Fender Chop/split Worth it or a Mess?

[roaniecowpony]

I'm considering a fender chop to gain a bit more front clearance. I recently went from 3.5" backspace to 4.5" backspace wheels (both on 37s) and while I love the way it drives and less poke, I'm looking for additional clearance when turned and flexed.

It would seem the type of chop/split for more clearance involves removing all the internal structure of the front fender flare. Does the fender end up a floppy rag at highway speeds?

Sponsored

 

[yokramer]

My rears are not floppy at all and my fronts only the lower portion at the back as some wiggle.

I went with the Quake kit and have no complaints. I love the look and I plan on going the unorthodox route of stock height on 37s eventually and this will definitely help. I also didnt swap out the fender liners for aftermarket ones I just trimmed them to work for now. Eventually I will swap them too.

 

[Roky]

I'm considering a fender chop to gain a bit more front clearance. I recently went from 3.5" backspace to 4.5" backspace wheels (both on 37s) and while I love the way it drives and less poke, I'm looking for additional clearance when turned and flexed.

It would seem the type of chop/split for more clearance involves removing all the internal structure of the front fender flare. Does the fender end up a floppy rag at highway speeds?

I didn’t like how much the bottom of the front fenders flopped in the wind at highway speeds…. So I modified and reused the honeycomb brace that was there before the split……they’re rock solid now.. I have 2 small button head bolts in the fender but there’s a button head at the front of the fender with the AAL light kit……so it kinda balances it out…..

I really like the way oem fenders look and wanted to keep the same running light look. I think it’s the JLs signature….I like the chopped thinner light look even better….

 

[Starboard M]

I gutted the front and back. Front uses the AAL light and Artec fender liners.
Rear is just gutted fender.

I drive my Jeep pretty slow, but I dont notice much flop. I personally like the look, so it was worth it to me.

 

[MOOG5050]

Use AAL fender hardware plus quake chop kit. It’s solid.

 

[Mx5red]

Another question is, do you need to? I have 37s with rubicon flares and have not rubbed yet that I've noticed with 2" bumpstop and Nomads with 4.75" backspacing. I spent all this time shopping different options and now probably won't end up doing it.

 

[st01tz]

I'm considering a fender chop to gain a bit more front clearance. I recently went from 3.5" backspace to 4.5" backspace wheels (both on 37s) and while I love the way it drives and less poke, I'm looking for additional clearance when turned and flexed.

It would seem the type of chop/split for more clearance involves removing all the internal structure of the front fender flare. Does the fender end up a floppy rag at highway speeds?

I love the look of mine after removing the cheap black plastic fender liners. Got the AAL lights and some Barricade metal fender liners and looks bad ass! So much more room. I have a Mopar 2” lift and 37’s.

 

[kjchristopher]

The fender chop is one of those mods that theoretically makes sense to me. I've shied away from it as it seems the replacement fender lights are notoriously unreliable.

 

[Headbarcode]

Chopping the factory fenders was one of the best modifications I made to my JLUR. It gained 3.5" of tire clearance up front and 2-2.5" out back.

I used the AAL highline lights, liners, and fender retention hardware kits. I also copied a page from Roky's book, and recycled a small section of the factory inner fender structure for the rear lowest end of the chopped fender. Between that and the retention hardware, which replaces the factory white clips, the fenders are rigid enough to not move at highway speeds.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Ok, so AAL seems the most popular route.

Next, I'm on 37s with a MC GC 3.5" lift, Rocksport shocks. Do I need to trim the pinch weld overhang into the wells? I had the lift installed, so I don't know the specifics of the bump stops. But after 3 pretty serious trails where it was twisted up pretty good, I don't see any cuts in my new Mickey Thompson A/Ts.

 

[Headbarcode]

Ok, so AAL seems the most popular route.

Next, I'm on 37s with a MC GC 3.5" lift, Rocksport shocks. Do I need to trim the pinch weld overhang into the wells? I had the lift installed, so I don't know the specifics of the bump stops. But after 3 pretty serious trails where it was twisted up pretty good, I don't see any cuts in my new Mickey Thompson A/Ts.

It depends on whether or not you centered the rear axle in the wheelwell at the new ride height. Roky had to trim the rear bottom corners of his pinch seams for 37's, because he also centered the axle.

 

[roaniecowpony]

It depends on whether or not you centered the rear axle in the wheelwell at the new ride height. Roky had to trim the rear bottom corners of his pinch seams for 37's, because he also centered the axle.

Am I going to want the "bulb out harness"? I have a JSCAN, but not the Taser.

 

[Headbarcode]

Am I going to want the "bulb out harness"? I have a JSCAN, but not the Taser.

That I can't answer with any confidence, unfortunately. It's a bit hit or miss from Jeep to Jeep, as far as dealing with the bulb out message/hyper flashing dash indicators on Jeeps that were originally built with leds. I've got the tazer, but switching the led turn setting from on to off and back to on didn't work. I have to try that again. I also added the bulb out harnesses, which just simulates the load of an incandescent, but no joy.

The highline lights themselves work flawlessly, it's just the hyper flashing dash lights that are confused. I have to remove the bulb out harnesses and try the tazer sequence again.

If you end up going with these AAL lights and jscan doesn't work, private message me and I'll send you bulb out harnesses for the cost of telling me your mailing address.

 

[blackJLURubi]

I did it on my last JL and wasn’t a big fan of it, always had the bulb out light and the fenders were super flimsy, although that is fixable. Now on my current JL I did the quake chop light and didn’t completely split the fender. They gave me the bulb out harness and I’ve had these installed for a year with no issues

 

[swavescatter]

I also copied a page from Roky's book, and recycled a small section of the factory inner fender structure for the rear lowest end of the chopped fender.

Heading down this path myself. Got a link to Roky's thread?

Sponsored