Torque Staff ReportWriter
Although most aspects of my Jeep are upgraded, I’ve been running the same stock inner fender liners since I bought my vehicle back in 2017. Almost every automobile uses the very same style of liner for the wheel wells and those vehicles are never taken off-road or exposed to conditions my Jeep faces each season.
The factory plastic inner fender liners are designed to simply handle the normal habits of a regular driver. However, my Wrangler JK sees thousands of rough miles every year, either on the trail or during conditions that can be very harsh to those plastic components. So it was really time to switch out those liners.
Quadratec’s Inner Fender Liners are a superb upgrade over those meager stock liners and are made from surprisingly lightweight aluminum with a textured black powder-coat finish. The front liners are shaped to fill the inner wheel well with form-fitting lines that contour the frame, upper spring mount and front shocks. The rear liners fit tightly against the inner body tub and provide ample coverage for most of that area.
These inner fender liners are designed to offer a solid buffer between rocks, mud, snow, water and the engine bay. This protects engine components from trail and road debris as well as helps regulate air flow. You never really know what your tires will pick up and throw against the inside of the wheel well.
Installation is straightforward and the liners arrive with clear, full-color written instructions. One thing to note; when installing to compliment factory fender flares, you will need to trim some of the original fender liners. This is a one-piece molded shield that also acts as the underliner of the factory fender flare. In my case, I previously replaced the factory flares with MCE Factory Width versions, so the cutting was already done. The instructions also show exactly what needs to be cut and where.
The attachable and removable Quadratec logo plates, and small vented plates for the rear, are part of my favorite details of this system. These plates come as bare aluminum and can be installed right out of the box. But, I prepped and coated them with primer so I could paint with an accent color. I think a red plate against the black liner looks incredible on my Firecracker Red Jeep.
I did install the supplemental Grit Guard that can be purchased separately. This Grit Guard fits perfectly into the opening at the back of the front wheel well which often fills with dirt and other debris. Left unprotected, all that stuff can lead to corrosion and rust over time.
The guard does require drilling two small holes and may need a slight modification as each Jeep can have slightly different components altering the way the inner fender liners sit. In my case, I needed to modify the upper mount hole to align with the upper rear mounting point of the inner liners on both sides.
In a product full of great little details, there are also locations to mount rock lights angled perfectly to accent the wheel wells. The mounting location is predrilled with holes for mounting with a center hole to run the power cable. You don’t need lights though, as it doesn’t take away from the appearance and you hardly notice. But, if you have rock lights or plan to install them, this little detail will make the process much simpler.
The lightweight and durable construction make these liners a great choice for your Jeep Wrangler and full sets are available for JK and JL models. Additionally, the front JL liners will work on a JT as well. However, because of body design differences on JL diesel and 392 vehicles, the liners will not fit without extensive modification.
