Alloy Wheel Protectors

[anonymous-user]

Howdy Partners! 🤠

The wife’s car is going in to have its wheels refurbished tomorrow. Does anyone have recommendations for a way to protect them now they’re new and shiny?

And for the record, yes, I also pranged one of the wheels. I don’t know how people drive these high waisted, small windowed cars…

I see Alloy Gator gets a good reputation, but I’d like to hear from someone with experience.

Thanks Y’all!

[Bobupndown]

After refurbishment put them in the garage and give her a set of steels with stty wheel trims.

[Driversmatter]

Alloygator on my 20" wheels. Make the wheel stand out a bit more than is intended but peace of mind and not just serving risk but potholes cause damage too.

[CraigyMc]

Depending on how awful the drivers are, you could opt for tyres that have rim protector extensions (this is part of several tyre designs - the tyre actually has a lip that protrudes out by about 1cm past the alloy..)
It won't solve really awful driving though.

[Griffith4ever]

I recently replaced my front P-Zero's and they came with teh extra thick rim beading as standard. I chose the "Audi" fitment when ordering them and that's what I got:






And for reference, below is one of the rears which does NOT have the extra beading. Same tyre, model, but not the same fitment code.



I kerbed the front wheel (I think you can see the mark on the second photo) going through an absurdly tight road narrowing/calming thing in Bristol. That was before fitting the new tyres, so they might have saved me in that instance. I'm an aweful driver obviously.

[Cooper Green]

Careful with Alloygator type remedy. Moisture and grit get behind the seal/plastic protector and ( are only warranted by a professional installation specialist) and corrode alloy and paint, and completeley fubar diamond cut surfaces !!! My advice for what its worth is invest in a decent tyre with rim protection but dont expect miracles lol.

[anonymous-user]

I guess reading these, there isn’t much I can do. Here’s the damage done on the way back from having new tyres fitted

[Haltamer]

Funkstar De Luxe said:

Here’s the damage done on the way back from having new tyres fitted

Smallest steel wheels you can possibly fit and some of those van fitment balloon tyres with massive sidewall protection blobs

[Beethree]

Alloygators fall into the same category as bonnet bras IMO.
Why make something look st to protect it from the chance of it looking slightly less st

[MarkJS]

Those lips on the tyres don’t work and those alloygators look sh*t and I’m almost certain still don’t work.

Don’t bother.

[CraigyMc]

MarkJS said:

Those lips on the tyres don’t work *snip*

Yes they do.

[x type]

sorry had to say it

[MarkJS]

CraigyMc said:

MarkJS said:

Those lips on the tyres don’t work *snip*

Yes they do.

In my experience, they don’t.

[CraigyMc]

MarkJS said:

CraigyMc said:

MarkJS said:

Those lips on the tyres don’t work *snip*

Yes they do.

In my experience, they don’t.

In my experience, they do. It's why they are on all my cars.

[anonymous-user]

x type said:

sorry had to say it

It’s not her eyesight- it’s her spatial awareness. Especially when in stressful situations - such as being three minutes late, parking, driving while someone watches, or not knowing directions.

You know, all the really stressful things a person can go through

[SteBrown91]

CraigyMc said:

MarkJS said:

CraigyMc said:

MarkJS said:

Those lips on the tyres don’t work *snip*

Yes they do.

In my experience, they don’t.

In my experience, they do. It's why they are on all my cars.

I used to have a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 Assemetric 2s years ago and the rim protectors on those were brilliant. I used to be able to brush the kerb to use it as a guide with zero issue whatsoever. I once properly whacked a kerb on a chicane I misjudged and all it did was leave rubber transfer on the rim face. Any tyres I’ve had since don’t appear to have such a thick protector. (Including subsequent Goodyear assemetric models). They do help but aren’t going to save the world.

[InitialDave]

Rim protection tyre sidewalls do work, but only up to a point. You can still find stuff that will scrape the wheel, or just hit it harder.

I'm afraid the only guaranteed solution is to be careful not to hit things.

[Pica-Pica]

[quote=MarkJS]Those lips on the tyres don’t work and those alloygators look sh*t and I’m almost certain still don’t work.

Don’t bother. [/quot
Agree with this. If you’re careful, you won’t need tyres with rim protectors. Now if you do fit rim protectors, then, even being careful, there will always be the the unavoidable occasion we’re you hit a kerb. The only answer is higher sidewalls.

[MarkJS]

I’m extremely glad they work for some people. That’s the main thing.

[Alex_225]

Black Alloygators are probably passable looks wise but I’ve heard grit can get behind them and end up causing scratches anyway.

Thing is even with tyres that offer some protection alloys can still get damaged. Just avoiding kerbs is about it. Easier said than done unless you have super high tyre walls.