After several wheel rim scraps on my 19" right rear wheel, I decided I better do something before I mess up any more rims. (I wish I could blame it on my wife, but I'm sure I did it.)
I did some research and came up with two options: Alloy Gators and Rimblades.
I decided on Rimblades because 1) I could do it myself easily and 2) I found 1 Red set on Amazon marked "Used - Very Good Condition" for an amazing price from Amazon's Warehouse Deals. The regular price of the Rimblades on Amazon is $60. I didn't want to deal with the hassle of installing the Alloy Gators and I'd read that they can scratch your wheel with their grippers. Of course you wouldn't see any damage until you took them off.
I got the set in 2 days and when I opened it up, it was a brand new set. I at least expected the box to have been opened but it wasn't.
I took a day reviewing all the youtube videos on installation to be sure I did it right. I used the method where I installed the Rimblade from the 9 > 3 position on the wheel and then I drove forward 1/2 a wheel rotation so I didn't have to work on the bottom. It worked well. I liked that I could install them without removing the wheels.
The Rimblades can be installed two ways because they are not symmetrical. For me, I choose to install the fatter part around the outer edge of the rim, so that the thinner face lies against the flat face of the rim. This gives a little less protection to the face of the rim , but it fits much tighter this way. They certainly did a good job of covering up my existing rim dings.
They are a sacrificial product, so I don't expect them to last forever. But it's nice to know that as I continue to learn how to parallel park my baby, I won't be doing further damage to my rims.
The only part of the job I'm not 100% happy with is the fit between where the beginning and the end of the product come together, on two of the wheels. No one would notice unless they looked very closely.
Here are two pictures: the red color of the Rimblades do not match the Muticoat Red. The Rimblade red definitely has an orangy tint, but I think it looks okay.
I did some research and came up with two options: Alloy Gators and Rimblades.
I decided on Rimblades because 1) I could do it myself easily and 2) I found 1 Red set on Amazon marked "Used - Very Good Condition" for an amazing price from Amazon's Warehouse Deals. The regular price of the Rimblades on Amazon is $60. I didn't want to deal with the hassle of installing the Alloy Gators and I'd read that they can scratch your wheel with their grippers. Of course you wouldn't see any damage until you took them off.
I got the set in 2 days and when I opened it up, it was a brand new set. I at least expected the box to have been opened but it wasn't.
I took a day reviewing all the youtube videos on installation to be sure I did it right. I used the method where I installed the Rimblade from the 9 > 3 position on the wheel and then I drove forward 1/2 a wheel rotation so I didn't have to work on the bottom. It worked well. I liked that I could install them without removing the wheels.
The Rimblades can be installed two ways because they are not symmetrical. For me, I choose to install the fatter part around the outer edge of the rim, so that the thinner face lies against the flat face of the rim. This gives a little less protection to the face of the rim , but it fits much tighter this way. They certainly did a good job of covering up my existing rim dings.
They are a sacrificial product, so I don't expect them to last forever. But it's nice to know that as I continue to learn how to parallel park my baby, I won't be doing further damage to my rims.
The only part of the job I'm not 100% happy with is the fit between where the beginning and the end of the product come together, on two of the wheels. No one would notice unless they looked very closely.
Here are two pictures: the red color of the Rimblades do not match the Muticoat Red. The Rimblade red definitely has an orangy tint, but I think it looks okay.