Fit Larger Tires Without Lifting Your Truck

Most of the time, it is the rear of the front fenders that dictates the size of the tire you can put on your truck. When you turn, this is the most common rubbing point and the bane of anyone trying to put on a larger tire without lifting one's truck any higher. Sometimes the bottom of the front factory bumper can get in the way too, but this is easily solved by either removing the factory bumper or using a chopsaw to clearance it. And this type of clearancing works well on steel fenders too, but a lot of times it can leave your fender looking a bit messy.

We explored three different options for clearing out fender steel where a tire would normally rub on 1999-2009 Super Dutys. The chopsaw idea works, but you could also go a much cleaner (and at the same time more legal) route of extended fiberglass fenders or Bushwacker cut-out fender flares for your truck too.

Cutting
The easiest method of tire clearancing is to just cut out the metal that is rubbing your tires. This is very permanent and can leave your truck looking a bit hokey if you do not do a good job cutting. We did a marginal job because we knew we were going to eventually be replacing these fenders with fiberglass units or cut-out fender flares. Our first and definitely most relied-upon fender clearancing tool is a sawsall. You or your neighbor probably owns one of these. Just try not to get too saw-happy when you go for it.

Cut-Out Fender Flares
To greatly increase your fender clearance at all four corners, and keep your truck legal at the same time, you might want to look into a set of Bushwacker Cut-Out fender flares for your ride. Bushwacker has a variety of applications and their new flare are much more durable (and easily removable) than the ones they made in the past. They allow you to greatly increase your fender opening and give you the added protection over the tires to keep them legal in all states.

Fiberglass Fenders
Your other option for extended tire clearance is to go with some replacement fiberglass fenders that bolt in place of your factory steel. These can take a fair amount of bodywork to get on correctly, but the results look great.

Dennis Gregory of Xtreme Unlimited in Oceano, California, got these Cut-Out flares onto this Super Duty. He's done a few before, so we felt more comfortable cutting into the nice steel of these fenders. He put two parallel tape lines along the fender where the directions say to do so. As you can see, we'll be gaining much more tire clearance. We'll lose 3 3/8 inches of steel that would hit our tires at the rear of the front fender. We only lose about 2 inches of steel for the rest of the front fender. The rear factory body also loses 2 inches of steel to mount the Cut-Outs.
Dennis Gregory of Xtreme Unlimited in Oceano, California, got these Cut-Out flares onto th

Once the steel fender was cut, Gregory held up the flare in place. You'll have to check a few times to make sure you cut all the sheetmetal you need to. We had to trim some plastics as well.These new Cut-Out fender flares from Bushwacker have really been improved over the old design. They are much more durable and can take quite an impact without shattering.
Once the steel fender was cut, Gregory held up the flare in place. You'll have to check a
Once you have the Cut-Out fender flare placed, you should mark and drill holes accordingly for the mounting hardware. Bushwacker used to use body rivets that had to be drilled out if it was necessary to remove the flare. Nowadays, Bushwacker uses these extremely nice self-tapping bolts that thread directly in the steel fenders. Not only do they look good, but they allow you to access under the flare should you need to.
Once you have the Cut-Out fender flare placed, you should mark and drill holes accordingly
With all four Cut-Out fender flares on, this Super Duty actually looked pretty darned good.
With all four Cut-Out fender flares on, this Super Duty actually looked pretty darned good

With the 5-inch bulge and enlarged opening of this Hannemann fiberglass, we are able to completely stuff a 40-inch tire on our Super Duty with only 6 inches of lift. Even with the wheels cranked, our tires still have a fair amount of room in between the fenders and the tires.
With the 5-inch bulge and enlarged opening of this Hannemann fiberglass, we are able to co
Deputy Sheriff Darren Davidson even checked to make sure the new fender flare package had this Super Duty back to legal status. With the tires sticking out (without flares), this truck would've been begging for a tire ticket.
Deputy Sheriff Darren Davidson even checked to make sure the new fender flare package had
These Hannemann Fiberglass fenders actually fit the body lines of our Project STD Super Duty very well, but there was an extensive amount of work to get them to look so good. On top of all the cutting and fitment to get a fiberglass fender on, you'll also have to throw some paint on it to match the rest of your vehicle.
These Hannemann Fiberglass fenders actually fit the body lines of our Project STD Super Du