I'm Ryan from extremeterrain.com, and this is my review and installation of the DV8 Off-Road
Flat Tube Fender Flares, fitting all 2007 and up JKs.
Today we are going to talk through the installation of these fender flares, which is a very simple
one out of three wrench installation.
These are going to bolt directly in place of your factory flares, using all of the factory
holes in your body, so no drilling or major modifications necessary.
This install will take a little bit of time, probably around three hours.
However, overall an easy install, and we'll talk a little bit more about the installation
in just a second.
We're also gonna talk through the construction and a few of the features of these flares.
There are a couple of benefits to running a flat fender flare.
The biggest one is, some additional up travel before your tire were to hit your flare.
If you're in an awkward situation, you have bigger tires, maybe a lift in your sway bars
are disconnected, when you are articulating, you can have a tire hit your factory flare
which can pop it right off the side of your Jeep leaving it laying on the side of the
trail.
Of course you can always pop that back on with a couple of additional plastic clips,
but to alleviate that problem, running a flat fender flare will give you that additional
clearance before the tire hits the flare.
Now, there are a couple of different schools of thought when it comes to flat fender flares.
Some people really like a set of metal flares, because they feel like that gives them added
protection, some added strength.
While other people say that a metal flare while it will hold up better to contact with
a tree or rock, something else off road, it may also transfer that impact from the flare
into the rest of the body of the Jeep, which can cause a much more expensive repair, while
a plastic flair would just bend or possibly break, but not damage the rest of the Jeep.
So, it really comes down to what your thoughts are on metal flares versus plastic flares.
But, if you are in the market for a set of metal tubular flat flares, these are going
to be a very well-built option that will install on the Jeep very easily, and in my opinion
are fairly priced.
This is a set of four steel flat fender flares.
Now, for the price, you might actually be surprised that you're getting all four of
them.
These are very fairly priced, and also very well-built.
These have internal bracing, the tubes upfront are spread far apart enough that they're not
going to interfere or give you any trouble.
With limiting up travel, these of course are covered with a textured black powder coat
finish which looks really good on pretty much any color of Jeep.
You could of course paint these if you chose to, but a lot of people are just going to
leave these as the factory produces them which is in that textured like powder coat.
These do come with stainless steel hardware, and they are designed to bolt directly onto
your Jeep.
Now, the rear flares which is the one that I have laying down here is about four inches
wide, and the front flare is anywhere between eight and ten and a half inches depending
on where you measure it.
Now, these are the gen two flares from DV8, which are going to be a little bit wider than
their first generation flares, which is a really nice feature for those of you who need
complete tire coverage in order to remain legal on the road, or just those of you who
like to have some additional tire coverage to keep the tires from throwing junk up on
the side of your Jeep.
Now, one thing you are going to have to consider with these flares, is what you're going to
do with your front marker light.
The marker light that's in the factory fender flare doesn't have a spot to go when you're
installing these flat metal flares.
DV8 does include a small bracket but it won't accept your factory light, you will have to
purchase an aftermarket LED light.
So again, that is just something to consider.
But other than the light, DV8 did think of a lot with these flares.
In fact, they include a rubber gasket that's going to go between the flare, and the rest
of the body of your Jeep, which is going to help keep the flare from chipping your factory
paint which is really nice.
That means that, if you do decide to take these off, go back to a factory flare, or
go to a different style flare, you're not going to have a destroyed paint job underneath
where your flare were mounted.
Now, these flares again are a set of four, and is a set of four that's going to mount
on either a two-door or a four-door JK.
Some other flare manufactures have only been able to make a rear flare that will fit on
either the two-door or the four-door, because they are a slightly different body style.
However, DV8 has come up with a design that will work on both two-door and four-door.
So, to get these installed on your Jeep, again is a one out of three wrench install, even
though you will have probably three hours into it.
You're going to need some hand tools, but other than that again, because this is bolt-on
not a lot of specialty tools necessary.
The first step is going to be of course removing your factory fender flares, which you'll do
by removing a couple of bolts upfront, make sure that your wiring harness for that marker
light is out of the way, and then really just give those flares a good pull.
Chances are you're going to break one, or probably most of those plastic clips that
hold those factory flares on to the body, but you're not going to be reusing those,
and to be honest it's a very, very difficult to remove the flares without breaking those
clips.
So again, I just recommend giving them a pull, break some clips, it's not a big deal, you're
not going to be reusing them.
After that, you can go through with the trim tool, and remove the remaining clips that's
left in the body.
Because you are going to be using those holes to bolt your new flares into place.
Now, these do not have explicit instructions on how to trim your factory inner fender liners,
to use them with these flares.
So, you can get creative and go ahead and trim those, and try and make them work, or
remove them completely.
DV8 does offer an aluminum inner fender liners that I really like the looks of that you could
certainly bolt up with these flares.
Getting back to the install, the next step is going to be installing that rubber gasket
material onto your flare.
Once that's installed, it's really just a matter of holding the flare up to the side
of the Jeep, and using the included stainless steel hardware, to bolt it on.
The rear is a very similar process, all you're going to need to do again, remove any bolts
that might be in the way, but in the rear, it's just mostly those plastic clips.
Give the flare a pull, get rid of that inner fender liner, hold the new one up to the Jeep
after installing a gasket and bolt it up with the included hardware.
Because this is an easy bolt-on installation, you're not installing any nut sets in the
body, you're not drilling any additional holes in the body, this is going to be a very simple
install that anybody can do in your driveway.
As far as the price you have to pay for these flares, I think it's really fair.
You're getting four metal fender flares for what a high, and plastic flare will go for.
And a lot of the metal flares out there are going to be more expensive than these are
by the time you purchase both the front and the rear.
And with this you are getting a really high quality piece with a quality powdered coat
finish.
You're getting that stainless steel hardware.
So, it is a very all inclusive set.
I think that these are very fairly priced, but anytime you're looking at a metal flare,
you are going to be in that $600 to $700 range.
So, as long as you're comfortable with that, I think that these are well-built and worth
a look.
So, if you're looking to install a set of flat fender flares, and you like the idea
of a solid metal set, these are going to be a nice set to take a look at.
These are going to increase up travel and drastically change the look of your Jeep,
all while being an easy bolt on installation.
So, that's my review of the DV8 Flat Tube Fender Flare fitting all 2007 and up JKs,
that you can find right here at extremeterrain.com.