Anyone regret going Fiberglass Fenders?

[Corbic]

The want to put wide finders on the R32 is great. However it's a big fuck up if it doesn't work out.

Anyone go wide fenders and regret it? I've always had a thing against fiberglass. Even when I had the 240 and 911. Wanted to Widebody the 911 so bad but refused to use FG.

Flip side I'd kill for an RWB 911 or Active Garage GTR and those cars are all FRP and CF.

[CrimsonRockett]

Just about every single car I've owned with a fiberglass kit had stress cracks. That is the number one reason why I personally avoid fiberglass.

S-chassis owners in general are fairly notorious for not reusing OEM brackets to mount their kits. That was high up on the list as to why the bumpers at least would develop stress cracks around the mounting points.

Now, most S-chassis fiberglass fenders made have very thin mounting points. Thin/weak mounting points combined with improper installation (aka zipties or missing brackets) will lead to it looking like shit in no time.

A reputable body shop can easily strengthen the mounting points, trim the kit for proper fitment, retain factory brackets, run the aftermarket bracket options available (proshopnoble, auto collect storm, etc), or build your own.

Installation also becomes another factor. Do you plan on running rivets, riv nuts, or panel bond and molding? Personal preference comes to mind when it comes to the overall look and execution you're aiming for.

If reselling the car in the foreseeable future isn't on your radar, I'd say go for it. Enjoy it however you choose, just weld and seal the quarter panels properly after cutting. Another annoying thing is dealing with rust from people cutting out the rear quarters and not sealing them from the inside as well.

There's a decent amount of quality fender manufacturers out there for the R32. If budget isn't a concern, I would focus on finding someone experienced enough to properly install them if you plan on molding. Have them use some sort of chip guard on the inner areas. Another one of my pet peeves is seeing exposed fiberglass on the inner fender and bumper areas because they didn't properly coat and protect them from normal driving.

[snags]

I used an epoxy called panel bond and then had a body shop mould my chargespeed overs. The inside was welded shut, and the gap inside between the body overfender and the fuel door area filled with expanding foam, shaved it and sealed it. My only regret is now i am terrified to run the wheel too close to the fender and as a result my stance is a little more sunken than Id like. Dont wanna have contact and potentially crack the body up. If i had to do it again Id rivet them on and live with the rivet look. I also wouldnt cut up a nice qtr panel anymore if its in good shape, i did mine in 2011 when stock bodied cars were more plentiful. Rust or dented quarters however...

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by Corbic

The want to put wide finders on the R32 is great. However it's a big fuck up if it doesn't work out.

Anyone go wide fenders and regret it? I've always had a thing against fiberglass. Even when I had the 240 and 911. Wanted to Widebody the 911 so bad but refused to use FG.

Flip side I'd kill for an RWB 911 or Active Garage GTR and those cars are all FRP and CF.

God dammnit, Corbic. Why are you sucking so hard right now.

[slider2828]

I put on those polyurethane one from KBD for me 240sx hatch. I think the fitment aint bad. I think as long as i use all the stock points it should be fine. Its maybe 80% fitment but hell not worried about something leaning on the fg or cracking it at the slightest touch

[jedi03]

OEM fiberglass tends to be better reinforced...I ran a fiberglass hood on a civic for many years with all mounting proper and hood pins to hold it even more securely, it developed cracks on the firewall side on top of the hood...I never was worried about structural integrity but saw it would eventually need to be replaced or repaired

[Om1kron]

chargespeed rears and bn sport fronts, I'd never stay metal. I had a fender pull on my car that was uneven and it drove me up a wall. buy shitty fiberglass, car looks shitty.





I may be biased but I never get sick of looking at my car.

[EDacIouSX]

well done fiberglass looks great but if you have a really clean car, don't do it.

[Krusty_s13]

I might be a bit biased, but stock s chassis' and skylines are a bit boring IMO. It is nice to be able to fit a good sized wheel/tire combo.

