Alloygator damage - link request
Discussion
Ouch.
Whilst trying to be sensitive, the female contigent of my family all have them on their cars and they have saved some expensive refurbs! One car is a Cayenne which has done close to 100,000 miles with no issue like above.
You have to accept that tyres move on the rim anyway, so i would say the above was down to the owner not checking their car appropriately - avoidable incident. I have a rubber mallet and simply knock the alloygators back in a little once a month if i spot them poking out a little further than is usual.
Whilst trying to be sensitive, the female contigent of my family all have them on their cars and they have saved some expensive refurbs! One car is a Cayenne which has done close to 100,000 miles with no issue like above.
You have to accept that tyres move on the rim anyway, so i would say the above was down to the owner not checking their car appropriately - avoidable incident. I have a rubber mallet and simply knock the alloygators back in a little once a month if i spot them poking out a little further than is usual.
andyr30 said:
To be fair, the alloy looks in reasonable shape.Someone who does tyres for us was talking about these recently - they reckon the only way they come-off is if you kerb the alloy badly (grinding it or parking with the weight of the car against it) - which is exactly what people WILL do because they fitted things to stop that harming their car so... 
I am taking up this thread following an 'incident' with an Alloygator approved fitter today.
My wife bought a car with shiny new 22" alloys, and I took one look and said "ooh eer". The seller (who was a tyre/wheel dealer himself, was supposed to have fitted Alloygators, but didn't do so. He sent her some after the event for her to fit, so she approached a local fitter listed on the Alloygator site.
When she took the car an 'gators to him this morning the previously quoted price, £80 to fit, became variable. When she argued, it became a 'cash-price' of £80. The first 'gator appeared to be fitted snugly, but when she returned from getting cash at the local cash-point the three others did not look so snugly fitted, with a gap of 2-3 mm greater than the first. When she queried this she was told "they would settle-in".
Worried, she 'phoned me, and suffice to say the ensuing conversation between me and the fitter turned into an argument. He would give no assurance that the 'gators would not come loose, and that he took no responsibility after the car left his premises. Using my customary tact (which is nil) I informed him that if he had no confidence in (a) the product (b) his fitting, then he could bl**dy well take them off the car. When he said he would charge all the same I informed him that I had a little spare time to take on another hobby, and I would make it him!
I am sure that there are wheel/tyre combinations that are more suitable for the secure fit of Alloygators than others, but when you go to an approved fitter you expect him to use his skill and judgment to tell you whether a satisfactory fitting can be effected or not. If it can't he should not fit them.
So my wife comes away with a ruined set of Alloygators, and a very sour experience of what could in fact be a good product, but in the wrong hands could equally be an accident waiting to happen. The more sensible solution I suppose is to go for tyres that have a protective 'lip' to reduce the consequence of kerbing, although I am sure others will have had experience there.
My wife bought a car with shiny new 22" alloys, and I took one look and said "ooh eer". The seller (who was a tyre/wheel dealer himself, was supposed to have fitted Alloygators, but didn't do so. He sent her some after the event for her to fit, so she approached a local fitter listed on the Alloygator site.
When she took the car an 'gators to him this morning the previously quoted price, £80 to fit, became variable. When she argued, it became a 'cash-price' of £80. The first 'gator appeared to be fitted snugly, but when she returned from getting cash at the local cash-point the three others did not look so snugly fitted, with a gap of 2-3 mm greater than the first. When she queried this she was told "they would settle-in".
Worried, she 'phoned me, and suffice to say the ensuing conversation between me and the fitter turned into an argument. He would give no assurance that the 'gators would not come loose, and that he took no responsibility after the car left his premises. Using my customary tact (which is nil) I informed him that if he had no confidence in (a) the product (b) his fitting, then he could bl**dy well take them off the car. When he said he would charge all the same I informed him that I had a little spare time to take on another hobby, and I would make it him!
I am sure that there are wheel/tyre combinations that are more suitable for the secure fit of Alloygators than others, but when you go to an approved fitter you expect him to use his skill and judgment to tell you whether a satisfactory fitting can be effected or not. If it can't he should not fit them.
So my wife comes away with a ruined set of Alloygators, and a very sour experience of what could in fact be a good product, but in the wrong hands could equally be an accident waiting to happen. The more sensible solution I suppose is to go for tyres that have a protective 'lip' to reduce the consequence of kerbing, although I am sure others will have had experience there.
djdest said:
The best solution is to learn how to park without hitting the curb I’d have thought
Exactly this. If you kerb the car when you're sitting your test, you'd fail. If you do happen to kerb a wheel, consider the cost of a refurb as 'tax' for not knowing where the edges of your car are.I’ve done that plenty of times with no problems, it’s not exactly hard is it.
It reminds me of when I was driving my Dad’s Trooper with him as passenger years ago, he told me off for going through a narrow gap saying I wouldn’t make it. There was tons of room, I said you need to be more aware of the size of your vehicle
It reminds me of when I was driving my Dad’s Trooper with him as passenger years ago, he told me off for going through a narrow gap saying I wouldn’t make it. There was tons of room, I said you need to be more aware of the size of your vehicle
Edited by djdest on Thursday 19th July 19:20
The biggest negative about them for me is that it creates the mentality of my wheels are protected, i don’t need to worry about hitting the curb!
As mentioned above, a bit of plastics between a heavy car and solid curb isn’t going to stand up to too much scraping.
I still stand by learning to park better, it’s cheaper too and no need to have bits of plastic stuck to the wheels
As mentioned above, a bit of plastics between a heavy car and solid curb isn’t going to stand up to too much scraping.
I still stand by learning to park better, it’s cheaper too and no need to have bits of plastic stuck to the wheels
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