Alloy wheel protector - How useful is this?

[navsjab]

Hello BHPians,

My brother-in-law, who lives outside India, recently asked me to check out this product from AlloyGator (there are other manufacturers for rim protectors as well). I found it interesting and thus thought of sharing the same here for your views about this product.

The product consists of a beading around your car's alloy rim to protect it against damage by running into or over a pavement curb. It also enhances the look of the vehicle (IMO). Costs approximately $70-$80 for a set of four.

I went through the below links and also tried to search for applicators in Inida but did not get any.

Video Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ITp2f0nNis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8pP-4Fansg

A comparison video from different Manufacturers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MXMb6J3QI0

Link to the site for few manufacturers:
https://www.rimbladesusa.com/
https://www.alloygator.com/

My questions:

• Has anyone here tried out this product?
• How useful is it?
• Could this also protect the alloy from minor damage while off-roading?
• Would it be good to go for this? My sister has offered to bring it when she comes home during her next vacation. I fear people here may just steal it.

[Jaggu]

Mod Note: Moving out of Assembly Line Section (More Information about this sub-forum).

Thank you for sharing an excellent product info, i would love to get hold of these for my cars if available in India, atleast for the next car we buy!

Only thing i would want to add regarding installation is, one would need to do a wheel balancing after the installation. Since the wheel protector would have added more weight on the wheels.

[condor]

Nice idea / product, though our roads have so much debris and uneven-ness that this is not going to be enough.

[prithm]

Originally Posted by navsjab

[1]How useful is it?
[2]Could this also protect the alloy from minor damage while off-roading?
[3]Would it be good to go for this? My sister has offered to bring it when she comes home during her next vacation. I fear people here may just steal it. [/list]

[1] For Usefulness, this is apt for folks who are parking at the kerb or parallel to footpath almost 99%. Saves them from getting their alloy damaged in cases of wrong calculation. Us Indians rarely do such close kerb parking.

[2] Usefulness in off roading is a relative term. I don't think it will stand sharp rocks. Have seen them getting ripped off.

[3] Hard to steal cause this will have the tyre seam sitting right next to it and unless they try to pry this open using a sharp pointed object. Few instances i saw them being heat molded to the alloy. My friend who has a M3 in UK told me that he and many of the folks there were observing air leaks when not installed properly.

If its for aesthetics, boy they look gorgeous.

[navsjab]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Only thing i would want to add regarding installation is, one would need to do a wheel balancing after the installation. Since the wheel protector would have added more weight on the wheels.

Thank you Jaggu. That is a good point to take care of.

Originally Posted by condor

Nice idea / product, though our roads have so much debris and uneven-ness that this is not going to be enough.

Guess it will be more for aesthetics. May be that is the reason it is not available here.

Originally Posted by prithm

[1] For Usefulness, this is apt for folks who are parking at the kerb or parallel to footpath almost 99%. Saves them from getting their alloy damaged in cases of wrong calculation. Us Indians rarely do such close kerb parking.

[2] Usefulness in off roading is a relative term. I don't think it will stand sharp rocks. Have seen them getting ripped off.

[3] Hard to steal cause this will have the tyre seam sitting right next to it and unless they try to pry this open using a sharp pointed object. Few instances i saw them being heat molded to the alloy. My friend who has a M3 in UK told me that he and many of the folks there were observing air leaks when not installed properly.

If its for aesthetics, boy they look gorgeous.

Those are some very informative points prithm thanks for sharing.

My sister has purchased them for our Thar. It will be mainly for the last line in your comment , as I do not think the alloys, having such high profile tyres will need kerb damage protection.

[navsjab]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Only thing i would want to add regarding installation is, one would need to do a wheel balancing after the installation. Since the wheel protector would have added more weight on the wheels.

So, I shot a mail to Alloygator support and they confirmed that installation of this product will not require wheel balancing. This is also mentioned in one of their installation videos. Very interesting.

The product is here and now needs to be fitted on to the alloys of our Thar. I will fix an appointment with my most trusted tyre dealer here in Kolkata, East India tyre Co. for this weekend or the next. There are no Alloygator Dealers in India so it will be a joint effort for us to get them installed.

The full package along with two of the protectors kept on it


Apart from the four protectors, the contents of the package. The manual, the metal inserts, the end covers and glue


The metal inserts installed onto one of the protectors. This helps grip the inner wall of the alloy. This is a part of the pre-installation task.

[navsjab]

I finally found time to visit East India Tyre Co in Kasba after work, yesterday. I had contacted Mr. Bhupinder Pal Singh, the owner, previously about the assistance I would require for the installation. As there was no accessory store or tyre shop that had made such an install, he was not very confident but welcomed me.

I reached his shop and showed him the product. He made me feel comfortable by assigning few of his employees on the task with me. I briefed them and we started working together. We eventually did a good job. I was actually scared about the size of the cut (the Alloygator fits rims of size 13"-22"), as that would render the Alloygator useless. We managed it well though. The cuts were perfect.

Since I had a pack of 4, The stepney would remain without the Alloygator. One of the guys I was working with suggested I use the extra's from each Alloygator onto the stepney. So we did that.


We checked each wheel for leaks after the install. This was after the first


How does the change look?


The stenpey


The rains gave a good wash to the wheels


This morning