Fill out fenders without spacers

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Vectra

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Hi folks

This is my first post here and I'm looking for a little advice

I recently bought a new truck for me which I love with the exception of the wheels not filling out the fenders.



IMG_20190621_133748.jpg IMG_20190623_135433.jpg

My first reaction was to remove the fenders and it'll be fine but the wife like's the fenders.

I have spoken to a local tire shop who recommended buying new wheels with a minus offset and refit the tires I have which are nearly new Nitto Terra Grapplers 275/65/R20

I actually like the chrome clads and would prefer to keep them if possible

I looked at spacers but to be honest these scare me and I don't want to go down this road either.

Would I be better getting wider tires or changing the wheels for maybe Laramie ones ?

Are the sport 20's I have the same offset as the Laramie's or are these wider due to having fenders from the factory ?


Any advice appreciated.
 

sickman

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I did the flares and added 1-1/2" spacers. Filled out nicely. Basically just bolt on the spacers over your existing studs then use your factory lugs to mount the tire to the spacer. Re-torque after about 50 miles to be safe.
 

big daddys house

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Hi folks

This is my first post here and I'm looking for a little advice

I recently bought a new truck for me which I love with the exception of the wheels not filling out the fenders.



View attachment 177339 View attachment 177340

My first reaction was to remove the fenders and it'll be fine but the wife like's the fenders.

I have spoken to a local tire shop who recommended buying new wheels with a minus offset and refit the tires I have which are nearly new Nitto Terra Grapplers 275/65/R20

I actually like the chrome clads and would prefer to keep them if possible

I looked at spacers but to be honest these scare me and I don't want to go down this road either.

Would I be better getting wider tires or changing the wheels for maybe Laramie ones ?

Are the sport 20's I have the same offset as the Laramie's or are these wider due to having fenders from the factory ?


Any advice appreciated.
Welcome to the best Ram Forum around sir.
The least expensive route is inch and a half spacers or tearing the flares off. I'm personally not a huge fan of the flares unless it's on a raised 4X4.
I however wanted to make a comment on your rig I love how your back emblem is white! Everybody including myself is doing black and it is kind of played out.

Sent from my LG-LS995 using Tapatalk
 
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Vectra

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I did the flares and added 1-1/2" spacers. Filled out nicely. Basically just bolt on the spacers over your existing studs then use your factory lugs to mount the tire to the spacer. Re-torque after about 50 miles to be safe.


Thank's for your input

I'm from an automotive background and was also a firefighter and been to many crashes in my time and these spacers scare me, traditionally the wheel is fixed to the steel hub and very strong from the factory and will take extreme forces for the wheel to come away from the vehicle but they still do in some instance upon impact.

Using an aluminium spacer that is bolted to the hub and having new lugs extended from the aluminium spacer which are machine pressed is extremely weak compared to the normal steel hub setup, especially on a truck the size of a Ram, any kind of wheel impact has the potential to weaken the aluminium to the point the lugs will come away from the spacer and the wheel come off the truck.

I know thousands of people use these daily but the thought of me driving around with my family in the truck with these doesn't sit comfortably with me unfortunately hence looking for alternatives.
 
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Vectra

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Welcome to the best Ram Forum around sir.
The least expensive route is inch and a half spacers or tearing the flares off. I'm personally not a huge fan of the flares unless it's on a raised 4X4.
I however wanted to make a comment on your rig I love how your back emblem is white! Everybody including myself is doing black and it is kind of played out.

Sent from my LG-LS995 using Tapatalk


Thank's for the welcome

I bought the truck at a great price because it had a rebuilt title, the white badge was due to replacing the tailgate, the painter obviously didn't want to bother removing the badge while repainting, he simply sprayed over it !

If you look at the second photo you can see a new silver badge on the top of the tailgate, I took that photo half way through replacing the badge, so I'm back to boring standard now.
 

Jbp19classic

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Great looking truck. There’s only two ways to get the wheel out further, either spacers or new wheels with a negative offset. Totally your call on the spacers, and I understand being cautious. Good quality hub centric spacers are totally safe if installed correctly and will stand up to everything you can throw at it. People run them on off road rigs that take a lot of abuse all the time.
 
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Vectra

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Great looking truck. There’s only two ways to get the wheel out further, either spacers or new wheels with a negative offset. Totally your call on the spacers, and I understand being cautious. Good quality hub centric spacers are totally safe if installed correctly and will stand up to everything you can throw at it. People run them on off road rigs that take a lot of abuse all the time.

Thank's, do you know if Laramie wheels have a negative offset or are they the same as the sport wheels on my truck , I think they are both 20 by 9 ?
 

