Help: Fender sizing
 

I have been looking to order some Kerscher flared rear fenders for my superbeetle 1303. I am trying to figure out how much wider I will need to accomodate my wheels. Any input is appreciated, and if you have flared fenders if you could post your wheel and fender size.

Wheels:
15x8" 3.5" backspacing, I believe this equates to 15x8" ET -25.
Tires:
225/50/15

According to Kerschers website, the 4cm widened outside accommodate up to 9" ET-39. According to this, these 4cm widened fenders should fit with room to spare.

I am a bit confused though because my rear tires poked beyond stock fenders quite a bit. Here are some pictures for reference.

http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1113/5...a84d9a50_b.jpg

http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1255/5...70860f7f_z.jpg

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4125/5...28e9531b_b.jpg

Hello, I show you what I did, I put on my beetle a RIAL Leichtmetallfelgen CAMPO 16 ", with an ET of 38 and go perfect.

Tyres: 205/55/16 Good Year NCT 5 and Excelence

In the pics are without the engine...

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/...-22-28_900.jpg
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/...-21-59_398.jpg
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/...-52-41_499.jpg

I am in process of restoration

This article can help you.

http://germanlook.net/html/tech/Tech...dernWheels.php

Thanks Maran, but I already have the wheels I will use and I already know the offsets of the wheel. I know I will need widened fenders, just how wide is the question.

More specifically I need to know how wide of a FLARED FENDER to get to fit my wheels. Kerscher website says I only need the 4cm wider flared fenders but IIRC my tires poked out over 2 inches. 4cm is a bit less than 2 inches.

Hi,

It is nearly impossible to say yes or no, especially if you are not sure about your offset.

Be aware of the numbers on Kerscher's site!!! All others seems to be correct, but not the 4cm rear ones! The same infos are written for the 6cm as well so one of them is fail, I guess it is the 4cm one!

I'm playing with wheel-fender combo right now and found that Lanner at Vdubengineering had the right numbers on his site, saying the original fenders will accept 7" wide rims with ET38 (like in Maran's post). Based on this you have to go even wider than 4 cm, however based on the pictures 4 cm should be enough..I don't think your ET is -25, that is very extreme, even on race cars :confused:

I decided to try 4 cm rear ones, with 8x16 ET11 wheels AND porsche 944 NA brakes, that cause an extra 25mm increase per side, equals to a 8" wheels wit ET-14. That is around 5cm increase / side and I'm trying to fit 4cm fenders on it. Will mount them next week, can give you a feedback after that. (check my "sleepair build thread" in project builds)

So it is important to know what kind of brakes are you planning to use? Do you prefer inner or outer widening? I guess an outer widened fender will allow more space due to shape..that is what I'll do if inners are too small.

I know shipping is plenty to the states, so you should find somebody running with 4cm ones and try them on, otherwise you can't be sure of this.

Am I thinking about this all wrong or shouldn't you just be able to measure how far the tire sticks out beyond the stock fender? I have the CSP 4CM widened fenders running 17X8.5 et is 54 I believe. I have about 1.5 inch from the lip. I have purchased a set of Hartmann 3 piece wheels. Rears are 18X9.5 et 15, I believe these will fill out the fenders nicely.

I'm sorry, I miss spoke. My rear fenders are 7cm widened, fronts are 4cm.

711302,

Any Pics?

I found a better picture to reference. This is my set-up with stock fenders on it. I don't have the rear fenders any more.

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto..._6312280_n.jpg

I measured the backspacing of my wheel. It is indeed 3.5" from the rear lip to the mounting surface. It is 5" from the mounting surface to the front lip. I'm assuming therefore, my sizing is 8" 3.5"backspacing, or 8" ET -25.

On another note, I wish I could get some camber on my front wheels...

Than I'd buy +6cm fenders, I'm quite sure you are out of the +4cm range. Using a (10mm?) spacer is always an option + your rear brakes may add some extra increase as well.
What about the topline camber+ kit?

Bugged,

Here is a picture of the rear with 7cm CSP fenders and 17X8.5 et I think is 54.
I have about 1.5" to the lip.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...0.jpg~original

On another note, I wish I could get some camber on my front wheels...[/QUOTE]

I use a K-MAC Camber/Castor adjuster plate like this:

http://www.k-mac.com/pages/images/vw_3_bolt.jpg

Should give you all the adjust-ability you need.

I spoke with Kerscher via email today. In his words, "4cm outer widened fenders fit for max 9Jx15 -19 - but really hard.
I would suggest our fender 7cm inner and outer widened for your wheels. This would be best solution."

