Steel vs aluminum fender flares

Lexiewalker

Lexiewalker

New member
Thought on pros and cons of aluminum vs steel fender flares? The extra money is not a huge con if the pros are there for aluminum. It is my DD though I don't intend it to be forever. Was thinking steel but is it that much heavier/worse for gas mileage to start putting steel on? DD for now but long term will be intended for off road once I save up for a better DD. Would hate to put aluminum on now to save weight, just to want to replace with steel once I start rock climbing.
 
Lexiewalker said:
Thought on pros and cons of aluminum vs steel fender flares? The extra money is not a huge con if the pros are there for aluminum. It is my DD though I don't intend it to be forever. Was thinking steel but is it that much heavier/worse for gas mileage to start putting steel on? DD for now but long term will be intended for off road once I save up for a better DD. Would hate to put aluminum on now to save weight, just to want to replace with steel once I start rock climbing.
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From what I have seen with both steel and aluminum fenders is that if you hit them hard enough on the rocks, they WILL cause body damage. This is the biggest reason why I have and still run trimmed factory flares on both my JK's. They are FREE, flexible, will bend, fold and tear off when hit hard enough and can simply be reinstalled after the fact. Of course, I'm just a mall crawler so you can take what I say for what it's worth. :cool:
 
I agree with Eddie. X2 of factory chopped flares. They are durable and with the right cut look like an expensive set of flat flares.
 
Napalm said:
I agree with Eddie. X2 of factory chopped flares. They are durable and with the right cut look like an expensive set of flat flares.
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What Eddie and Napalm said! I didn't know if I could make them look like what I wanted, but took my time and I like my finished flares better than any after market flaresI've seen (just me)! I really like my side lights too! Free flares and twenty bucks of clips, side lights and door edge guards!
 
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Debating this aluminum vs steel right now for the PSC crusher fender flares.. what kind of body damage are you talking about that you've seen?
 
I've seen it suggested (and with good logic) to do Alum front and Steel rear for weight distribution reasons (if both are an option and sold separately, as many are). Heavy driver up front and Jeeps can be front heavy.
 
I've been on the fence with metal and aluminum fender flares. A little bit crazy expensive. Bushwacker has ones you can gets​ for under $800 that are aluminum and coated. I've always liked the look of the Factory ones and you do save quite a bit of money it's free.

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AdventuresWithReid said:
Debating this aluminum vs steel right now for the PSC crusher fender flares.. what kind of body damage are you talking about that you've seen?
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A hard hit to the bottom of the lip from a rock, kind of like an upper cut hit, the body panel will buckle in. This is a common hit if you play on big enough rocks and it's one I have seen numerous times. A factory fender will just fold or tear off before it can do damage to the body.
 
I see the merit in trimmed factory flares for all the reasons stated. But I would like to retain the factory liners or have something similar (plastic, cheap/free) to use with trimmed flares. Any recommendations?
 
fiend said:
I see the merit in trimmed factory flares for all the reasons stated. But I would like to retain the factory liners or have something similar (plastic, cheap/free) to use with trimmed flares. Any recommendations?
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I ran trimmed flares for years (recently swapped to steel to try out something new/change look). You can trim the factory liners to be retained with the trimmed flares (I always ran my inner liners). Just go slow when trimming, test fit, and mind the attachment points.
 
Genright aluminumIMG_1301.JPG

This is after I got the winch installed and had yet to put the d ring mounts back on. Winch is a warn zeon 10 s for reference. Don't means to thread jack though


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