A Guide to the Different Types of Fender Flares

Upgrading your tires is one of the best things you can do for your vehicle, as a good set of tires can help with everything. From handling to fuel efficiency, tires are important for just about everything to do with driving. That’s why you want protective gear that’ll keep your tires in top shape for as long as possible. This is where fender flares come in, as they protect your tires from damage while driving. Here’s a guide to the types of fender flares and why they’re so useful for your vehicle.

What Are Fender Flares?

Fender flares are an aftermarket modification you or a professional can add to your vehicles. They go over the rim of your car’s body around the tire, outlining it and jutting out from the car over the tires. Our fender flares are easy enough to install, and you or a professional can install them in about an hour—and with minimal drilling.

Reasons To Get Fender Flares

Now, there are many aftermarket modifications you can get for your vehicle, but what makes fender flares so special? In order to understand, you should take a look at the reasons to get fender flares in your car. Here’s an in-depth look at some of the common reasons people like their fender flares.

Vehicle Looks

One of the reasons people really like to add on fender flares is to style their vehicle. Fender flares can be a multitude of colors and designs, changing the color and look of your vehicle as you want. Additionally, older vehicles tend to accrue damage near their fenders from regular driving, which flares will cover up, so your vehicle looks amazing again.

Tire Protection

The main reason that people value fender flares is the protection they add to your vehicles—specifically, the protection of your tires, as they keep rocks from pelting into your car and tires while driving. Additionally, it covers the top of your tires, making it safer for others and protecting your tires from anything falling on them. This becomes even more important if you get wider tires for your vehicle, as they’ll extend past your car’s normal body and the flare will cover the tire back up.

Protects Resale Value

Not only do these flares protect your tires, but they also protect the main body of your vehicle. This prevents dents and scratches on the paint of your vehicle from the rocks and gravel on the ground. This is very beneficial for trucks that go off-roading, which is why truck fender flares are so popular and great for anyone traveling off the beaten path.

Keeps Your Car Legal

Another reason why so many people invest in fender flares for their vehicles is to keep their vehicles street-legal. A lot of cities have laws against tires that protrude from the body of your vehicle, which makes larger tires difficult to get. Flares cover up these larger tires and make it possible to upgrade your wheels while staying within the boundaries of the law.

How Do You Choose the Right Fender Flare?

The hardest part of getting a fender flare may be choosing the right one for your needs and your vehicle. There are a lot of things to consider when looking for the right flare. Here are the main things you should consider when choosing the flare for your car.

The Size

Fender flares can be any assortment of sizes, which relates to how much they stick out from the vehicle. You can have a fender flare that only extends out an inch for a smooth look and a bit more protection, or you can have a flare that reaches out several inches, covering a much larger area and giving the vehicle a whole new look.

The Color

The traditional fender flare is black, but that doesn’t fit the color scheme of many vehicles, which is why a lot of flares are paintable. So, your major decision is whether you want a black flare or a flare you can paint yourself. This means you’ve full control of your car’s color, but you need the special paintable flares.

The Different Styles

Although there are many different styles of fender flares, you can use this as a guide through some of the more popular options. Each one serves the same basic function on a vehicle, though the size may impact how much protection they offer. Here’s a look at the common styles you should consider for your own vehicle.

Factory Style

One of the most popular styles, the factory-style flare, focuses on matching the feel of the car. It tries to blend in with the other equipment that comes with the vehicle, so that you get the protection but keep the car’s feel. These are generally smaller in size to have as little visual impact as possible.

Flat Style

Most flares use a curve or gradual angle when extending out from the body and covering the vehicle. The flat style doesn’t do this, and instead features a flat surface that juts out from the body and covers the tire. This creates a shelf-like surface and can completely change the feel of your vehicle. Additionally, this flat style can come in all sorts of sizes, depending on what you want.

Bolt-Riveted Style

The bolt-riveted style is a lot less about the size of the flare and more related to the visual design of the flare. Most flares use bolts to hold themselves to the car, but hide them using indentations and small bolts. However, the bolt-riveted style shows off the bolts and will even use fake bolts to create a new and unique design.

Pocket Style

Pocket style is the exact opposite of bolt-riveted flares, as the style hides the bolts in indentations so people can’t easily see the bolts. The depth of the indentation changes depending on the flare, and you can get very deep pockets depending on what you want your flares to look like.

These are the major things you should know before buying a fender flare for your vehicle. By understanding the benefit of using a fender flare and what you want your flare to have, you can buy the perfect one for you.