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I was going to find a way to make the 997 RS stick on fender flares work and then cut the fender behind it to give actual clearance. I'm not convinced there is a difference in the shape/size of the wheel opening area when measuring side by side with my neighbor's 997 that would rule out the stick on on the fender portion from fitting...
Wouldn't surprise me if something about it isn't the same.
There is a significant difference. 997 wheel openings are quite a bit larger than the 6s - hence the 19" wheels on 997s. I laid my 997 RS stick on flares (OEM) on 996 fenders for John (pwdrhound) as he was considering the same thing. I am traveling, so I don't have much time to search, but I am quite sure I posted them in another thread. You'd either be enlarging the wheel opening so much that you will have to do all sorts of reworking to the rocker/bumper etc. or you have to do all sorts of reworking to the flares - which will be very difficult as they are PUR. Custom flares would be easier and cheaper. And this is also why John is going this route...
There is a significant difference. 997 wheel openings are quite a bit larger than the 6s - hence the 19" wheels on 997s. I laid my 997 RS stick on flares (OEM) on 996 fenders for John (pwdrhound) as he was considering the same thing. I am traveling, so I don't have much time to search, but I am quite sure I posted them in another thread. You'd either be enlarging the wheel opening so much that you will have to do all sorts of reworking to the rocker/bumper etc. or you have to do all sorts of reworking to the flares - which will be very difficult as they are PUR. Custom flares would be easier and cheaper. And this is also why John is going this route...
You've just saved me a bit of money, thanks for sharing this Although I told my neighbor I'd give him the flares if I get them and find they wont work without doing a lot... So maybe he will not be happy that you've told me this
Changed out the springs in my KW's and rolled my front fenders this weekend. Everything was out, including removing the bumper fasteners closest to the fender.
I held the bumper out 1" (where the bumper meets the fender at the wheel opening). This showed how the fender would need to move out starting at the bottom of headlamp where it intersects the bumper.
IMO an inch is achievable without visible distortions to the bumper. The bumper should still meet up with the headlight with a factory fit. I doubt it would be very noticeable and still honor the lines of the car. There would need to be some non-visible adjustments below to the front tray and the liners will require shaping and extensions.
Going wider than 1” looks to be problem without lengthening the bumper as the bumper becomes shorter as you push it away from the centerline of the car.
I did a clearance check by installing the KWv3’s without the spring. The suspension was articulated with varying degrees of turn-in to full lock. The pinch points are where the bumper and fender meet at the light (call that 10 o’clock) to 1 o’clock.
The clearance check was done with 9” finspeed, ET 47, 235/45-18. Camber set at max stock negative camber. My rads have already been moved forward 1” and my liners reshaped for max room.
If build correctly, they could look stock. Eager to see the cost of these flared units.
That's exactly what I had envisioned... No modding needed besides the fender liner. You could always go back to stock by bolting the stock fenders back on.
Actually, it really doesn't look too bad. I'd still like to see a side shot of that car.
Here is the post with the flare on a 996 fender. It was on RL which is why I didn't find it immediately.
The front wheel wells will be larger than the rear. The flares make the wheel opening larger in every direction including length. I have the flare more or less centered in the last pic. Laid on a 997 fender, you'd see no metal inside the flare; the inner curve of the flare follows the hell opening. On top of everything else, if you look at the inside of the flare in the first pic, you'll see how much room you are actually gaining (small indented lip). You are actually only gaining about a finger-thickness of extra tire space.
As I said in my post to John, for the (large) sum of money, I'd go with aftermarket. These came with my car or I probably would have even on my build.
Originally Posted by SteveMFr
I don't actually believe it is a different part than the GT3 RS. The Cup flares are def different. But I have not checked the part #s in the PET.
Not ABS, PUR. I should have realized this as I was writing that they are surprisingly heavy for what they are. I've seen aftermarket copies made of ABS, but I can't remember where and a quick search turned up nothing. The form is considerably off for a 996, though. And for $1200 (link in my last post)... I know I could have a pair custom made of fiberglass to the form and shape I want in that price category.
Front and back with 3M tape and overspray :-p
part #s
On a 996 fender. You'd be cutting away well over 1" measured from the wheel arch to the edge of the attachment flange under the flare at the tallest point.
I'd find someone versed in glass work and have a pair custom made. Maybe Joe Toth wants to take a stab...
I agree with seeing a side shot of the car above. I've also seen some of those flares made of ABS for around $400, but I'm having trouble tracking it down now.
Not sure if this is high jacking the thread or adding to it. John, let me know if you feel a new thread should be started.
After staring at the front fenders of too many cars, I thought the E46M3 fender might have the fender extension needed to graft onto to the turbo fender without going through too much effort to hand form custom extensions. The E46M3's run 18" wheels and are also a fairly tight package. I found a damaged fender for $100 to experiment and decide if this is a reasonable aesthetic option. I expect anyone considering this mod wants to look as OEM as possible.
I cut off the M3 fender extension approx 2 3/4 inches from the flat vertical leading edge (the black and green tape). It has not yet been trimmed perfectly as you can see it runs long in the front and is not fitted to taper down to zero at the bottom. I'm now experimenting with the options of how to blend the bumper.
The gain is over 1" of outward clearance and 3/4 height clearance in the key area where clearance is required.
Cargraphic has one solution for this problem. Extension kit:
The price for both ends is about €2500,-. I don't know exact amount of widening, but I managed to look and handle one installed set last weekend and IMO it's +20 mm / side / end.
Cargraphic has one solution for this problem. Extension kit:
The price for both ends is about €2500,-. I don't know exact amount of widening, but I managed to look and handle one installed set last weekend and IMO it's +20 mm / side / end.
That same exact kit is used by RUF on their 996 cars. They do not make extension for the rear of a wide body, only narrow body cars. The idea is the make the wider bumpers exactly like the ones with the extensions except they would obviously be 1 piece and be perfectly blended. The shape is exactly what you would need to seamlessly blend into the bumper and rocker panel.
08-23-2016, 10:20 AM
Although I told my neighbor I'd give him the flares if I get them and find they wont work without doing a lot... So maybe he will not be happy that you've told me this 
