AlloyGator rim protectors

[John1950]

A few days ago I went into my local branch of The Wheel Specialist at Farham near Portsmouth. I wanted a quote for a repair/refurb of just one rim - the nearside front. I was quoted £125 just for the one! A nearly fainted.
While there, she tried to interest me in some plastic rim protectors and said they would cost £25 per wheel (plus VAT I think). Then today I found out that these rim protectors are these:
http://www.alloygator.com/products.asp
And a lot cheaper they are here though I still think it's a rip off for what is essentially a little bit of plastic.
Has anyone tried them, are they really any good?

[Gazza]

Save your money and park a bit further from the kerb

[TitanTim]

As Gary says,

To fit the rim protectors you have to remove the tyres so seems alot of faffing to me. I would think if left on they would damage the finish eventually.

I've nearly sideswiped people trying to avoid curbs on sharp bends

Tim.

[John1950]

Well, the reason I asked is because even though I've been super careful about kerbs, I've still managed to scrape the one rim - the front nearside two or three times. That's the wheel which is always going to be the one to clip or graunch. My other wheels are untouched. Of course, fitting 18" wheels has made the tyre side walls extremely shallow so they offer no protection at all to the wheel - I hadn't thought of that before I fitted them - it's the first time I've ever changed wheels this way.

It would be very interesting to find someone who's fitted these and can give me some feedback.

[///M_aniac]

These would only be of use if you were doing 2 or less mph adjacent with a perfectly square edged kerb. We really see those all over the place, don't we?

IMO there's no way a flimsy bit of plastic is going to protect your wheel if it connects with a kerb. The plastic will get damaged and your wheel will still get chewed.

Just park a sensible (and legal) distance from a kerb.

BTW - £125 seems a right swindle

[Southernboy]

Some tyre like the F1 have a rubber rim protector built in to the tyre design...I doubt that it'll absolutely prevent damage to the rim, but it does extend beyond the rim a bit, and may prevent some damage.

[John1950]

Some tyre like the F1 have a rubber rim protector built in to the tyre design...I doubt that it'll absolutely prevent damage to the rim, but it does extend beyond the rim a bit, and may prevent some damage.

Yes - I went for cheaper tyres just about four months ago - a full set, mainly because I'm skint and the car does very few miles. Considering the cost of repairs it might be better to go for tyres with built in rim protectors next time - mind you at only four to five thousand miles per year it might be a long time before I need new tyres.

[snatch]

My brother runs these on his Aston ..they are very clever, you definately dont need to remove the tyre(fact) and they do definately work. Look at the web site site properly and it explains fitting etc. they have been fully tested at mira.. I know for a fact that many major car manufacturers are very interested in them. Audi / bentley/Bmw even Porsche to name a few. I have seen loads fitted and spoke to people that really rate them, they come in many colours any size and basically do what they say they will...ie.. Rim protectors. for the same money as a wheel repair you can get a full set of 5. bargain me thinks.

[TitanTim]

My brother runs these on his Aston ..they are very clever, you definately dont need to remove the tyre(fact) and they do definately work. Look at the web site site properly and it explains fitting etc. they have been fully tested at mira.. I know for a fact that many major car manufacturers are very interested in them. Audi / bentley/Bmw even Porsche to name a few. I have seen loads fitted and spoke to people that really rate them, they come in many colours any size and basically do what they say they will...ie.. Rim protectors. for the same money as a wheel repair you can get a full set of 5. bargain me thinks.

I remember I looked at these around 2 years ago when I bought the Schnitzer alloys and you definitely had to remove the tyre prior too fitting which put me off so they've obviously changed the design to make it a DIY. Looking at the protectors yes they will provide limited protection to the edge of the rim but I would have thought little else and depends how bad you run along the kerb. So what happens when you hit the curb? does the plastic mangle?

I might be tempted but unsure they would spoil the look of the wheel?

Tim.

[TitanTim]

http://www.alloygator.co.uk/

Its worth looking at the demo video of them running along a curb with the rim protectors in place. Looks quite impressive to be honest and you can trim any damage off the rim protector with a sharp blade.

I might be tempted as having the new alloys fitted on Monday, but unsure how they would look on stainless lipped wheels

Tim.

[John1950]

http://www.alloygator.co.uk/

Its worth looking at the demo video of them running along a curb with the rim protectors in place. Looks quite impressive to be honest and you can trim any damage off the rim protector with a sharp blade.

I might be tempted as having the new alloys fitted on Monday, but unsure how they would look on stainless lipped wheels

Tim.

I'm with you Tim and your remarks.
I've seen the videos and they look pretty good - but, I really can't imagine them protecting more than the lightest of scrapes - which is all I've had so far but as my Z4 rims are rather thin at the outer edge, they do damage rather easily.
By the way, the video does show that you don't need to remove the tyres, but you do have to deflate and then free the bead area to allow insertion of the plastic protector before re-inflating.

[snatch]

I saw them being fitted to the Aston so I know that you can DIY..they did each wheel on the car with no special tools atal, they are very strong and will protect your rims.. Let's face it if you hit the kerb hard you will scrap the wheel anyway. I certainly would not a wheel or tyre that had hit the kerb hard. If nothing else ring the company direct and ask for a price..I'm sure you can save money on that price.. I saw them fitted to Ferrari the other day and an aventador. V nice.