Kerbing alloys. Why can't the problem be solved??

[heebeegeetee]

matt1269 said:

There is no need to crash into kerbs when parking! The people who do this are probably the same people who drive into other peoples cars/open doors into other people cars in carparks.

This guy lives in Wales, so will know all about busy-city driving.

[The Wookie]

If I need to park close to a kerb I dip the relevant mirror so I can see the kerb and the wheel. Some cars do it for you.

I've only ever once kerbed a wheel while parking, however I have caught a kerb going through a width restriction more than once

[Ralf Rockefeller]

Stop kerb crawling!

[madrob6]

The Wookie said:

If I need to park close to a kerb I dip the relevant mirror so I can see the kerb and the wheel. Some cars do it for you.

I've only ever once kerbed a wheel while parking, however I have caught a kerb going through a width restriction more than once

I could do that in my previous car but on my current one you can't see the wheel in the mirror. Can get a pretty good idea from looking at the bodywork though. In the 944 all I see is a big flared wheel arch.

[Mr Whippy]

Superhoop said:

I tend to agree with the opinions of the previous posts TBH, however; I keep seeing these advertised in various car magazines recently.

http://wheelsprotector.rtrk.co.uk/?scid=16447&...

Not sure myself, and you'd have to go for grey rather than the coloured ones, but hey, each to their own, and it would stop your problem

Actually, I guess you'd still end up with a wheel that looked like it had kerb damage, but at least you wouldn't need a new rim

Yep, bit of a backwards idea... they look crap ALL the time, rather than just part of the time.

Likely will keep road salt and grime under them too, so maybe making the rim lacquer underneath go crap, so a few years later when you remove them the alloy is damaged another way.


Can't win. Learn to park better is my best advice.

Dave

[vrooom]

kerbing an Alloys?? i wonder about wheel bearings, suspesion arms and chassis rails...

[onomatopoeia]

heebeegeetee said:

marshalla said:

useyourdellusion said:

Alloys have always been form over function IMO. They've also got overly large and overly fussy in the last ten years or so. The price of fashion.

Unsprung weight.

Are you sure? Have you ever weighed any? The only ones i ever weighed were the 15" jobs on my MX5. (I was trying to discover why the handling of my 5 was so bad).

The three piece Compomotive TF alloys (13" diameter, 8" and 10" width) on my Davrian are massively lighter than the standard 4.5x12" steel wheels which are standard fitment to the car the Davrian is based on (Hillman Imp).

[aclivity]

heebeegeetee said:

I can't help thinking that the alloy wheel is 99% marketing and that they serve no real purpose at all. But I might be wrong.

I seem to recall being told once that alloys were better at dissipating heat from the brakes? Is there any truth in this at all?

[HellDiver]

If I'm forced to park by entering the space forwards, I tend to take a steep angle and mount the kerb, then drop back on to the road. Means the wheel is hitting the kerb at 60 degrees or so. Means there's no way of the face of the alloy rubbing the kerb. Guess it comes from parking LWB Transits in small spaces in the past.

[Spartikus]

Its your own fault for driving into the kerb. Do you walk into walls as well?

[braddo]

WorAl said:

fit wider tyres

Exactly. Lots of cars have tyres that are only the same width or narrower than the alloy because the owner/manufacturer has been too cheap to buy wider tyres.

Just learn how to park better and maybe dip the side mirror to see how far the car is from the kerb (you don't need to be able to see the wheel).

[Plundy]

Nick644 said:

swamp said:

I've kerbed the alloys of my Mk5 GTI. Every single Mk5 GTI I've seen in London has kerbed alloys, with the 18" Monzas faring the worst.

Fact is a lot of country folk who park on gravel drives and who never have to park within 2" to a kerb in a tight spot (lest their wing mirrors get bashed) love to pontificate on sites like this about how kerbing alloys is always bad driving...!

Black cabs have the right idea with their wheels.

+1!

I've been amazed actually by all the macho pontifications on this site about how wonderful you guys are at driving/parking. Living in Central London and having to fight for parking spaces, in narrow roads, will eventually result in a mis judgement every so often, we are not talking about every day or even every week. Perhaps once every 5-6 months. Coming out an unfamiliar NCP car park, parking where the kerb is at an angle/rounded..etc.. In a rush, late for a meeting etc, in the dark/rain, just plain tired after a tough day, a lorry coming at you in a narrow road, just about to hit you... its pretty easy to miss a piece of kerb sticking out because its been damaged, or simply sticking out a bit more than estimated. In the 25 years or so I have have been driving, I have never since a teenager scraped a car whilst parking, but in a big car, it can be pretty hard to sometimes see a kerb, or something unexpectantly sticking out. Are you all seriously telling me you have never been in a situation where you have made a minor error of judgement, or been forced to??? Going by what I see every day on almost without exception every car parked on the road in Central London, the reality of kerbed wheels differs considerably from what is being said on this site!!

