QUOTE(Vacca Rabite @ Apr 21 2014, 02:23 PM)
QUOTE(2mAn @ Apr 21 2014, 01:25 AM)
yes, please!
I'd like to see them too please!
Zach
The fender support is located in front of the rear wheel, right by the suspension pivot point. View from the back of the car on the driver's side:
And zoomed in:
You can see that the PO cut this little 1" wide brace, so that the fender could move outwards. There's approximately a .25" gap in the brace, so the fender wasn't moved very much. I intend to re-weld a brace there, once my wheel fitment work is all complete.
By cutting this brace, you are allowing a wider area of the fender to move, resulting in less stretch and less potential damage to the paint. It might also result in less of a problem with door gaps, because the fender isn't bound in this area, so when it is pulled, it doesn't pivot against that brace.
Here is a view of that driver's side wheel looking upwards from the ground, down by the back bumper:
You can see that the fender lip has been heavily rolled on this side. I can't fit my finger between the fender and the tire. I'd say there's 1/8" of gap at the most.
The passenger side fender support was not modified. It seems that most 914s have a bigger clearance problem on the driver's side than they do on the passenger side. Seems like there's plenty of room on the passenger side, because the fender lip on my was not even rolled.
Passenger side fender support intact:
Looking up at the fender lip, you can see it hasn't been rolled like the driver's side.
It might not be for everyone, but I do love the look of wide tires stuffed under the fenders. Unfortunately, it does take a little stretching to get them under there. I think that the most careful way to do it is by using the heat gun on the lip and rolling it over or cutting it like described earlier in this thread. To stretch the fender, I would cut this little support brace, and use a scissor jack inside the fender to push the fender outwards. Obviously, you need to put something soft on the head of the jack, so that it doesn't dent the fender. I like to use a thin sheet plywood with a thick newspaper against the fender, to keep it soft and slightly flexible, so that you don't create any dents. and you do a tiny bit at a time, and keep moving the jack around. You also must test fit the wheel several times, to see where exactly it needs to move outwards. Just take your time and be careful, and you will end up with a clean and almost unidentifiable modification.
Some people will even take a very thick Sunday paper layed flat, jack up the car with the wheel still installed, put the newspaper between the wheel and the fender, then lower the jack fairly quickly. This results in the fender lip being pushed outwards softly, as the paper tears at the high pressure points. If you're interested in seeing how this is done, search for it on YouTube. It sounds hokey, but it's amazing how well it works.