Bronco Raptor on 1" leveling kit and painted flares

[MotoFish]

OBX + Sasquatch has always lost the painted flares. Ford's build & price has been known to have errors. Any quality paint shop will be able to prep and paint the flares. It'll be the same process as painting the MIC top which people have also done

Interesting, thanks for the reply

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[timhood]

Cactus Bronco Bronco Raptor with 1" leveling kit from Foutz Motorsports @GregFoutz (also has painted fenders).... owned by John L.

I'm going to have to say (unpopular as my opinion may be) that the painted flares are a huge improvement. The flares are giant and they look JC Whitney in black. Painted, they blend in much better and don't look so monstrous.

 

[Screen Protech]

Cactus Bronco Bronco Raptor with 1" leveling kit from Foutz Motorsports @GregFoutz (also has painted fenders).... owned by John L.

Here's the kit -- https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/bronco-raptor-front-leveling-kits-by-foutz-motorsport.60758/

Looks incredible!

 

[swamp2]

I'd love to know what happened behind the scenes for them to greenlight the Raptor looking the way it did, owners shouldn't have to get half the truck repainted for it to look good, it's one of Ford's most premium and expensive offerings. Maybe the pandemic and the headquarters shut-down sapped away a lot of development time and the high-ups wouldn't let them delay the release because they were desperate for a bigger profit margin on the Bronco, but when there are better looking widebody fenders on the aftermarket made with a fraction of Ford's resources, it feels like there's no good excuse.

Reasonably sure that's not how development went down... There are good reasons to have them not painted including:

• Durability
• Similar appearance to Jeeps
• Lower cost to replace
• Lower cost to produce

I know the unpainted look as well as the size and shape of the fenders is divisive. I've grown to like them as is. At the same time some colors look good painted as well.

 

[TopRecon]

Reasonably sure that's not how development went down... There are good reasons to have them not painted including:

• Durability
• Similar appearance to Jeeps
• Lower cost to replace
• Lower cost to produce

- Durability
With the advent of PPF and ceramic coating, there are solutions to shield the paint with enough strength that anything that would noticeably damage it would just as well have scuffed unpainted black plastic.

- Similar appearance to Jeeps
The Rubicon 392, Jeep's absolute top of the line Wrangler, is offered exclusively with painted fenders, because Jeep knows it's the best looking option for their most premium offering.

- Lower cost to replace
Just the unpainted fenders cost over $2600 for a full set (Which is more expensive than a lot of existing aftermarket widebody fenders.) In for a penny, in for a pound if you ask me. It's an expensive vehicle as is.

- Lower cost to produce
No argument here, but again, being such a premium product it's a bad look to cut corners on something so visible.

I know the unpainted look as well as the size and shape of the fenders is divisive. I've grown to like them as is. At the same time some colors look good painted as well.

Understand that car design is the highest tier of industrial design, it's like being an Olymic athlete as far as talent and exclusivity, there are hundreds of thousands of prospective automotive designers vying for a career in the industry, so cars really shouldn't be divisive looking, you should expect pretty much every swing to be a home run, and considering that the design team did such a good job with the standard Bronco, I'm inclined to believe it was executive meddling and beancounting that got us the polarizing looks on the Raptor.

 

['18 M2]

- Durability
With the advent of PPF and ceramic coating, there are solutions to shield the paint with enough strength that anything that would noticeably damage it would just as well have scuffed unpainted black plastic.

- Similar appearance to Jeeps
The Rubicon 392, Jeep's absolute top of the line Wrangler, is offered exclusively with painted fenders, because Jeep knows it's the best looking option for their most premium offering.

- Lower cost to replace
Just the unpainted fenders cost over $2600 for a full set (Which is more expensive than a lot of existing aftermarket widebody fenders.) In for a penny, in for a pound if you ask me. It's an expensive vehicle as is.

- Lower cost to produce
No argument here, but again, being such a premium product it's a bad look to cut corners on something so visible.



Understand that car design is the highest tier of industrial design, it's like being an Olymic athlete as far as talent and exclusivity, there are hundreds of thousands of prospective automotive designers vying for a career in the industry, so cars really shouldn't be divisive looking, you should expect pretty much every swing to be a home run, and considering that the design team did such a good job with the standard Bronco, I'm inclined to believe it was executive meddling and beancounting that got us the polarizing looks on the Raptor.

It’s actually pretty rare when a vehicle’s design is universally liked. Secondly, 95% of the mongloids who post shit about the flares haven’t even seen the vehicle in person.

 

[JohnGalt]

It’s actually pretty rare when a vehicle’s design is universally liked. Secondly, 95% of the mongloids who post shit about the flares haven’t even seen the vehicle in person.

Flare design is a product of intersection of wide axles, long travel suspension and 37” tires with DOT compliance (something aftermarket needn’t worry about). I think the engineers did a pretty fantastic job wrapping the wheel travel envelope in a DOT compliant manner.

ford could have offered a painted flare option for this who don’t like black. I would still choose black, I’m afraid of getting door dings In the parking lot.

