visibility, and split the DRL cable for front and downward white LEDs for better trail visibility providing downward illumination for terrain nearer the axles/tyres.



This really isn't that hard, and much easier than the rear cam mod which takes about 30 mins and $30, this is about 20mins and $10, plus any added 'extra' you wanna do on either.

 

[The Great Grape Ape]

As for the aftermarket, they will likely look similar to this, only with the amber sidemarker moved forward as an indicator, and likely a few white LEDs added in the front for DRL duties.

Again, not as much of a design challenge as being claimed in this thread.



Same existing sidemarker support with Bushwacker, EAG, and many other current fabricators.

 

[myfirstjeep]

I think another misconception you are having is that people that trim the fenders end up adding on side markers. I'm sure there are some individuals that choose to do that, but there are a lot of Jeepers in my area that do NOT have side markers. Many don't even have fenders. Some are running the fender delete or smittybilt fender armor xrc mod.

Now of course, in your area, this may be illegal, which would lead to the confusion that is going on here. But in my area, illegal mods are done everywhere and the cops tend to turn a blind eye, much to the joy of modders.

When people are trimming the fenders, there are some people that like to trim really close, and end up with a fender that is maybe 2-3 inches wide from the body. The LED strip extends almost all the way to the far end of the fender. It's going to have to be cut in order to get the look I am desiring.

 

[The Great Grape Ape]

I think another misconception you are having is that people that trim the fenders end up adding on side markers.

Nah, I was pretty clear about my awareness of that in my second post to go into further detail of the 'resistance' opening with that reality;

"They can and already do for the sidemarker turn-signal mod, but it's still up to the user, most of whom don't pay the current few dollars to relocate the side markers now, so will likely moan in the future too because it's not done for them. Yet they will spend hundreds/thousands on cheap weak cosmetic mods to look the part, but wont pay the dozens of dollars to make it properly road-worthy after those mods.

Still remains much ado about nothing, and even if it were about the time and not the money. it's easier than 99.44% of the mods out there, so I can't bring myself to worry about those who can't be bothered to do something properly, especially when it's that easy, and they wanna make it out to sound like it's such a hardship.

Now of course, in your area, this may be illegal, which would lead to the confusion that is going on here. But in my area, illegal mods are done everywhere and the cops tend to turn a blind eye, much to the joy of modders.

Turning a blind eye... well guess it's not a concern to begin with since they won't care... what was you point again? The moaning about the LEDs is moot because cops & modders are lazy in your area? Again seems like much ado about even less than nothing if the cops are lazy and more concerned with going doorless and eating donuts.

When people are trimming the fenders, there are some people that like to trim really close, and end up with a fender that is maybe 2-3 inches wide from the body. The LED strip extends almost all the way to the far end of the fender. It's going to have to be cut in order to get the look I am desiring.

And like I said in the previous post it starts below the current fender as seen in the test mules, so you cut across where the LEDs are, and then trim how you would a JK fender. As for the 2 inch fenders, those are already moded like that, even by those that barely leave and inch, they're the ones currently that mainly use LEDs and LED strips because the stock light is to big for those flush fenders.
And for those that want more of the front, it's extremely rare people leave the leading edge to begin with most starting inside and going out, so again a fraction of a fraction of the people who do the mod to begin with, meaning not a concern even for the majority of the minority that do the mod.

So, is it worthy of all the worry & complaint before it's even revealed?

 

[myfirstjeep]

I still don't think you understand the issue with the fender trimming mod that some of us are worried about. Side markers are not a big issue, at least not for me.

Take a look at this product:
http://www.smittybilt.com/product/index/43.htm

They are fender flares that are really low profile. They are all black with no lights. No need for side markers. Instead of buying those things, someone with a saw could just trim their OEM plastic fenders to match that shape. That would require sawing the JK fenders. The LED strip in the middle of the JL fender flares look like they are going to inhibit that DIY mod because not many people would conceivably be sawing their LEDs to trim the fenders.

Now check out the image below:
http://imgur.com/a/iJzoX

That red line shows where someone would have to cut if they wanted to trim their own fenders to make their own version. Do you see how that LED strip would pose a problem?

I don't see anyone actually complaining yet about the JL, because as you said, it is still mostly under wraps. But I can surely see the worry that some would have because I, too would like to one day attempt this mod. But from the preliminary pictures, it doesn't seem like that will be possible.

Of course, I could be, and often am, wrong. There could very well be a method to trim the JL fender flares and not have to worry about the LED DRLs. But I don't know of any way at the moment.

 

[The Great Grape Ape]

I still don't think you understand the issue with the fender trimming mod that some of us are worried about...

No, I see it, and there are thinner fender cuts than that that are quite common, like I said barely there like less than 1 inch of material, but for either, the mod involves removing the front section anyways, so your photo ends up looking like below because you cut where the fender meets the LED, and slope backwards. People don't need to, but still add side marker, even if now mounted inside, like in the video posted earlier on the previous page. And even the very thin ones like the XRC which was similar to that video's size of fender.

Remember the mules sofar have also had higher and squarer fender flares than the JK too, so you have more surface to work with and the LEDs transect at the halfway point of the headlights. So you cut them and then shape back from there, like this the inside of the yellow cutout and top of blue LED delete), and even go thinner (orange line) than your example or thicker (outside of yellow line)...

And again, that's for the small minority who even have a leading edge.
Most of them are more like the one in the videos that are shorter than all the way down, some don't even have a front part.

The other thing to remember is that the Jk fenders rise, these are flat as mentioned in early design comments so they won't rise up and out like current fender flares, so you won't get the VW Bettle Dune-Buggy effect many like.

Again it will be different, which is to be expected (JK was different fromTJ was different from YJ, especially those models with side fog and signal lights), but not really as huge a deal as people are making it.

And as a Smittybult Example, here are the XRC Flares with the optional amber inserts as well, which on a personal mod would involve simply inserting LEDs into that bit of fender flare that remains in a similar fashion.

BTW, there are many more examples and threads on this in the JK forums.

 

[myfirstjeep]

Lol, I'm not going to banter down this trail any further. It seems we aren't going to fully seeing eye to eye on this fender flare trimming being an easy DIY mod. But that's OK. We don't have to.

That is part of the beauty of the Internet. It allows different opinions to congregate easily and share their viewpoints.

But I think we can both agree that the new JL is something that we are very excited to see!

 

[digitalbliss]

Lol, I'm not going to banter down this trail any further. It seems we aren't going to fully seeing eye to eye on this fender flare trimming being an easy DIY mod. But that's OK. We don't have to.

That is part of the beauty of the Internet. It allows different opinions to congregate easily and share their viewpoints.

But I think we can both agree that the new JL is something that we are very excited to see!

I agree, better to focus on something important.
Like is there really a vent in the fender like the renderings show?!?!

 

[LordEgg]

Whomever commented that it looks like it's off a mid eighties Oldsmobile had me laughing.

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