I wonder what people think of these?
Wheel Bands Review: Tesla Model S Curb Rash Protection - TESLARATI.com
Wheel Bands Review: Tesla Model S Curb Rash Protection - TESLARATI.com
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Wheel Rash Protection
- Thread starter ZTrekus
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- Australia New Zealand
Dborn
Confirmed
I have Alloygators on my car. So far, two wheels saved. Gators are a bit worse for wear though. Ordered them from the UK and fitted them myself.
Hey Dborn, you are a great photographer. Can you snap us a pic or two of your alloygators because I think I will buy either that or the Wheel Bands both for my i3 and Tesla and need to make a decision. Previously I han no idea you could protect these things.
Yes. We've had the Gators for a couple of years now, and I think they're mandatory on the 21" wheels. In fact I intend to use them on anything I ever buy in future.
Dborn
Confirmed
Had a look at the wheel bands and they certainly look a lot easier to install than Gators. Also, the final appearance is probably better. However, as to protection, i want to see the result in the real world. The gators come with one extra (for a spare wheel), and can be purchased singly if you need to swap them due to damage. They are a real fiddle, but once you get the hang of it, not terrible. You do need a rubber headed mallet (reasonably cheap at Bunnings), and a bottle of soapy water to ease the install process. I have a 4 wheel drive tyre compressor (which comes mounted in a tool box from ARB) and a filling station grade gauge so i check my own tyres and those of my wife at home. The downside is that it needs a decent power supply - not your cigarette lighter. So i got one from Jaycar. Makes me filling station independant.
The gators do have small metal insert "teeth" which lock them onto the rim and probably scratch it, but since you are always going to see the gators and not the rims, this is of no consequence. The complaint of problems with the bead of the tyre is a furphy. My pressures are rock stable, and so are those of my kids Mazda 2 to which i also fitted the gators. There is no leakage or pressure change other than what you might see with any wheel over time.
I will post photos in due course if you wish, but you seem to have made a decision already, so a bit like closing the gate after the horse has bolted!!
Hi Dborn,
Yes the horse has already bolted, so no need for photos... I think the trouble of installing the gators is what tipped me off in the end. I am really curious to know if they work. I notice that you have them installed on your new Tesla as well as your kids' car so I guess that means that you are a true believer. I take it you have not scuffed your wheels. But has there been many an occasion when you have said to yourself, "Thank God I installed those gators!"? I certainly know that gut wrenching/heart breaking feeling when you hear a SCRAPE as the wheel cracks against the gutter.
Believe it or not, before today, I didn't even know that there was any kind of protection for that sort of thing at all!
I got the red in black because I figured the red would sort of match the red brake callipers on the D model that I am getting. Hope I haven't over-done it though.
Dborn
Confirmed
I have two damaged gators but the wheel rims are fine. The gators did the job. Unfortunately, Murphy's law, one of them hit a curb right at the join, and partially pulled it out. Tore a bit of the gator material, and while I have repaired it, it does not look good. Wheel is fine. Will need to replace it one day. I chose the silver, matches the rim and makes it look a bit larger. Also, when undamaged, disappears.
Dborn
Confirmed
Managed to damage right rear wheel in car park today. 360 degree damage to right rear alloygator and it looks really bad. However, close inspection shows that the wheel is perfect. I will need a new gator, but otherwise, it is perfect. Since i have two spares, the job will be done "soon". I recommend Gators!! The wheel otherwise would have been ruined!!
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I have Gators, and they saved my right rear wheel one day when I brain farted in a parking garage and forgot I was up against a curb on my right, and I need to make a right turn heading out of my parking space. Roughed up the Gator, but saved the rim.
The only issue for me is that I've had some tire issues: a puncture repair attempt, a pair of tires replaced when the repair failed, a bad valve stem seal, etc...
If you have any repair that requires talking the tire off the rim, you have to purchase/install a new Alloy Gator... they aren't really reusable...
I know have a another pair of tires to replace, and I'm debating ordering again. I probably have spent enough on them that I could have just had the rim repaired...
The only issue for me is that I've had some tire issues: a puncture repair attempt, a pair of tires replaced when the repair failed, a bad valve stem seal, etc...
If you have any repair that requires talking the tire off the rim, you have to purchase/install a new Alloy Gator... they aren't really reusable...
I know have a another pair of tires to replace, and I'm debating ordering again. I probably have spent enough on them that I could have just had the rim repaired...
I've had multiple tires replaced without having to replace the 'gators (with one exception, a badly damaged one). If they just take the tires on and off from the inside of the wheel, the gators just sit there.
SteveS0353
Member
I tried the Wheel Bands, but ended up removing them and installing Rim Blades. There is a discussion and some pictures here.
I have the Alloy Gators and must say they have already saved a rim at least twice in four months. Very durable in my opinion. I had mine installed by a local tire shop for $80 as I didn't have the equipment to do it myself and figured it would be worth the time to just have someone else do it. I couldn't be happier with them. I chose black so it blended with the tire, but I like the idea too of silver to make the rim look a little bigger.
Well I am sincerely hoping that it is just that the Wheel Bands are too new for people to analyse yet, but the truth is that I have yet to see any reliable forum user comment on how good they are. There are stacks of stories about how good the Gators are. Another series on how good Rim Blades are. And now how better Rim Blades are than Wheel Bands.
