Rolling Fenders

HB Chris

HB Chris

Well-Known Member
Site Donor $$
Messages
19,418
Reaction score
8,777
Location
Huntington Beach, CA
Finally got around to rolling the front fenders with the expert help of a friend, I would never try this myself! It took about one hour per side by applying heat and using the Eastwood fender roller and came out great. Now I need to get the front about one inch lower or a little more if I add fixed camber plates. Other than Carl's springs, what other ones are out there? H&R doesn't do them, B&G makes e12 front springs which should work according to Mesa Performance, and I only need the front pair.

Chris
 
I've heard in the past that Ground Control makes an E9 kit, but it's not on their website and I freely admit to not having called them. Might be worth a call - I had their coil overs on my M5 and they were pretty nice.
 
Stock or modified class?

Chris
All these modifiications you have been up to lately is going get you away from the stock and into the modified class for judging.. (Or at least deduction of points in the stock class). You either need to putt you stock wheels back on and forget the springs or start thinking about ripping out that 3 liter and upgrade to the FI 3.5. Your starting to walk a tight rope - just saying.

Gary
 
Thanks Buddy! I'm still stock, can't see springs either and everyone has them. This year in Carmel stock and modified are combined, don't know how that will work, should be interesting.

Chris
 
Hi Chris, just curious if your rolling lips because you sliced a tire or you’re anticipating a possible problem. I just sliced the corner off a left front Extreme Contact DW so I have an instant $128.21 spare tire now :cry:. I got tired of waiting for a friend to bring by a fender roller :evil: so I did the left side last night with a right angle vice grip type tool, will post photos tomorrow or next day. Also thinking about milling an 1/8” of the mounting faces of the front rims but haven’t decided for sure yet. These coupes are a__ backwards, in the front where you need extra clearance (so the tires can turn for corners) the track is too wide, in the back where you could have a wider track because the tires go to negative camber when they tuck up into the wheelhouse the track is too narrow. I wish someone made ¼” shorter lower control arms for the front (there is room at the top of the strut to move it in ¼”without even going to smaller diameter coil overs), that would really help with tire clearance problems :razz:. I wonder :confused: if anyone has ever used Bavaria swing arms for a wider rear track ? Back to work for now. ~ John Buchtenkirch
 
I'm curious.

I'm really curious.

Please post pics of how the fenders looks like afterwards the impact of doing "fender roller".

Cheers!
 
John,

We had a guy hit a hump in the road do the same thing on a front tire...just curious, but it sounds like you had 16's? Has your car also been lowered? I was thinking of the Carl Nelson lowering kit...but I'm having 2nd thoughts now...
 
Carls springs

I have Carl's springs and I don't think they really lower it that much. In fact, I'd lke to see the front another .5 - 1" lower. They provide a good ride when match with Bilstein HDs and camber plates. Wouldn't want to go any stiffer for daily use.
 
Same here - a little rough on the bumps but great at speed. I'd like 1/2 inch lower.

TodB said:
I have Carl's springs and I don't think they really lower it that much. In fact, I'd lke to see the front another .5 - 1" lower. They provide a good ride when match with Bilstein HDs and camber plates. Wouldn't want to go any stiffer for daily use.
Click to expand...
 
I rolled fenders because I cut the driver side tire on my stock but tired springs and 16" Alpinas. Rolling went great, just from 10-2 if a clock face. Doesn't roll in that much but no more sharp edge sticking straight out. Even hitting a bump at speed caused a cut, not just when turning.
 
Chris here is the GC setup.

DSC_0012.jpg


http://www.ground-control-store.com/products/description.php/II=665/CA=187

I run mine with Koni adj.

spring rates from soft to stiff, i have 440lbs

BG

Like Shanon says ... "if you want to come over to the dark side". PM me
 
iconoclast6 said:
John,

We had a guy hit a hump in the road do the same thing on a front tire...just curious, but it sounds like you had 16's? Has your car also been lowered? I was thinking of the Carl Nelson lowering kit...but I'm having 2nd thoughts now...
Click to expand...

My coupe has Carl’s front springs & the spacers removed. I have 205/55ZR 16” Continental Extreme Contact DW tires on later stock BMW rims. I’m pretty sure they are the narrowest Extreme Contact DW tires Continental carries in 16” so going to a narrower tire would be a problem. Right now there is about ¼” spacing between the tire’s sidewall and the strut. Rolling the fender edge might just be enough to solve the problem but that’s only speculation on my part till I do it and get some miles on it. ~ John Buchtenkirch

!000!###.JPG
 
If i didnt have the csl wheelarches on my car i would have definitely rolled them by now but the arches make this a bit of a nightmare. Everyone i know with 16" tyres - myself included has had an issue - mine only happened when turning to park in a field over very undulating terrain.
 
HB Chris said:
I rolled fenders because I cut the driver side tire on my stock but tired springs and 16" Alpinas. Rolling went great, just from 10-2 if a clock face. Doesn't roll in that much but no more sharp edge sticking straight out. Even hitting a bump at speed caused a cut, not just when turning.
Click to expand...
Bump!

I'm really curious.

Please post pics of how the fenders looks like afterwards the impact of doing "fender roller".

Cheers!
 
Got her done.

I got tired of waiting for the local kid to bring over his fancy fender roller so I just used what I had on hand, a right angle vise grip type pliers. I just grabbed the lip about a ¼” from the outside corner and bent it up maybe 10 or so degrees. The trick is to bend all the edge the 10 degrees before making a second pass and bending it to 20 degrees and so on and so on. It took me numerous passes and well over an hour to do one side so if you don’t have patience you probably shouldn’t attempt this job. If you bend it too far the end of the pliers can visibly mark the wheel flair so you have to be careful near the end of the bending. Once I went as far as I could with the locking pliers I switched to a body hammer and a rubber block (actually a 9” sanding block) that I used as a dolly to close the lip up even further. When hammering you have to be careful not to hammer too high or you will hit the backside of the flair and dent it outward.

I probably only gained a little over a quarter inch of clearance by doing this but the important thing is the edge is now facing up, not sideways into the tire. If the tire does touch the new lip it will hopefully just polish off a bit of paint or undercoating, not hook & tear. I also milled 1/10” off the mounting faces of the front wheels which I will cover in a few days after I get a few more photos. This job was a cake walk for me but if you have zero metal working experience maybe you shouldn’t attempt it, you may end up having to repaint your fenders. ~ John Buchtenkirch

P.S. I will add that with a fender roller it is actually possible to get even more clearance but with somewhat mixed results. The fender roller can actually bow the fender out slightly but it can also throw off fender gaps, crack paint and even buckle the fender in extreme cases. My fenders still retain the stock profile except for that lip being rolled up in the 10 o’clock to the 2 o’clock position on the flair.

!!!!2.jpg

!!!!3.jpg

!!!!4.jpg

!!!!5.jpg

!!!!1.jpg
 
if car is already painted, this is a easier way of doing it without paint damage.....
tire rack rents them,,,,,,,

ROLLER.jpg
 
Louisville Slugger. Easy to roll without bowing your fender if you don't go at it too fast.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top