I drive over 30 thousand miles a year with some pretty wide and/or long wheel base cars, Porsche 911/Merc S class. If you don't park as tight as you can on a narrow road, chances are you will loose a wing mirror, from a pyschotic cyclist or white van man. It happens, and with the best will in the world, mistakes/errors of judgements are made, unless you are telling me you are all robots. Are most people on this site seriously saying that in 2/3 or more years of driving in a busy city centre, none of you has ever kerbed a wheel? Its fact that some wheels are rather more prone to kerbing than others, with the alloy design protuding outwards ever so slightly.

By the way, thanks for insights into some of the products available.

Am similarly in awe of others parking skills.

Live in London and all for this - have fitted Dunlop Sport Max TT to my Audi of late - has 18" alloys - lovely wide sticky outy sidewall which fully protects the rims now, and much better protection than Michelin Sports. Odd refurb of alloys surely cheaper than regular replacement of whole wing mirror. Agree that high profile tyres will stop the prob, but who wants to drive a nice car on caravan tyres?

It's a fact of life in London that cars get bashed, especially if you have to park on street, as most do - there is plenty of nice metal left on the road. A parked up golf near mine was left very broken after a lorry hit it on the street - wheels at all angles and every panel bent.

[neelyp]

Hell27 said:

I just typed alloy wheel repair into google and this popped up.

Is it what you are after?

http://www.wickedwheels.co.uk/

Try watching the video.

Do not use this mob.
They made a rip roaring arse of my sons OZ Superturismos and one of my original alloys.

It was a bit of a slog to get a refund from them as well.

[CommanderJameson]

Nick644 said:

swamp said:

I've kerbed the alloys of my Mk5 GTI. Every single Mk5 GTI I've seen in London has kerbed alloys, with the 18" Monzas faring the worst.

Fact is a lot of country folk who park on gravel drives and who never have to park within 2" to a kerb in a tight spot (lest their wing mirrors get bashed) love to pontificate on sites like this about how kerbing alloys is always bad driving...!

Black cabs have the right idea with their wheels.

+1!

I've been amazed actually by all the macho pontifications on this site about how wonderful you guys are at driving/parking. Living in Central London and having to fight for parking spaces, in narrow roads, will eventually result in a mis judgement every so often, we are not talking about every day or even every week. Perhaps once every 5-6 months. Coming out an unfamiliar NCP car park, parking where the kerb is at an angle/rounded..etc.. In a rush, late for a meeting etc, in the dark/rain, just plain tired after a tough day, a lorry coming at you in a narrow road, just about to hit you... its pretty easy to miss a piece of kerb sticking out because its been damaged, or simply sticking out a bit more than estimated. In the 25 years or so I have have been driving, I have never since a teenager scraped a car whilst parking, but in a big car, it can be pretty hard to sometimes see a kerb, or something unexpectantly sticking out. Are you all seriously telling me you have never been in a situation where you have made a minor error of judgement, or been forced to??? Going by what I see every day on almost without exception every car parked on the road in Central London, the reality of kerbed wheels differs considerably from what is being said on this site!!

I drive over 30 thousand miles a year with some pretty wide and/or long wheel base cars, Porsche 911/Merc S class. If you don't park as tight as you can on a narrow road, chances are you will loose a wing mirror, from a pyschotic cyclist or white van man. It happens, and with the best will in the world, mistakes/errors of judgements are made, unless you are telling me you are all robots. Are most people on this site seriously saying that in 2/3 or more years of driving in a busy city centre, none of you has ever kerbed a wheel? Its fact that some wheels are rather more prone to kerbing than others, with the alloy design protuding outwards ever so slightly.

By the way, thanks for insights into some of the products available.

[Balmoral Green]

ferobert said:

tyres with the alloy protector sidewall lip.

This can help. I have had a few scrapes with Pirelli, but not with F1's.

[Wheelrepairit]

Hell27 said:

I just typed alloy wheel repair into google and this popped up.

Is it what you are after?

http://www.wickedwheels.co.uk/

Try watching the video.

That video is a prime example of how not to refurb an alloy. Priceless.

And can you all stop talking about ways to stop kerbing your wheels, how else can i pay my mortgage.

Keep kerbing folks.

[Jalopnik]

Maybe some of these would help some people?

http://www.mooneyesusa.com/curb-indicator-p-755.ht...

[TankRizzo]

Jalopnik said:

Maybe some of these would help some people?

http://www.mooneyesusa.com/curb-indicator-p-755.ht...

How does that work?

[marshalla]

TankRizzo said:

How does that work?

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/2270687.pdf

[slipstream 1985]

nick you keep changing your argument. the non kerbers are saying you should never kerb when you are parking which is entirely possible. its your car your the car enthusiast the supposed better than most pistonheads car lover. then you say have you never had to swerve or avoid a lorry coming the other way and hit the kerb. well that is a totaly different argument one that you have no relative control over unles you have the power of foresight.