The flares
look really good when installed. I prefer their look to many
of the other flares on the market. And one of the really nice
things is that because of the way they mount and the low profiles
of the flare itself there are gobs of room underneath the
flare to remove "excess" sheet metal if needed to
keep those large tires from rubbing. In fact I used an angle
grinder and cut about 1 inch of metal off the back of the
rear wheel well opening and it is completely hidden by the
flare - nor does it interfere with the mounting of the flare.
Additional trimming on both the front and back could be done
if needed.
The flares
covered everything I needed covered and did so on both sets
of my wheel and tires. Since I use my Jeep for a daily-driver,
I run 35x12.50x15's on 8.5" x 15" Rims with 3.5"
of backspacing on the street and 36x12.50x15's on 8.5"
x 15" Beadlocks with 3.5" of backspacing. As you
can see in this side-by-side comparison between the stock
flare and the Bushwacker flare, the Bushwacker flare comfortably
covers up the tire tread.
To give you another view or idea of the difference between
the stock front flare (on the left side of the picture) and
the Bushwacker flare (on the right of the picture).
Now that
the flares were installed, it was time to quit looking at
them and test them out, which is where I discovered that,
much to my disappointment, these flares may be better for
street and show trucks than real trail vehicles.
(Note: as they say it ain't over until it's over so don't
just stop here, read the rest of the article, as something
might change my mind!)
As I snaked
my way through a tight, rocky, tree-lined trail, I drug the
flares as much as possible. Leaning out the door, I noticed
the flares were bending nicely and assumed that all was well.
However, after coming off the trail I found that this was
not the case, as the contact had pulled the bolts right through
the flares on the front! In fact, the right front flare was
barely holding on. Plus, I had lost about 1/4 of the black
plastic snap caps so the flares now had a very "unfinished"
look to them.
The flares
themselves looked no worse for wear, but I couldn't worry
about pulling the bolts through the flare every time I ventured
off the highway. Besides, losing the snap caps (although not
a functional flaw) would be equally annoying, as I like my
rig to look nice. Needless to say, I was disappointed.
ON
TO THE RESOLUTION -->