Rear flares or better not
 

I bought the petit rear fender flares to get molded into my FD3. I intended to use them with my N1 side skirts. Believe it or not my body guy discouraged me from putting them on. He just loves the car as is. I had originally two reason for wanting them. Looks and better grip. Now I am torn and can't make up my mind.

I think you can tell where my vote went.

I think it would look better without the pettit flares.

thi sis my front ready to be painted

is that the wise sports front??

Looks like mazdaspeed to me

go for the flares, mine are getting molded in in 2 weeks, and will be joined with 18x12 rims, with 335/18 tires. The bottom line is that it's your car, so do what you think is right with it. If you like pop-up headlights and zero body mods, then go for it. I personally think 335 michelin's look extremely wicked.
Mike

Yes, it is the wise sport.

Too late for stock...

Did you get a quote for molding the flares? To do it properly it will cost several times what the flares set you back.

Molding the flares and connect them to side skirt was my original idea. Several body guys now told me that the side skirts will flex and eventually crack and seperate from the rear flares...that is if you drive your car. So cost and the high possibility of spending money on something that won't hold up scared me some.

Anybody with experience with this happening?

CW

Some flares (brands) look OK but IMO those pettit flares completly ruin an FD, but as BoostorLose says.. its your car...

Well he let you put on the ugly hood and headlights, take that into account. ;)

Those body shop guys are also not taking into account the stiffness of the Fd's chassis. The main problem I see with cracking could mainly come from excessive wheel hop while racing. Wheel hop will make the entire chassis stutter. This all by itself could cause you some major problems with molded parts. Aside from that, if the side skirts are fastened properly and the right materials are used in the molding process the cracking could be very minimal in the long run. The key is how well the parts are fastened to the vehicle. Also I heard the experts use fiberglass and resin to mold things together then apply a thin layer of fiberglass bondo to smooth things in.

Thanks,
Even on the vote!!!

The guy is just very honest and pointed out the risks. Although he hasn't worked on a RX yet, he did a lot of trucks that won several shows. So I trust his workmanship. It is first class as far as I can tell from other cars. THe side skirts is his biggest worry and the flares molded in eat up the most cash.

You have to love the dentist's car, don't you?

mine http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...Picture023.jpg

Yes, it took me a while to know that they were pettit rear fender flares.

Alright, broke the tie, 10 to 6..

Thanks for your inputs

CW

I go to an automotive school, so I've been fortunate enough to do almost all the work to the car by myself, and costing myself next to nothing. I molded them in with Duraglass, which is a fiberglass impregnated filler, or Kitty hair if you prefer. I plan on getting the Feed skirts, so nothing really to mold into there. I think it looks awesome, and get a lot of compliments. Good luck man.
Mike

Man,
You are fortunate. Body work is the only thing I haven't attempted on my 7. I had no idea how expensive it can get if you find someone who does great work.

CW

good thread here. Does anyone have anymore pics?

The best molded Pettit fender flares I've seen belong to the dentist! A.K.A. Endless/Camo RX-7

http://www.tunerzine.com/articles/14...s/DSC_0063.jpg

http://www.tunerzine.com/articles/14...s/DSC_0067.jpg

http://www.tunerzine.com/articles.asp?id=144

Oh yes, and who can forget this car?

http://www.maconracers.org/images/whitey/alsrx7.jpg

I voted for the rear flares. I think it really depends on whether or not you are keeping the rest of the body stock or not.

I luv the rear flares!!!:bigthumb:

I vote for the stock look. I thik the FD looks awful with super wide rear tires, and the flares are almost always akward at best.

Damn!!! I haven't seen that one yet. That is awesome. Anyone know any details on what parts they used or what shop did the work? I'd love to see more on this car.

I know this is a old thread but dont forget on of the best FD's here, Damian car's this is an option you can do and not have to worry about stress cracks, I will be going this route later in the future.

i vote flares heres mine

is it me or did that photo not work...?

i vote flares too.
don't have a pic of my car handy though.

Sorry old thread but had to add my .02 cents.
Pettit Flares FTW!

IMO, I love rear flares, I am currently getting a set of feed rear fenders molded in as we speak. The pettit flares are just too much, unless they are on an extremely aggressive car, the +50mm just ruins the lines. With a +25mm rear, you get a wider stance without it looking out of place.

How much longer till your car is done Brian?

Well I am in ATL until August 14th, so I told my body shop to just get it finished by then. Had to drop some serious coin for the House of Kolor paint, so it better look spectacular. I will post any bodyshop pics in my build thread as he sends them.

huge fan of molded Pettit's...

http://jdmjunkee.com/blog/wp-content...3/fd-rx7-1.jpg

I plan to do the same (molded pettit's) when the funds are available. I got the wheels, but tires, parts, molding, etc... have put this out of the current budget. haha

Another Fav shot: (Not molded) but I love wide tires from the rear...
http://image.turbomagazine.com/f/885...+rear_view.jpg

the guy is a body shop owner worker, those a pettit flares with RB sides (?).


I like fender flares but pettits are way overdone IMO also I think cars with only rear flares can look silly at certain angles.

This car I just love, it has flares but not too much IMO:

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1245189270

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1245189270

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1245189270

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1245189270

I was going to mold mine in but I like the way they look bolted on so I've stayed with this:

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1245191501

That whole car is fitted with eurou aero. However, they dont make rear flares, looking at where they cut-off they might be final konnexion.

I vote for rear flares too Heres mine and I painted and did the whole entire car my self. Complete paint and body. I do autobody for a living.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/DSC02322.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/DSC02314.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/DSC02305.jpg

Ever think about putting on some wide front fenders? IMO, transition looks off from such a narrow front to a really wide rear. Or another suggestion, send me your 20b?

On a side note, car is super clean and I would put it in my top ten overall on the forum.

Thanks for the comments and compliments. After all the $$ I have pumped into the 20B conversion, I think I will keep it for awhile:)

Regarding wide front fenders, I'm just not a fan of them. I've never seen a set that IMO keeps the flowing lines of the car. For me, the current look works. It's kind of like the Porsches that have the widened out OEM backs. They're the ones that kick ass as they have huge HP (at least for an OEM car). Hopefully that's like me too.

totally agree!!

IMO it looks on your car because your car is Black,, not sure about non molded on a red rx7>

I am still undecided ...

wow that's a 6 year old thread!

^ Yeah, but I get to see a pic of my car running. :)