I didn't know that. I will definitely be running some stretch for a while though. If I like the look I will probably stay with it. Just have to wait and see.

 

How is this coming on??

there is a thread on mini2 about wider arches and i really want them.

Im only running 18x7.5 wheels on my MINI but the front two wheels now have an offset of 33mm because of my spacers for the coilovers. My arch is almost gone because of it and it is hitting the metal in the bonnet now.

How hard would it be to widen the arches slightly by heating and bending??

 

You might take a look at this Koenigseder
http://www.estrictlyforeign.com/asp/...egory=1&ID=885
http://www.estrictlyforeign.com/asp/...egory=1&ID=886
http://www.koenigseder.at/index.php?id=488&L=1

 

Nah I want something that looks oem still and actually looks nice! lol

 

Man...

Rally you and I need to collaborate on this and get something going...

I have contemplated quitting school to get this done...*kidding...only kidding...*

 

Weird.

I was just looking at my desktop background (an MCS lowered on BBS RM's), and thought "Hey, I wonder what happened with that whole "Wide Fender Flare" thread?".

And I log into my e-mail account, and there it is: an update on this thread! haha STRANGE!

Anyone come across wide fender flares, but just didn't get back to us here?

 

I was just wondering about this,becuase I put a larger tire on my ride. I have no rubing isues up front I allready took care of that, but the rear is a different story.I am running a reo1r 225/50/16. Funny thing is I compared the tires to my freinds rt615 of the same size and they are alot wider.I was trying to think of different ways to widen the rear flares but cant come up with anything.I think monday I will stop by a freind of mines body shop to see if he can figure a way to mod the flares, but still keep the texture.If he has any good ideas I will post something.By the way Rally you were wright it is a big tire that I put on,but I think it looks good.I will try and post some pics later today

 

I wonder if you could somehow put a space of some sort underneath the flare?

It's just textured black plastic... c'mon vendors, let's see a prototype! I'll be one of the first in line!

 

I am glad to see this thread becoming active again!

sleeper1995 please post any ideas that you have.

22CooperS it would be great if a vendor would take this on, but I can guarantee you that very few would buy because they would "overcharge" for the pieces and people would loose interest.

Hope to see some more work getting done on this topic

 

I agree... they would overcharge. My biggest complaint with MINI vendors is the prices. $35 for smoked side markers? $20 for valve stem caps? You get the idea! haha

It seems to me though that if one company came out and was successful, others would follow suit. Honestly though, for $300 it would be such a dramatic change. The change-per-dollar ratio would be quite good!

I can't imagine install would require much skill either... I think they're just attached with some clips, right? Maybe a screw here or there?

It's times like these that I wish I knew someone who did plastic work...

 

There's a reason he put the word overcharge in quotes. It's a common misconception but the reason that the prices in the MINI community are so high is because of the lack of demand.

Take the arches for example. All 4 are different shapes so you would need 4 different molds just to make a single kit. Molds cost a ridiculous amount so making 4 would be quite an undertaking. Now consider how many you'll realistically sell. Even at $600 for the whole kit the vendor would probably struggle to make any profit on the part....and people would be saying the price is too high.

With larger aftermarket communities you're able to sell things at a much lower cost because the initial setup charges and cost of things like molds can be spread among the hundreds of kits sold.

Spacers might be a bit cheaper to create since you could probably make them without having to use molds. I'm still not a fan of the idea unless you can truly blend them in visually. You risk making them look very "stuck on" if they stand out a lot.

 

Ok, I stand corrected! haha Great point!

I do feel though at times MINI parts pricing is over-inflated... even without a ton of demand, some of the parts I've come across are grossly expensive. While I don't know what cost is involved in the making of these parts necessarily, there are some that I just find myself wondering as to why it costs so much.

 

I can understand your view 22CooperS, but yes, Rally put my quotes in perfect terms...after you spend more time fishing through the enormous amounts of threads relating to this and other "small production" projects you will get a better understanding as to why even Mini Specific vendors will not take on tasks like these...

That said, I will be making my own fenders in due time...just need to be able to dedicate some solid time to do this...

 

Here are the pics I said I would post. Pay no attention to the blue tape.With the larger tire the ride is way better.I did have to do some metal work under the flare and get ride of most of the lip on the flare it self

 

And there are actually a bunch of winder arches for both the r53 and r56 if you have the money for them.

 

Most of them are pretty ugly though.

 

Sleeper, those tires look really good on your car.

 

I'm not sure about that. Both models have oem-look bolt-on arches available.

 

Like the one where you can see the bolts? Or is there a cleaner one?

 

What about just replacing the plastic fender flairs with ones made from sheet metal? Not necessarily adding a flair.. Seems like if you had an english wheel and some time you could easily make new flairs and then weld them into the body and smooth them all out. I LOVED that web page someone posted on here that showed the mini getting cut apart and widened. The pics of the Vdubs were also very awesome. Love the custom touch. I had an airbagged dodge dakota with some body mods. Been thinking alot about doing things like that to the mini.

 

Both. MHW makes a bolt-less one, and the bolt one doesn't actually use the bolts so you could VERY easily shave them since you have to have the parts painted anyways. I've seen it done and it looks great without the bolts (I have no idea where the pics are though, the car was red and at a japanese auto show).

It's entirely possible to pull off. It would cost a good deal of money and due to the panels that your arches touch, you'd end up having to repaint every single body panel on the car besides the doors and hatch.

I really think the option for the plastic ones is great. I love the plastic arches because it means you can run your car really low with some nice wide wheels poking. If they rub it's just plastic. If they rubbed on metal, you burn off all the paint and tear up the tire.

Here's an idea for everyone to ponder. Check out the arches on the old (around 2004) Audi All-roads and imagine plastic welding those to our arches. With some work, they might be a very nice template to work from. ( I forget if i already shared this option previously since this thread is old)

 

Thanks.I still like the idea of an extension that goes on to the factory fender, but I agree with Rally that it has to blend in,look almost oe.I have been toying around with different fender flare gaskets in different thicknesess, there is one that didnt look bad at all I will post pics later.

 

I know this may be in violation of some bylaws, but here is a great example of some Audi Arches...
Mods- feel free to remove if necessary...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___225HP-CA-CAR-CUSTOM-WHEELS-RARE-COLOR-SERVICED_W0QQitemZ330304415630QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20T rucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?h ash=item330304415630&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkpar ms=72%3A317|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1308

 

Rally, is this the one?

 

^Even better...now I see where Rally is coming from...