Have you ever hit a kerb or a pothole and had the feeling of dread roll over you and then the thought – “Well that’s going to leave a mark.”? Modern alloy wheels typically have a larger diameter, making them much more susceptible to scrapes and scratches caused by kerbs, potholes or any other road hazards.
How can you protect your alloy wheel rims from damage?
Wheel Protectors are a fantastic way of protecting your alloy wheels and tyres from unwanted kerb and pothole damage. Typically made from a strip of flexible and tough plastic or rubber that attaches to a wheel, it acts as a barrier between the face of your alloy wheel and a road hazard.
What Alloy Wheel Rim Protectors Should You Choose?
There are a number of wheel protection solutions available on the market, which usually fall into one of two camps: fully integrated wheel protection or self-adhesive rim protection. Like most things, your choice will come down to what it is you’re looking for and what your budget is, so let’s take a look at some of the options on the market.
AlloyGator Wheel Protection
Offering protection for wheels up to 24 inches, AlloyGator Wheel Protection physically integrates into the wheel. Using patented wheel locking technology, it secures to the rear of the alloy wheel and grips the secondary beading of a tyre. This creates a robust and secure barrier that protects both the alloy wheel face and tyre wall from sustained and multiple heavy impacts without breaking, meaning it has an exceptionally long lifespan, subject to wear and tear.
AlloyGator Wheel Protection is the only wheel protection product which has been independently tested for quality and safety by the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) & TUV. (See our testing certificates here.)
AlloyGator Wheel Protectors are a little trickier to install than other wheel protection products, in that they require you to jack up your car, deflate your tyre, hammer the profile into place and re-inflate the wheel. Fear not though, they also offer a nationwide fitting service if you don’t want to fit them!
AlloyGator Wheel Protection boasts a range of 14 colours, which are designed to give its customers a choice of making a statement with bright and eye-catching colours like blue, orange, red, green and pink or having the option to blend their wheel protection in with an inconspicuous colour set like silver or black.
Available From £59.95
Check out the reviews for yourself click here.
In Summary
+ AlloyGator offers a high standard of wheel protection;
+ Protects both alloy wheel and tyre wall;
+ Has a long lifespan;
+ Has been independently quality tested by MIRA & TUV,
– Is a little trickier to install but can be bought with fitting.
– Is slightly more expensive than competing products.
Rimblade Ultra (Replaced Scuffs By Rimblades and Original Rimblades in March 2020)
Rimblade Ultra fits wheels of up to 22 Inches and is an adhesive based wheel protection solution, designed to stick to the wheel rim and provide light impact protection from gravel chips and parking scrapes. It is made from santoprene and it contains a thin wire which prevents the profile stretching or shrinking in extreme temperatures.
To install Rimblade Ultra, you need to clean the face of the wheel, peel back the sticky tape, press the rubber strip against the edge of the alloy rim until you meet the same position you started in, and cut with kitchen scissors.
Rimblade Ultra are available in 10 different colours, offering a subtle or more out there colour choice.
Price £40.00
Check out the reviews yourself click here (Review For Origonal Scuffs By Rimblades) / Click here (Review For Original Rimblades) :
Author note – Due to how recent the release of Rimblades Ultra is, there is currently no customer review information; we will update this section when this becomes available.
In Summary
+ Rimblades are slightly more affordable;
+ They are easier to install;
– Rely on glue to adhere to the wheel rim meaning they have a relatively short life span when compared to integrated solutions like AlloyGator;
– Can only provide light impact protection.
RimPro-Tec
Similar to Rimblade Ultra, Rimpro-Tec offers protection for wheels of up to 22 inches and is an adhesive based wheel protection solution which is designed to stick to the wheel rim and provide light wheel protection against scuffs and kerbing.
Fitting is relatively similar to Rimblades, with Rimpro-tec you need to clean the face of the wheel, peel backing tape from back of the base profile, place strip against the edge of the wheel rim until completing a full circle, cut the profile and add the inner profile on the opposite side to the end point of the base profile, to create a seamless join.
Slightly different to both AlloyGators and Rimblades, RimPro-Tec offers a black, silver or red base layer and an inner layer which offers a range of 11 colours.
Price £111.20
Check out the reviews yourself click here
In summary
+ They are easy to install;
– They rely on glue to adhere to the wheel rim meaning they have a relatively short lifespan when compared to integrated solutions like AlloyGator;
– More expensive than most over wheel protection solutions;
– Can only provide light impact protection.
Conclusion
Selecting a wheel protection solution is relatively easy – you just have to ask yourself these questions:
- Which alloy wheel rim protection solution provides the best protection against road impacts?
- Which alloy wheel rim wheel protection solution will last the longest?
- Which alloy wheel rim wheel protection is the easiest to install?
In my opinion (and this is not because I am writing this blog for them), AlloyGators are really the only way to go! Yes, AlloyGator Wheel Protectors are a little more difficult to install than other wheel protection products. However, because AlloyGators can be physically secured and integrated into a wheel, they legitimately provide unbeatable wheel protection in comparison to other products.
