Question about roling fenders

**platano** · 02-08-2009, 03:23 PM

Like most folks with Megan springs on an 8G i currently have a 2" in drop in the rear with camber extreme enough to devoure my inner tires. So...

I planned on cutting enough of my rear fenders enough so that when i install my Ingalls Camber kit with my wheels/tires (225/40/18 x 8.5) wont rub against the rear fender.

Now a friend of mine who rolled the fenders on his Civic was telling me that its a bad idea to "cut away" the rear fenders to allow enough clearance for the tires because it somehow weakens the integrity of the rear fenders themselves. He strongly recommended that i simply place 2 cuts exactly where i'm going to roll the fenders, and then just roll them from there up only.

So my question is; is he correct in that if i simply cut away enough section of my fender they will get weaker? Should i just Roll my fenders instead rather that just cut them like he recommended?

**Stewi** · 02-08-2009, 03:38 PM

Originally Posted by platano

Like most folks with Megan springs on an 8G i currently have a 2" in drop in the rear with camber extreme enough to devoure my inner tires. So...

I planned on cutting enough of my rear fenders enough so that when i install my Ingalls Camber kit with my wheels/tires (225/40/18 x 8.5) wont rub against the rear fender.

Now a friend of mine who rolled the fenders on his Civic was telling me that its a bad idea to "cut away" the rear fenders to allow enough clearance for the tires because it somehow weakens the integrity of the rear fenders themselves. He strongly recommended that i simply place 2 cuts exactly where i'm going to roll the fenders, and then just roll them from there up only.

So my question is; is he correct in that if i simply cut away enough section of my fender they will get weaker? Should i just Roll my fenders instead rather that just cut them like he recommended?

Yes.

First and foremost, the rear "fenders" are not called fenders, its called the quarter panel. Most people call them rear fenders, but the real term is quarter panel, so use it interchangeably.

The inner part your looking to cut is actually part of the quarter panel and what is called the inner wheelhouse. If you clean up that area you will notice its spot welded together. By completely cut it away, you will greatly decrease the strength of the quarter panel. When I say greatly, I mean if anyone was to ever lean up against it on the edge, it would probably dent. If you were to ever get hit there during an accident, even at low speed, the damage would be much more severe than not cutting it.

I had the same issue as you and this is what I did. I cut little "slits" into that inner lip. I made sure that If the cut was near two spot welds I made sure if was centered between them, as to try and maintain the strength in the area of the weld. I think in total on one side I made 5 or 6 slits. One I did that, I used a plastic faced hammer and tapped the metal to bend it upward. I did this section by section until the metal was completely folded up against the inside of the quarter panel, essentially leaving no real "lip" on the inside. One thing you should know is if your not very careful when you bend it up you can cause little ripples or waves on the outside of the quarter panel that will be visible. This was not a concern of mine because I knew I was repainting my car and I knew I could repair those areas.

**RedGalant2k1** · 02-08-2009, 04:15 PM

What is your wheel offset?/

**ricky_db** · 02-08-2009, 06:38 PM

blah blah blah... just cut them out with an 8.5 your offset is curtal

**Reelax** · 02-08-2009, 06:46 PM

i don't listen to my friends w/ civics.

**VIPtint** · 02-08-2009, 07:04 PM

Your friend is right but in my experience it is kind of hard to roll the QP of the galant. Most cars fenders are bent like an L, so you can roll it fairly easy cuz it is weak at the fold. The galnt QP fold isn't like an L, its more round. So when you try to roll it may be uneven like stewi said.

**RedGalant2k1** · 02-08-2009, 07:15 PM

Originally Posted by VIPtint

Your friend is right but in my experience it is kind of hard to roll the QP of the galant. Most cars fenders are bent like an L, so you can roll it fairly easy cuz it is weak at the fold. The galnt QP fold isn't like an L, its more round. So when you try to roll it may be uneven like stewi said.

A wooden bat and some heat work extremely well, actually you'd be quite surprised.

**Stewi** · 02-08-2009, 07:34 PM

Do a youtube search for fender rolling. There is a funny ass video ofa japanese guy rolling the quarter panels on a pink S13 with a heat gun and a metal pipe.

**spdracr** · 02-08-2009, 10:27 PM

Originally Posted by Stewi

Do a youtube search for fender rolling. There is a funny ass video ofa japanese guy rolling the quarter panels on a pink S13 with a heat gun and a metal pipe.

searching

edit: found it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDTK9IjKIYU

**platano** · 02-09-2009, 09:20 AM

Originally Posted by RedGalant2k1

What is your wheel offset?/

+40

**platano** · 02-09-2009, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by Stewi

Do a youtube search for fender rolling. There is a funny ass video ofa japanese guy rolling the quarter panels on a pink S13 with a heat gun and a metal pipe.

maybe i sound retarded but it looked like it worked pretty well when the driver put the car in reverse with the pipe between the tire and QP then backed up slowly and the metal pipe actually rolled the fender. lol

i imagine it Can't be that easy. would that work without fckin anything up??

**Jeffylou87** · 02-09-2009, 09:53 AM

I think it's luck.. I could definitely see something going wrong there..

**00galantguy** · 02-09-2009, 12:51 PM

just cut it. or make the slits and fold it up like they said. But I have pretty much the same wheel set up with rolled fenders and still rub a little. Im going to cut mine.