I have a 95 Suzuki Carry with a 2 1/4" lift and 23" tires. Now that the suspension has settled in I notice some rubbing of the front tires. I have searched the forums and realize that I need to trim the front fender. My question to all of you is, does anyone have a picture of their trimmed fender. I just want to cut it correctly and avoid cutting to much. Thanks for all the help and info on the forum.
I just recently did this to my '97 Carry and could not info on the forum. I was nervous about cutting into my truck but it easier that you would imagine. I will try to upload some pics later today. Basically I ended up only removing about 3/4 inch (at the bottom of the opening) and angled the rest inward (making the piece smaller as I went) toward the wheel well. I used tape to mark my cut line and used my high speed grinder with a cutting disc to do the job. After cutting I treated the area with a rust preventative and primed. Not concerned about repainting as I will soon be adding some Camo Clad vinyl to the truck. Took me less than 10 minutes total. Good luck! ________ R80
OK, here's a pic from my crappy camera phone. I'll try to do better using my daughter's camera. All I did was use tape to mark the line. I picked a spot on the wheel well to start and went down to the bottom following the natural contour of the wheel well. AS I said, I ended up taking off about 3/4" at the bottom. Hopefully the pic will give you an idea. Let me know if you want to see different angles or something. I'll recreate the shots as best as I can using a better camera. ________ Ducati F1
Trimming Wheel Wells Phil, Thanks for the info on cutting the wheel wells. I was just like you, 23" Carlisle All Trails and they rub exactly as yours did, with the 2 1/4" lift. I was parinoid about cutting the wells, but am now confident and will perform the circumcision today. Thanks for your photo and willingness to help the rest of us. Cpt Ron
Yeah, just open your door and look at the actual body of the truck where the bottom of the door is. You can see where the lip is. You can cut off anything below the lip and the line of the door to match. Just make sure to do something to the cut area to prevent rust.
I've read alot about the tire size vs lift issue...very much depends on the manufacturer and on the offset. I have 24" 489s on a stock 93 suzuki with no rubbing at all...11" back and 8" front.. 7psi in rear and 10psi up front moded rear offset and stock offset up front, both articat 12"
You can also get a rubber hammer and knock up the fender well lip about 1 1/2.(right where the tire rubs) Then your tires will clear and wont rub. No cutting. Ive done this on a number of Suz. with 2" lift, 24" tires.
Where to cut the fender wells I trimmed my wheel wells, on my 96 Carry, twice. The first time I did not get quite enough removed (paranoid to cut too much). Then I did as one noted below, and turned the wheels and noted where they rubbed. I found two locations where they rubbed. The first was on the front portion of the wheel well, below the main body line, where the lower portion of the fender rolls under the fender, and it extends to the rear, past the main body line (Seam between the upper and lower panels of the fender). I did as the other poster said, used blue painters tape, marked the line to cut (painters tape helps protect the painted exterior of the fender well) and used a very fine blade on my B&D Jig Saw to remove the excess. I filed down the rough edges and touched up the bare metal with some matching paint to prevent rust. (See photo attached of the front fender, lower portion) The second thing I noted was that the tires rubbed the mid section (inside the wheel well) of the mud flap on the rear of the wheel well. I then took a block of wood, and a crow bar and pushed the mid-portion of the mud flap, (Where it rubbed) and the metal behind it, back maybe 3/4 of an inch, which was sufficient to prevent rubbing on the back side. You could accomplish the same thing using a rubber mallet, but you have to remove the tire to have room to swing the mallet. By using two pieces of 1 X 2, I put one on the tire as a base, and the other smaller piece on the center of the mud flap and used the crow bar to push the smaller piece to the rear. Took 30 seconds and worked fine. (See photo attached of the mud flap) Hope this helps you out. As the other person that posed stated, it is easy to do, take your time to cut only what you must remove from the front part, and paint it to prevent rust. I have 23" X 8.5" Carslile All Terrain on the mini. Captain Ron
Also remember that the type and size of tire will affect how much trimming needs to be done on the different manufacturers of trucks. Super Grip Diamondbacks have become one of our favorite tires instead of the All Trails for this, as well as several other reasons: Rounded Shoulders (tread to sidewall) - less trimming than All Trails! 6-ply Sidewall Built-in rim guard Tighter lug pattern on 8"W tires - less stone throwing I also recommend the Bear Claw in a 24" aggressive mud tire as they require the least amount of trimming on Carry's with a 2" lift.
