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[Kgolf31]

First off, I've already rolled my fenders.

However, I did not get the lip tucked in very much. I know I gained clearance...but not enough, because I still rub at the very outer edge of the tire....

With that being said, is there a specific technique to roll the rears with the Eastwood Tool?

We heated up the paint, and rolled away, however it was starting to pull slightly, so we stopped. Do we need to attack the lip at a more vertical angle (have the rubber roller more at a perpendicular angle to the ground)?

I also heard that there may/may not be caulking inside the fender?

I'll try to get pictures later to show exactly what I'm talking about, but I'm going to try it again to see if I can get a better result without a massive pull.

[yllwwgn]

The rears fender lips on our cars are WORLDS different than the fronts. The fronts you can literally raise the car up some, stick an aluminum bat with some duct tape on it, and roll away... I know how this sounds, but those of you who HAVE done the front know EXACTLY what I am talking about You can practically press the material together with your fingers (almost).

ANYWAY... as far as the rears, yes an Eastwood-like fender roller IS A MUST! The rear quarters are much thicker for one, but also have a different shape to the metal within the front wheelwell. A couple things that will help (besides the roller of course):

1. Removal of the sealant/goop within the rear fender channel is almost a must. Reach under there with the fender liner removed, and you can't miss it. Maybe in really warm weather you can peel it out, but doubtful. My advice? Get a Dremel grinding/cutting disk, and run it back and forth INSIDE of that channel, and remove the material... slowly, and carefully... but it can be done.

2. Initially when rolling the rear, any more than a 45* angle and it will want to PUSH/PULL the fender out more! To avoid that, start at the roller with maybe 15* (from the horizon) and slowly work it back an forth with the heat gun. THESE THINGS ARE THICK!!! You will notice the inside of the metal will slowly tuck "upwards" more and more over time. Keep working it up that way and eventually you should get it to about 45*.

3. Rear bumper. Yup... as others have mentioned, this is most likely where you will rub as well. You will see when you reach in there, but where the fender and bumper meet, there is a bunch of excess metal protruding WITHIN the wheelwell. You can fairly easing file this down... spray it with some primer or OEM touch up paint after, and you should be able to free up about 3-4mm in that section.

Hope that helps!

[Kgolf31]

Crap...had no clue there was sealant in the back....this is probably why the metal didn't want to fold back perhaps?

Here is a pic of what I was able to roll...not too much. Like I said, it did pull the fender a bit.



Now my problem that I'm going to have...is that sealant crap. What I did, right before I rolled...is that I sprayed 3M Underbody Spray. So essentially, as I rolled it would seal that crack and prevent rust. What is now happening is that I essentially doubled my sealant, and have to remove it.

The process with the dremel, did you knick the paint at all? I do have a dremel, but don't know if going aggressive to remove all this crap will start damaging the metal. Make sense?

Just trying to figure stuff out. I will have a Eastwood. Starting at 15 degrees from level (horizon) will assuming start a lip, and then you can continue to roll and increase angle up to and/or around 90 degrees?

[yllwwgn]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

Crap...had no clue there was sealant in the back....this is probably why the metal didn't want to fold back perhaps?

Here is a pic of what I was able to roll...not too much. Like I said, it did pull the fender a bit.



Now my problem that I'm going to have...is that sealant crap. What I did, right before I rolled...is that I sprayed 3M Underbody Spray. So essentially, as I rolled it would seal that crack and prevent rust. What is now happening is that I essentially doubled my sealant, and have to remove it.

The process with the dremel, did you knick the paint at all? I do have a dremel, but don't know if going aggressive to remove all this crap will start damaging the metal. Make sense?

Just trying to figure stuff out. I will have a Eastwood. Starting at 15 degrees from level (horizon) will assuming start a lip, and then you can continue to roll and increase angle up to and/or around 90 degrees?

Once you have the wheel removed, you can stick your head and hand on the Dremel in there with the cutting/grinding disc and you will feel it "grab" at the sealant stuff. You will basically be removing the material in small increments... don't rush it and you will be fine. Like all things, I am sure there is a better way of removing it, so if anyone has a suggestion, by all means share!

As far as starting out with rolling part of it, TAKE YOUR TIME! I cannot stress that enough... TAKE YOUR TIME! I would preffer to spend 10 minutes rolling it back and forth and seeing I made NO progress, and try and try again...than spend 10 minutes trying to RUSH it, and deforming (pulling) the fender.

Also, I suggest compressing the rear as much as you can, and seeing WHERE it rubs under the suspension articulation. Some spots that you might think would rub... DON'T, and vice versa.

Sorry for all the CAPITALS... my beverage must have more caffeine than usual.

[Greg FEightytwo]

its those tires.. swap them out to hankooks v12s.. You will gain another 1/8 of an inch with their shaved shoulders. Dial in your camber a few degrees and your done. Make sure you roll the front of the rear fender down to the 3rd rivet so on hard turns you don't catch the tire. G

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by yllwwgn

Once you have the wheel removed, you can stick your head and hand on the Dremel in there with the cutting/grinding disc and you will feel it "grab" at the sealant stuff. You will basically be removing the material in small increments... don't rush it and you will be fine. Like all things, I am sure there is a better way of removing it, so if anyone has a suggestion, by all means share!

As far as starting out with rolling part of it, TAKE YOUR TIME! I cannot stress that enough... TAKE YOUR TIME! I would preffer to spend 10 minutes rolling it back and forth and seeing I made NO progress, and try and try again...than spend 10 minutes trying to RUSH it, and deforming (pulling) the fender.