Jbp19classic

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Thank's, do you know if Laramie wheels have a negative offset or are they the same as the sport wheels on my truck , I think they are both 20 by 9 ?
If there is a difference, it’s minimal. None of the stock Ram wheels are going to stick out to the edge of the flairs like you want. I believe they are all positive offset.
 

johnfehr31

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Yeah stock offset on my 2015 ram sport is +19 but it looks sweet without flares comes out just a little I love it

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Gary2

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To me flares on a Ram require a really big set of tires to make them look proportionate and I doubt you could put tires that big on a 1500 with IFS and not have issues. Removing the flares are free and the existing tire/wheel combo will instantly look fine. But Thats just my opinion . Good looking truck.
Spacer problems almost always comes back to a poor install from what I have read about on the forums for Rams and Jeeps. I have had a set of spider trax spacers on an 05 Rubicon for about 10 years with no problem . Installed exactly how the manufacture said.
 

CincyZach

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If it were me I would remove the fender flares and have fingers crossed they were put on correctly and with some extra protection tape to protect the paint. My buddy put some on his truck with just the protection that comes with them and in less than 2 weeks he took them off and already had damage to the paint. Then if you have no damage, cross your fingers your wife likes the looks of the truck better without the flares lol. That is my 2 cents... Good luck!
 

KeepRight

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Hi folks

This is my first post here and I'm looking for a little advice

I recently bought a new truck for me which I love with the exception of the wheels not filling out the fenders.



View attachment 177339 View attachment 177340

My first reaction was to remove the fenders and it'll be fine but the wife like's the fenders.

I have spoken to a local tire shop who recommended buying new wheels with a minus offset and refit the tires I have which are nearly new Nitto Terra Grapplers 275/65/R20

I actually like the chrome clads and would prefer to keep them if possible

I looked at spacers but to be honest these scare me and I don't want to go down this road either.

Would I be better getting wider tires or changing the wheels for maybe Laramie ones ?

Are the sport 20's I have the same offset as the Laramie's or are these wider due to having fenders from the factory ?


Any advice appreciated.
As for spacers... I think early on people just threw on the typical spacers, without thought on proper installation. This too they didn't use hub centric spacers.

I've got 1.5" hub centric on my EcoDiesel. I've got zero complaints or issues. Now, I am a airplane mech, and took my time on install. I cleaned everything, used blue lock tight, and torqued to specs. Rechecked the torque after 150 miles... Which for me is one day to work and back. I've had my spacers on for 6 months... And I drive 150 back and forth to work.

The hub centric spacers sit 'firmly' on the hub. This includes the spacer center is built to hold the wheel just as your stock hubs do.
Is there a chance I'll have problems - yup. However, I'm confident my family and I are safe. I want a better fender full too... My spacers helped but not as I wanted. So, I wait saving money on slightly wider wheels/tires.
dd67802ef7ba7367641797de6ed6fd8e.jpg6b6eee3bc8986406fb53b6c30ff52def.jpg5463ca98d5b1e029d22c4293d59519dd.jpg157764b811335aa72cc0fcbdf6dc97cc.jpgf3410ba62b231734673c70aa80b5c7a6.jpg

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Vectra

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Thanks for the input, I am leaning towards offset wheels after your comments and photos, really appreciated.
 

CincyCuda68

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If it were me I would remove the fender flares and have fingers crossed they were put on correctly and with some extra protection tape to protect the paint. My buddy put some on his truck with just the protection that comes with them and in less than 2 weeks he took them off and already had damage to the paint. Then if you have no damage, cross your fingers your wife likes the looks of the truck better without the flares lol. That is my 2 cents... Good luck!
I had mine on 3 days and took them off. Had to buff out the lines it had already dug into the paint. I now have tape, so after I Ceramic Coat, I’ll put the tape on before I put them on. It doesn’t take long for them to screw up the paint.
 

Trailmaker

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I love the flares on a 4x4 so is can contain the mud from a 12.5 wide tire. The options you are looking at will effect the trucks turning radius.
If my wife insisted on the keeping the flares then I would fit 33x12.5 A/T tires on the truck to make it look right.
 

KeepRight

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On my bushwacker flares I had them coated with Line X. What a saving difference. I've bumped them on small posts leaving the bank... ZERO DAMAGE! 1d82492207dfdd41f77feeaf8e493dd0.jpgee672ce50a49dd258e34e681a9b385f1.jpg

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jagu366

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I ordered the flares, and did a 2" spacer over 2 years ago. So far, no issues. Only thing is that your turning radius will be bigger.
 

Tahoebronco

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I like the look of the flares a lot better than without. I bought my rig used and had to purchase the flares. I think it makes a world of difference for the better to look at. My 2500 also came with chrome steel rims and ended up buying a set of "pull off's" (tires and wheels) from a 2018 Laramie. I love the look of these new rims a lot better as well.

Last thought of off set wheels. I once owned a 1989 Dodge Dakota convertible (yes it was a factory option - I was the first owner of it). A friend recently sent me the picture below of my old rig he found from an add in the Boise paper. The wheels I put on it did have a neutral offset but the road grime and mud from the road kept me busy at the truck wash. The lifted look was from adjusting the front torsion bars upward and running 31 inch tires.

20151226_002820[1].jpg
 
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