Quality fiberglass can be installed and worked to look extremely close to OEM panels, especially when using the OEM mounting hardware.

BUT I will agree with everyone above, if your quarters are mint and it's not a track car, i'd leave them alone.

[jedi03]

that looks very nice! and key point, do it right and get quality parts...so much wrong with the cheap ones...

[EDacIouSX]

back in the day, you'd rarely see some really great oem fender pulls. One of my friends had a kouki with an amazing pull... never seen anything like it again. i suspected they may have cut the fenders and welded on new metal to create that shape. i have a photo somewhere but im too lazy to dig that up

[Dolph_KYAS13]

I went with fiberglass fenders for many reasons. I dont really plan on ever selling the car for starters. Its always something to tinker with and enjoy.

My car was not "Mint". the bottom of the quarter panels were rusted from water coming through the tail light seals. so it would be an easy fix while adding a little shape to the narrow body GTST.

And lets be real here, The prices of R32 GTR fenders are insane. I could buy 4x sets of FRP Fenders for the same cost. I would prefer the OEM of course, but IMO some things just arn't worth it.

[Om1kron]

Exactly my point, if you want to buy an s/r-chassis to preserve and want to run 9 inch wide wheels that don't rub and has 90's fitment by all means. Be boring, by all means. You think you're buying an investment or some shit when in reality any car is a liability.

You get into one fender bender, everything is discontinued, car will get totaled. You enter the world of fiberglass, omg someone fucked up my quarter panel, a 2-300 dollar weekend of fiberglass, paint, and a case of beer and you're good to go.

Once metal is destroyed it's destroyed, be it rust, be it repair and lathered with bondo, dinged, etc.

I never understood the appeal of people getting into s/r-chassis to drive around a slightly modified stock car. But thats just me

[AKADriver]

I never understood the appeal of people getting into s/r-chassis to drive around a slightly modified stock car. But thats just me

Because that's the era I got interested in these cars, and that's what I like. Cars with lots of aftermarket bodywork look like kiddie stuff to me, because back in the '90s in my social circle we made fun of cars like that. Be flamboyant and silly if you want, to me aftermarket body kits will always look like they belong on Bryan's Rice-Boy Page.

I'm not preserving something rare, I'm building the car I wanted to own in 1999.

[Om1kron]

Originally Posted by AKADriver

Because that's the era I got interested in these cars, and that's what I like. Cars with lots of aftermarket bodywork look like kiddie stuff to me, because back in the '90s in my social circle we made fun of cars like that.

rad

Be flamboyant and silly if you want, to me aftermarket body kits will always look like they belong on Bryan's Rice-Boy Page.

I don't know what about the car I posted looks flamboyant, but it's obvious I struck a nerve. Like I said we don't understand each other, but you like what you like. I simply stated staying metal as some kind of badge of honor in a world where the 90's are the past, forums are the past, parts availability is a thing of the past.

It's not for the faint of heart.

I'm not preserving something rare, I'm building the car I wanted to own in 1999.

I don't even understand the logic of calling something with wheels, and a suspension a build. But go off king!

[AKADriver]

Huge skirts, vents everywhere, wheels look like steamrollers. That's flamboyant. It reminds me of Hot Import Nights, F&F, that whole scene. I never got into it and never will.

Who gives a crap what a "build" is, but like you said... it's a lot of fucking work to bring a car back to what it was in the '90s using parts that can no longer be purchased new. That to me is more interesting than plastic stuff I didn't like the look of back then... great that you can still buy that stuff... I guess.

I'm here on this forum just like I was in 2002 because I can't stand the constant churn of "where can I buy an angle kit" "where can I buy overfenders" etc. on FB groups and reddit.

And I'll have you know my wheels are 7 inches wide, not 9.

[Om1kron]

Originally Posted by AKADriver

And I'll have you know my wheels are 7 inches wide, not 9.

My condolences!

[Corbic]

Anyone got a brand recommendation on R32/GTR Quarters?

