Fender rolling: how bad is the risk of cracking my paint?

[slugg]

I'd like to go for some wider tires, and thus, wider wheels. Please note, this is for autocross ONLY; not daily driving. So keep that in mind before anyone tries to lecture me about wide rubber in the rain. LOL!

The widest combination I can fit on my car with the stock suspension (which is a constraint; I want to stay in our stock class) is a 15x8 wheel with 225/45/15 tires (Hankook RS-3). If you're curious what I'm thinking about buying, it's the Konig FlatOut 15x8 with 25 offset.

So, to the point. To fit this wheel/tire combo, I'll have to roll my fenders flat. What I'm scared about is cracking the paint. If I take my time with a heat gun and use an actual fender roller tool, not one of those dumbass YouTube methods (baseball bat, lead pipe, phone book, etc), do I have much to worry about? Is it really that risky?

Thanks

 

[shabby]

I had the fenders rolled on my 07 car a year ago and all went well, on older cars the risk might be higher but that's what everyone says. Just take your time and do it slowly.

 

[Black2na]

take it easy with the heatgun and dont burn the paint and with the roller youll be in good shape! and even if you crack the paint a little touch up paint will keep it from rusting.

 

[thomsbrain]

I've seen some horrible roll jobs. Personally I'd find higher-offset wheels if you care about how it is going to turn out. For a track toy, roll away.

 

[slugg]

I've seen some horrible roll jobs. Personally I'd find higher-offset wheels if you care about how it is going to turn out. For a track toy, roll away.

Higher offset wheels will cost $700 versus $440. Plus they're always on back order... (949 Racing 6UL).

 

[Arkaign]

Be prepared for some damage that is probably unavoidable. Assuming you've got some clear coat left, and primer under the paint, you've got several layers of different materials that when bent will not line up great. Getting the heat right will be the biggest key to minimizing the problems.

To get an idea of what I'm talking about, imagine at least three layers of material stretched taut on top of a curved shape. Now take that shape and bend it, and think of how those layers will interact with each other as the underlying shape changes.

All in all, sounds like you're doing this for a fun cause, so as long as you're prepared for some minor touch-up work, go for it

 

[AdamK47]

I don't roll fenders, I grind them.

 

[Black2na]

I don't roll fenders, I grind them.

which opens up the lip youve ground to corrosion. and dont give me that i seal them back up crap. ive had to TRY and fix rust issue because they ground the lip off. so unless its a 100% race car were it will probly see a wall before rust will get to it you always roll the lips

 

[Imported]

Higher offset wheels will cost $700 versus $440. Plus they're always on back order... (949 Racing 6UL).

I thought TRMotorsports had a better 15x8 wheel then what I see right now. I have 15x9 C3Ms and 225 RS3s on my NB. Only rubs at full lock. I'm surprised a 15x9 won't clear with the stock suspension.. My car is pretty low with my coilovers. I don't recall rolling my fenders.. so it must have came that way from the PO.

Kosei has a 15x8 with a +35 offset at $149 a piece. Though you're better off getting 6ULs then.

 

[AdamK47]

which opens up the lip youve ground to corrosion. and dont give me that i seal them back up crap. ive had to TRY and fix rust issue because they ground the lip off. so unless its a 100% race car were it will probly see a wall before rust will get to it you always roll the lips

It can be done correctly. I did it 4 and 1/2 years ago to one of my cars. Ground it down, sanded, primer, sanded, base, more base, clear, and more clear. Looked inside there last week when getting new tires put on. No rust.

 

[slugg]

I thought TRMotorsports had a better 15x8 wheel then what I see right now. I have 15x9 C3Ms and 225 RS3s on my NB. Only rubs at full lock. I'm surprised a 15x9 won't clear with the stock suspension.. My car is pretty low with my coilovers. I don't recall rolling my fenders.. so it must have came that way from the PO.

Kosei has a 15x8 with a +35 offset at $149 a piece. Though you're better off getting 6ULs then.

The problem isn't how low the suspension is. The stock springs are too wide to clear a 9 inch wide wheel; "performance" springs are a smaller diameter and will clear the wheels. For as-is fitment, I need a +35 or +36 offset, like the Koseis on Tire Rack, or the 949 6UL. I can't find any other 15x8's with this offset. The next closest thing would be 25 offset, which is what I'm talking about now.

But, now doing some math here... a fender roller will cost me about $150. So for the cheap solution, I'm looking at $440 + $150 = $590. Or I can just pay $700 for wheels that will fit the tire size I want perfectly without any fender rolling.

The more I think about it, the more I think it'd be best to just spend the extra money on the 6UL wheels. Meh.

 

[Imported]

The problem isn't how low the suspension is. The stock springs are too wide to clear a 9 inch wide wheel; "performance" springs are a smaller diameter and will clear the wheels. For as-is fitment, I need a +35 or +36 offset, like the Koseis on Tire Rack, or the 949 6UL. I can't find any other 15x8's with this offset. The next closest thing would be 25 offset, which is what I'm talking about now.

But, now doing some math here... a fender roller will cost me about $150. So for the cheap solution, I'm looking at $440 + $150 = $590. Or I can just pay $700 for wheels that will fit the tire size I want perfectly without any fender rolling.

The more I think about it, the more I think it'd be best to just spend the extra money on the 6UL wheels. Meh.

Totally forgot about the width of the springs.. I have AST coilovers (from 949) and they're tiny!

 

[SuperSix]

Go sloooooooooooooooooooow....

The Eastwood roller is popular...

 

[T2urtle]

The shop did my car with a Eastwood roller and a heat gun.

He told me certain cars are more prone to cracking. He did a lot of higher end cars. I had one of my rear quarters repainted and no cracking.

It was rolled near flat on my Infiniti, mainly because that's all I needed