Also, I suggest compressing the rear as much as you can, and seeing WHERE it rubs under the suspension articulation. Some spots that you might think would rub... DON'T, and vice versa.

Sorry for all the CAPITALS... my beverage must have more caffeine than usual.

Okay man, makes sense. I'll probably get working on it come Sunday and I'll look at removing that crap.

I think that is where my issue falls.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by gs135is

its those tires.. swap them out to hankooks v12s.. You will gain another 1/8 of an inch with their shaved shoulders. Dial in your camber a few degrees and your done. Make sure you roll the front of the rear fender down to the 3rd rivet so on hard turns you don't catch the tire. G

I'm not going to inferior tires.

I prefer not to discuss camber...but I have enough.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by gs135is

its those tires.. swap them out to hankooks v12s.. You will gain another 1/8 of an inch with their shaved shoulders. Dial in your camber a few degrees and your done. Make sure you roll the front of the rear fender down to the 3rd rivet so on hard turns you don't catch the tire. G

Why not just go down to Nankangs?

[Greg FEightytwo]

never heard of those tires.. 3002 tii..


Kgolf31 -- I had yoko s drives they were too fat.. Hankooks where the solution.. I have a full m3 suspension so I gain extra track width after my third set of wheels playing with offsets. I love the tires.. They are super soft and I have a 265 in the rear so lots of grip.

[yllwwgn]

Originally Posted by 3002 tii

Why not just go down to Nankangs?

I think most people may miss the fact that OP is going for an STX-prepared car.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by yllwwgn

I think most people may miss the fact that OP is going for an STX-prepared car.

3002 knows my intentions.

for those who do not know, I'm running Apex 17x8.5 ET40 with 245 Z2s. I'm aware of the odd offset, I'm aware of the roll. I did roll prior, and did not know of the sealant.

I'll have to clean it up, including the 3M underbody spray I used...and try to roll again. Anyone with ideas to remove this, besides already discussed dremel, I'm all ears.

As of now, I can run high compression and avoid most rub...however I'm OCD and want all possible rub gone.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

3002 knows my intentions.

for those who do not know, I'm running Apex 17x8.5 ET40 with 245 Z2s. I'm aware of the odd offset, I'm aware of the roll. I did roll prior, and did not know of the sealant.

I'll have to clean it up, including the 3M underbody spray I used...and try to roll again. Anyone with ideas to remove this, besides already discussed dremel, I'm all ears.

As of now, I can run high compression and avoid most rub...however I'm OCD and want all possible rub gone.

No clue but glad I read this since I'm rolling the rears on the Z4 tomorrow lol. 9" wide et30 255 R888's with -3.0* still has mild rub on banked turns.

[Hops128i]

Originally Posted by yllwwgn

1. Removal of the sealant/goop within the rear fender channel is almost a must. Reach under there with the fender liner removed, and you can't miss it. Maybe in really warm weather you can peel it out, but doubtful. My advice? Get a Dremel grinding/cutting disk, and run it back and forth INSIDE of that channel, and remove the material... slowly, and carefully... but it can be done.

I've called two shops about rolling the rears on a e82, and both said they hardly get anything with the rears. I wonder if not removing the fender liner removal is why?

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Hops128i

I've called two shops about rolling the rears on a e82, and both said they hardly get anything with the rears. I wonder if not removing the fender liner removal is why?

It isn't the fender liner, it is the sealant in the fender.

[SfValley335i]

You can't really fully roll the rear of our cars. The more pressure you put the panel just flares out... If you really want space you must shave the lip and part of the bracket that holds the bumper.

I got apex 9.5et62 with 12mm spacers and have 10mm more space... My car is lowered on kw v2...

[yllwwgn]

A picture is worth...

[VMRWheels]

Originally Posted by yllwwgn

1. Removal of the sealant/goop within the rear fender channel is almost a must. Reach under there with the fender liner removed, and you can't miss it. Maybe in really warm weather you can peel it out, but doubtful. My advice? Get a Dremel grinding/cutting disk, and run it back and forth INSIDE of that channel, and remove the material... slowly, and carefully... but it can be done.

Yup! This is one huge factor about getting the fenders as flat as possible.

[Hops128i]

yllwwgn, thanks for the visual. I've been calling around a couple shops basically say you can't roll the fenders, but I found a shop telling me they can but it's like 3+ hours labor because of things mentioned in this thread like the sealant, does that sound right?

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by Hops128i

yllwwgn, thanks for the visual. I've been calling around a couple shops basically say you can't roll the fenders, but I found a shop telling me they can but it's like 3+ hours labor because of things mentioned in this thread like the sealant, does that sound right?

Well, given a dremel is easy to use and ~$19 to buy, I'd say remove the sealant yourself and then take the car in for a quick and easy professional job.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by 3002 tii

No clue but glad I read this since I'm rolling the rears on the Z4 tomorrow lol. 9" wide et30 255 R888's with -3.0* still has mild rub on banked turns.

So I rolled the rears on my Z, interestingly enough there was no said goop in that car. Pulled the liner and took a look, felt around, nothing. Wonder when they started adding this stuff.

[Hops128i]

not a great picture, but here's a view of the sealant, viewing from top inside the fender:

[Eyeman]

I think I paid $80 and it took a local tire shop around 30 minutes to heat and aggressively roll/flare the top of my fender arch. The bigger issue is that once you get this area out of the way, the next area that gets in the way is the rear bumper tab. Then you can further pull out the fender a tad but you'll still rub around the bumper area and directly across, you just cant get those areas out of the way like you can the top of the fender arch.