I hope I didn't do something dumb and should have just bought Gators and got my local Jax tyres to install them. My theory with Wheel Blades is that any idiot can remove them without too much difficulty or damage to the rim (leaving aside damage to the budget). Hopefully a little care, attention and patience bought with eager excitement can install them in an aesthetically pleasing way. I think I could live with a little displacement where the ends meet; and I probably don't need a complete DaVinci circle - BUT I dread to think that they will start to peel off in sections or after a car wash or after a small scrape....
And the one thousand dollar question is - do they actually work? Do they protect the rim from a slight driver's indiscretion? I'm not talking about an irresistible force hitting an immovable object kind of thing.
I hope I didn't do something dumb and should have just bought Gators and got my local Jax tyres to install them. My theory with Wheel Blades is that any idiot can remove them without too much difficulty or damage to the rim (leaving aside damage to the budget). Hopefully a little care, attention and patience bought with eager excitement can install them in an aesthetically pleasing way. I think I could live with a little displacement where the ends meet; and I probably don't need a complete DaVinci circle - BUT I dread to think that they will start to peel off in sections or after a car wash or after a small scrape....
And the one thousand dollar question is - do they actually work? Do they protect the rim from a slight driver's indiscretion? I'm not talking about an irresistible force hitting an immovable object kind of thing.
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lonewolf313
Member
I have found YouTube videos which demonstrate four different products
Rim Blades
Rim Bands
Alloygators
Rim Ringz
Part 1 - Unboxing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MXMb6J3QI0
Part 2 - Installation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh_rclHITlg
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It looks like the Installation part is incomplete.
Rim Blades
Rim Bands
Alloygators
Rim Ringz
Part 1 - Unboxing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MXMb6J3QI0
Part 2 - Installation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh_rclHITlg
- - - Updated - - -
It looks like the Installation part is incomplete.
Wheel Bands arrived yesterday... Put them on the i3 under the car port in the pouring rain... But they seemed to have adhered very well nonetheless. I didn't do a perfect job in putting them on, and I made a few mistakes which only an installer would really notice, but I am still very happy with the job and would have no hesitation putting them on the Tesla when it arrives in September.
(An interesting aside. I ordered these from Evannex and I accidentally ordered the wrong colour on checkout. I emailed them a few times to correct it before it was sent and they sent me an email saying that it had been corrected. But shock horror, when it arrived, it was black on black - yuck. I decided to buy new coloured inserts for the black track that they sent me but I decided to email them anyway and sent them photos of their mistake. The General Manager rang me from the US that evening on my mobile as I was pushing a shopping trolley in Coles. He was very apologetic and said he would send new ones. He noticed that I had ordered another 3 different coloured inserts to make do with the black track instead of the red track that I had wanted. He immediately decided to refund me that money and threw them in as a gift. What a guy!)
It seems counter-intuitive at first. How can a piece of plastic stuck on a wheel really help with wheelrash? And as if they are not going to just peel off tomorrow? But having installed them, I can certainly see how they work. They really do bond hard and well to the wheel. There is no movement there and the plastic is super hard. Enough to let the driver know he or she is scraping the kerb whilst protecting the valuable alloy. They look really cool too - sort of like Sports Tyres - you don't seem to think they are on the alloy, they look like cool tyres.
For the Tesla (which is dark blue) I have got a black insert on a red track. So it will look like two thin parallel rims of red with black in the middle. Should match the red brake callipers - which is what it did in Teslarati - the website I got it from.
Last note. The plastic insert really does add protection to the stuck on track. It certainly holds the two ends of the track together, but more than that, it adds a rigidity to the entire circumference allowing enough flexibility at the stick on stage, but rock-hardness after that.
(An interesting aside. I ordered these from Evannex and I accidentally ordered the wrong colour on checkout. I emailed them a few times to correct it before it was sent and they sent me an email saying that it had been corrected. But shock horror, when it arrived, it was black on black - yuck. I decided to buy new coloured inserts for the black track that they sent me but I decided to email them anyway and sent them photos of their mistake. The General Manager rang me from the US that evening on my mobile as I was pushing a shopping trolley in Coles. He was very apologetic and said he would send new ones. He noticed that I had ordered another 3 different coloured inserts to make do with the black track instead of the red track that I had wanted. He immediately decided to refund me that money and threw them in as a gift. What a guy!)
It seems counter-intuitive at first. How can a piece of plastic stuck on a wheel really help with wheelrash? And as if they are not going to just peel off tomorrow? But having installed them, I can certainly see how they work. They really do bond hard and well to the wheel. There is no movement there and the plastic is super hard. Enough to let the driver know he or she is scraping the kerb whilst protecting the valuable alloy. They look really cool too - sort of like Sports Tyres - you don't seem to think they are on the alloy, they look like cool tyres.
For the Tesla (which is dark blue) I have got a black insert on a red track. So it will look like two thin parallel rims of red with black in the middle. Should match the red brake callipers - which is what it did in Teslarati - the website I got it from.
Last note. The plastic insert really does add protection to the stuck on track. It certainly holds the two ends of the track together, but more than that, it adds a rigidity to the entire circumference allowing enough flexibility at the stick on stage, but rock-hardness after that.
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