Rocket Z is trash from what I hear. I haven't heard back from Kmak on shipping to USA.

https://www.kmakaero.com.au/r32-rear-fenders




Also, what is the difference in the BN Sport and OEM Quarters?

[collegekid]

LONG POST WARNING

A lot of people made some good points in here already.
It comes down to a few factors.

Just to give you my qualifications. I have stock quarter panel S14s.
I'm a poor peasant who's only going to run 18x9 wheels on reasonable spec tires with an appropriate ride height.
None of my fenders are rolled.
I decided against fiberglass over fenders many years ago.
The only time I'll reconsider it is if some kit car manufacturer decides to manufacture S chassis
https://www.panchkits.com/
^ These dudes made an R34 kit car I believe.

I was even considering it for my Subaru as some guys was going to replicate the 22B widebody kit in metal but he hasn't gotten to it yet
and I'm already heavily invested in the wheels that I'm running on that car.




Are you keeping the car until you die or is resale in your future?
Modify if you truly are keeping it as long as possible or stock fenders (repair if rusty) since it will help resale value.

Cost
It is cheaper to fix a dented/rusted quarter panel than it is to get a fiberglass kit and get it properly installed. It's just a REAL pita to find a bodyshop that has a good work quality:cost ratio.

Plans for the car
Before you consider any of these options, you should know what wheels you want to run in the exact specs. You should know about your suspension settings before you do this too.

Visuals/ Need vs want
Obviously this comes down to personal preference.
Are you doing this to fit some wider wheels or for a more appealing quarter panel?
Are your feelings short term or long term? Has it been a few months that you've want overfenders or atleast a year?



Maintenance
So front fenders don't matter if they are fiberglass or metal so much since they are bolted on.
Rear fenders are a different story. Because fiberglass and sheet metal are different materials, they will have different rates of expansion. Whether they are molded, or riveted, or mounted using whatever material, they will rub. You will have paint issues. The only way you won't is if the quarter panel is spaced off the body by some small amount, but that would look weird.
So just factor in some fiberglass repair / paint touchup every now and then.


Parts availability
God forbid you get into a fender bender, can you get your hands on the same parts again? I think getting an oem r32 fender will be a little easier than getting whatever bodykit that is made to order with a 9 month lead time.

Project feasibility
I've seen countless dudes selling their 18 x 14 -10 offset wheels for 8k or best offer because they've taken entirely way to long to do the +75mm widebody kit, wide wheels, custom suspension pieces, and bodywork. This will come out to be several thousand dollars. I'm not coming at you financially, but just to state that this is a big project to complete. I know there might be some guys who bought some kit, some "gangster spec" wheels, some 2 inch spacers, and the harbor freight purple paint gun and pancake compressor and are creating zilvia accounts RIGHT NOW to call me a a little I3itch.

Do you really need all that or can you fit some 9 or 10J with reasonable tires and spend time driving the damn thing?

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing kick ass cars. No one is saying your R32 is ass because you lack a widebody kit. Apparently 9J wheels are equivalent to the 6.5J stock wheels in 2023, so don't let my opinion sway you.

[slider2828]

How about 2F Performance? A lot of pro and pro am drifters uses Paco's kits. I heard the fitment is great. Maybe you can just talk to him and see if he has something in the pipeline for the R32. They make the LFC kits that replace that ENTIRE quarter panel structure including part of the trunk.....

See if Paco will help.... They ran a cool podcast called maximum driftcast.... which I miss.

[Dolph_KYAS13]

Originally Posted by Corbic

Anyone got a brand recommendation on R32/GTR Quarters?

Rocket Z is trash from what I hear. I haven't heard back from Kmak on shipping to USA.

https://www.kmakaero.com.au/r32-rear-fenders




Also, what is the difference in the BN Sport and OEM Quarters?

I wouldnt go as far to say that they are trash. But they do require work to get to fit correctly. But I think the same goes for any FRP product.

The thickness, quality and straightness of the material was surprisingly great. My GTR front fenders were from Japan and required way more work to get them to fit correctly.