JL/JLU/JT Notorious Front Flare

Width is the core difference, and it determines use case. The Crawler is our narrowest flare — maximum wheel well opening, minimal fender coverage. The Notorious sits mid-width: enough coverage to shield your rockers and door sills from what 35–37-inch tires throw up, but narrow enough that your Jeep still fits comfortably in parking structures and between trail trees. Most daily-driven JL and JT builds with weekend trail use land here.

Designed for the 35–37-inch range with full suspension articulation and no tire-to-flare contact at flex. This assumes typical wheel setups in the 4.5–5.0-inch backspacing range. Some 40-inch combinations work depending on offset and lift, but the Notorious is optimized for the 35–37 sweet spot — if you're committed to 40s with extreme travel, look at the Crawler or our Ultimate Clearance Highline options that sacrifice fender coverage for maximum opening. For the majority of trail-capable daily drivers, the Notorious gives you full articulation with protective coverage rather than asking you to choose between them.

You'll drill out the existing factory mounting holes to accept the provided nut inserts, then bolt the flares into position. No new holes drilled in factory body panels, no cutting, no welding. The factory holes are already there — you're enlarging them to accept hardware that holds stronger than the factory setup. Installation takes 2–3 hours with a drill, the appropriate bits (specs in the instructions), a nut insert tool, and a basic socket set. If you've bolted on aftermarket bumpers or sliders, this is comparable difficulty. The entire process is reversible — pull the flares and reinstall stock hardware if you ever want to go back.

Two reasons that matter in daily use: weight and maintenance. Aluminum saves roughly 8–10 pounds per side versus steel — that's 16–20 pounds off your front axle, which you'll feel in steering response and which your ball joints and tie rod ends will thank you for over time. On maintenance: 5052 aluminum forms a self-healing oxide layer that prevents corrosion. Steel rusts. Road salt, trail mud, scratches from branches — all of it starts the corrosion cycle on steel, and none of it affects aluminum. We sell a bare aluminum option specifically because the material doesn't need a protective finish to hold up. Steel flares need paint or powder coat as a requirement, not an option.

All three perform identically — this is purely a visual preference decision. Semi-gloss black (Cardinal BK-08) has a refined low-sheen look that blends with factory black trim pieces; it's the choice if you want the flares to integrate rather than stand out. Textured black (Cardinal BK-59) has a matte surface with slight grain that hides trail scratches better and reads as more utilitarian — popular with lighter-colored Jeeps where the contrast looks intentional. Bare aluminum develops a natural patina over time and looks increasingly industrial. It's also the lightest option and the easiest to refinish yourself down the road. There's no durability difference between finishes. Pick the one that fits your build's personality.

Yes. The inner fender liners protect the wheel well and engine bay from the mud, gravel, and debris that tires fling upward. Together they create full coverage around the fender opening. Our liners are designed as part of the same system, so fitment is integrated — you're not cobbling together parts from different manufacturers and hoping the mounting points coexist. The Notorious works with third-party liners too, but the integrated approach eliminates the guesswork.