looking to get a pair of z3 fenders from a plus for my cav sedan. how hard are they to install? should i ot go with the fiberglass?
Depends on who makes them. Some fiberglass fenders will double or triple in cost with the body work to make them fit, while others bolt right on. Personally I wouldn't get fiberglass anything for the exterior of the car, but thats just me.
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i would get steel if your going with the z3's, i have them on mine, not too hard to install
why steel as compared to fg?
Tim Costello wrote:why steel as compared to fg?
durability, easier fitment, better quality.
i got aerogear fg z3's. they were easy to install but ill agree with the fitment issue, its not the best, been fighting with them noe for about a month.thinking about going back to stock for now and getting steel later
Get steel ones, and the install is easy. Just bolts on the top under the hood, remove the wheel liner, bolts to the front bumber, and a couple under the side at the bottom. Then... reverse install the new one.
Sold 6/30/06.
david norris wrote:Get steel ones, and the install is easy. Just bolts on the top under the hood, remove the wheel liner, bolts to the front bumber, and a couple under the side at the bottom. Then... reverse install the new one.
how do u remove the wheel liner? i just got a new fender also and im takin the oem's off?
Remove the wheel and then just remove all the tiny bolts that attach to the fender and inside of the car. I think they're 7mm, but I wouldn't swear to that. It's really easy... just remove the wheel and take a look. You can't miss em. I think there are some that attach to the front bumper as well.
Sold 6/30/06.
dang all of that is involved in removing a fender? thats gonna take longet than i thought. i thought it was just take of the bolts under the hood and the side skirt
It's not hard and doesn't take that long.
There are 3 bolts under the hood. There are 2 under the car toward the front of the door. The wheel liner has like 4-5 7mm bolts attached to the fender, 2 attached behind the wheel toward the engine compartment, and maybe like 2-4 attached under the front bumper. Take it off and then look inside the bumper from the wheel well. You'll see like 1 or 2 more bolts attaching the bumper to the fender. That's it. It's not hard.
Sold 6/30/06.
Quick question, are sunfire sedan and sunfire cope fenders the exact same, or are they different?
Vis offers z3 fenders for the sunfire sedan wich i do have a sedan, but they dont list for the coupe; they must be the same eh?
Its just the vis ones look like there is a opeing down half way in the fender; i just want the opening in the top like the traditional z'3's.
They dont make steel z3's for the sunfire do they?
98 j-body sedan
I have a set of 'glass ones on mine, and I really prefer that because of repaiability and customisation, mainly. I have been working with glass for a while, and really don't mind putting out the effort to make it look the way that I want it. However if you have to ask the question, the you should definitely go with the metal ones. When I installed mine, the raw fitment looked like total garbage. There was more than an inch gap between the fender and hood on both sides, not to mention that the top of the fenders actually sat below the hood height. You could clearly see both my antifreeze bottle, and my air filter. Depending on what company you would purchase from, it might be somewhat better, but in general this describes the fitment of almost all aftermarket fiberglass, be it a bumper, fender, whatever.. Metal should bolt up pretty close to factory though. As far as how they come off, that's not too hard. If I remember correctly there's two bolts under the car, (It's's been so long since I sealed up all my seams that I can't remember for sure) then you have the plastic retainers around the wheelhouse. Just pry the round pin out of the center of them with a small flat head, and they'll come right out. After that it's the series of bolts down the side under the hood. they re 10 mm's. it really doesn't take long at all.
So if you purshase fiberglass fenders, and the fitment is that bad; inch gap on both sides and it dont even line up with the hood; how do you fix this; every car i see with z3's or aftermarket fenders on them i dont see a huge gap or not lineing up with the hood; they look really good; i am just wondering how you fix the fitment issues; lots playing around, or are you basically stuck with fenders looking like crap?
thanks.
98 j-body sedan
You don't fix it. If you see you have an inch gap on the fender junk it. Will take way more hours than you think to get it to fit. Fiberglass gets fitted with fiberglass. Simple as that. Lots of sanding and filling to get the fender to meet perfect with the hood and the door. Best thing to do is get metal ones or customize your stock ones. Then you can just beat them into shape and do minimal body work.
my fiberglass fenders had about an 1" gap between the bumper and half inch gap by the hood. i spent around 6 hours per fender getting them to fit. to me that really wasnt bad but if you dont know fiberglass it may take you allot longer. or if you have a body shop fix them its probalby going to run you $50 an hour for them to work on them.
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Im going to call some body shops here today and see what they say; probally alot of money.
98 j-body sedan