 

['18 M2]

And scratches on them from trees and bushes.

 

[TopRecon]

It’s actually pretty rare when a vehicle’s design is universally liked. Secondly, 95% of the mongloids who post shit about the flares haven’t even seen the vehicle in person.

I actually saw it in person at the Chicago Auto Show last weekend, still didn't love it. Maybe it is rare for a vehicle is universally liked, but I didn't see a single word disparaging the looks of the standard Bronco when it came out, so it's particularly strange when they manage to make the top of the line widebody version of it look worse, given that the Raptor version of the F-150 and Ranger are both better looking than their base counterparts, not to mention Ford had already designed the Bronco R and Bronco DR which both look better as well.

 

['18 M2]

I actually saw it in person at the Chicago Auto Show last weekend, still didn't love it. Maybe it is rare for a vehicle is universally liked, but I didn't see a single word disparaging the looks of the standard Bronco when it came out, so it's particularly strange when they manage to make the top of the line widebody version of it look worse, given that the Raptor version of the F-150 and Ranger are both better looking than their base counterparts, not to mention Ford had already designed the Bronco R and Bronco DR which both look better as well.

Let’s not pretend that the standard Bronco isn’t basic AF. But if appeals to your sensibilities, that’s great!

With that said, I think everyone here would appreciate you telling us all more about your impressions of the Bronco R design and how you got to see it.

Any chance you got some pics?

 

[vrtical]

And scratches on them from trees and bushes.

^ this. Depends on the vehicle usage. I didn't paint mine and just did PPF and plan on using it off road extensively. I think a partial paint would really work I just didn't do it.

 

[cardad]

I don’t know about all these hot takes on the fenders likely coming from non-BRaptor owners but I have seen many different colors (including my own) and the fenders aren’t as strange in person and I think this painted look is not an upgrade compared to stock. It looks like some weird retro-Nazi era military vehicle from the side.

I have several Wranglers with painted fenders and they look “right” but Broncos on the other hand are always seeming like when I see one in real life.

There is such a thing as trying too hard (and ending up with a “Jeep”).

 

[TopRecon]

Let’s not pretend that the standard Bronco isn’t basic AF. But if appeals to your sensibilities, that’s great!

With that said, I think everyone here would appreciate you telling us all more about your impressions of the Bronco R design and how you got to see it.

Any chance you got some pics?

Basic in the sense that it's a barebones utility vehicle maybe, but it's been praised as a successful homage to the original '66 design by just about everyone familiar with it, and the original Bronco is a celebrated design which is why it's one of the most popular restomod vehicles on the market right now, far outpacing the popularity of contemporaries like the CJ5, K5 Blazer, and International Scout. It even won the International Forum Design award, so I think the styling speaks to a broad range of people, not just enthusiasts familiar with the original.

The most noteworthy thing about the Bronco R is that it has very clean, sleek lines going across the whole vehicle, and the repeating lines do a good job of unifying the styling from front to back.

It follows the design theory of 'looking in motion while stationary' that's a prevalent theory of contemporary automotive design, it's a very sleek and flowing design that cuts through the air and emphasizes its function as a racecar, while still being very blocky and rectangular, which recalls not only its offroading utilitarianism, but it's roots in the original '66 Bronco design.

Compare that with the Raptor silhouette, which sports mismatched shapes in the front and rear fender flare shape, the trail sights which interrupt the flow of the hood, and the layering upon layering of different plastic pieces required to compose each assembly of the flares which make it look cobbled together and not precision engineered.

I think ADV Fiberglass's fenders are an example of a much better widebody solution than Ford themselves made. The fenders are integrated and have a lip for an outside liner instead of having the entire flare be one piece that bolts to the side of the fender.

I got to see the Bronco R at SEMA last year, though it wasn't the original design, this one had trail sights added to the hood to more closely resemble the production version.

I work at an OEM suspension company and got to speak to some of Ford's engineers about the testing they put it through, the Bronco Raptor is a genuine pinnacle of engineering, it's insane how much effort engineers put into reinforcing the frame over the base Bronco and calibrating the suspension setup, I think its just a shame that the styling isn't a likewise pinacle, hopefully I get the chance to speak with some of their designers in the future and hear about their logistics of getting the Raptor to production.

 

['18 M2]

Thanks! I think they both look great and there’s nothing more utilitarian than these Raptor flares.

 

[2021WILDTRAKCDH]

I'd love to know what happened behind the scenes for them to greenlight the Raptor looking the way it did, owners shouldn't have to get half the truck repainted for it to look good, it's one of Ford's most premium and expensive offerings. Maybe the pandemic and the headquarters shut-down sapped away a lot of development time and the high-ups wouldn't let them delay the release because they were desperate for a bigger profit margin on the Bronco, but when there are better looking widebody fenders on the aftermarket made with a fraction of Ford's resources, it feels like there's no good excuse.

I was definitely one of those that hated on the bronco raptor flares ….now that I own one is actually looks fine …not offensive as in the pictures I saw—-

I’m not staying I love them but it’s doesn’t bother me like I thought it would. Just my .02 cents.

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