I am waiting for a shipping estimate, but I think I am going to pull the trigger on some Kerscher fenders.

Here's another question, should I get flared front fenders as well? I was thinking flared rear and regular front could look nice and also save some $$. WHat's your 2 cents?

711302, do you need to modify anything on the car to get those camber plates to work?

I just realized I wrote the wrong backspacing down. I think I had myself convinced it was 3.5. ACcording to my measurements, the distance from mounting face to rear lip is 3.75", which brings me to an offset of ET -19. The wheels only come in 3.5 or 4" backspacing so either my measurement is off, or the wheel was off.

No Sir, no modifications required. They bolt right on.

Bugged,

If you pick them up at the closest International Airport rather than have than shipped to your door you save a couple of hundred dollars in local shipping and customs fees and handling. I saved $196.00 picking them up at the airport an hour and a half away.

Do you have the new wheels on the front already? Do they stick out past the lip? If not I wouldn't worry about it. It does look nice though with them front and rear.

I am planning on picking them up from the airport near my parents house.

Kerscher quoted me:

Rear 7cm widened inside and out = 300 Euro
Front 4cm widened inside and out = 335 Euro
Shipping = 185 Euro
Total = 820 Euro = $1020.00 US dollars

If I just wanted the rear fenders shipping would still be 150 Euro, so it is almost worth it to buy the fronts as well as it does not increase shipping much.

Buying fenders from Creative Car Craft:
Rear = $304
Front = $424
Shipping = at least $100
Total = $828

So there is a 200 dollar difference between getting nice flared fenders and regular ones.


My front tires do stick out considerably more... almost enough to make me wonder if the 4cm fenders would be wide enough for the front. Take a look at this picture I also posted earlier. It gives a good image of how much wider my wheels are. Do you think the 4cm front fenders will be wide enough? Kerscher thought so.

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto..._6312280_n.jpg

I will probably buy the KMC camber plate eventually, but right now they aren't top priority

Bugged,

4cm is 1 37/64 or about an inch and a half. If your tires stick out more than that past your stock fenders you will need to go wider.

I really love the look of the Kersher/CSP Kafer Cup style fender.

Kerscher has all but guaranteed the fenders will fit... Lets just hope and pray they do.

I pick my fenders up Monday!!

How's the quality? I was really impressed with my first set of CCC, not so much with the second, so another option would be good to know about.

Jason

Cool. Let us know how they fit.

Hey guys, still waiting on them... The holidays has pushed my shipment back repeatedly. Should arrive soon and you know I will post pics here and in my project build.

It took over a month for my Kerscher rear coil-over shocks to make it from Germany to New Mexico. By DHL, so it is what it is on shipping.

Fenders arrived!!! Fitment is pretty sweet! Will post soon, need to get ready for bed now.

Actually... One teaser.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8212/8...37400883_b.jpg

Ok maybe 2.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8351/8...3d6bf7e6_b.jpg

I was worried the tires wouldn't tuck nicely, but seems like the fitment couldn't be any more perfect!

Looks like they worked out well.

Very Nice, I love the look of the Kafer Cup style finder compared to just the widened fender.

Can one of you guys with the widened Kerscher fenders do some measurements for me? I am running 944T rear arms which confounds Kerscher as they "don't do that" so what I need is a measurement from somewhere on the frame or the flat of the rear torsion housing without the cap. If you can tell me how far out a widened 7cm fender is, I can figure out how wide a fender I need. Please help if you can.

Thanks

Hi

I fitted early alloy 944 arms to my car.

I measured rear track drum to drum
Type 3 drums 1405 mm
944 alloy arms 1490 mm

So you get about 85 mm track increase with early alloy arms.

Steel arms with 944 brakes you get around 25 mm per side.

Steve

I just took a wild stab and ordered the 11 inside out rear and 6 inside out front. $1600 shipped to New Mexico! I better like them...

This is what the wheels look like on the car. And yes it has been in storage 10 years!
http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/....jpeg~original

I would show you pictures but United Airlines lost the paper work for over a week, so I cannot clear them through Customs!

Only had to pay $31. in duty! Took them two weeks to find paperwork but pretty cheap.

So here is an 11cm inside and outside Kerscher fender on a 79 Beetle with late aluminum rear arms and 2004 NB Porsche OEM 11 inch GT3 wheels. There is not a rear brake disc on yet so the wheel will move out a little on its own. Will run spacers if necessary to bring them right. Sorry the light was bad for the cell phone picture.

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/....jpeg~original

Doing front suspension with 944 spindles and Kerscher/KW struts next week and will post that spacing then.