Alloys look smart only when they’re in pristine condition. Be careless when parking and kerb them, and they can be ruined – costing a fortune to refurbish. First of all, let’s consider why you want to keep your alloys looking and performing at their best. The first benefit should be pretty obvious - they stand out in a crowd. Alloy wheels really do upgrade the visual appeal of your vehicle - and with even minor damage, this can dull.

Alloy wheel protector mini test | Auto Express Alloy wheel protector mini test | Auto Express

Alloy kerb damage is preventable. As it happens, kerb damage to your alloys may occur entirely innocently. You may scuff your wheels when parallel parking, for example. Of course, you may end up damaging your wheels if you need to swerve - and hit a kerb. Rimblades® Original are best suited to any rim with a rounded off top edge, but will fit any rim with a continuous surface. As they are rubber based they can cope with a varied range of rim edge profiles. In basic terms, Rimblades® Original are a C shaped profile.Unbeatable Value for Money: All the protection the true enthusiast actually needs and up to a quarter of the price of some tyre-trap rim protectors – whilst utilising high tech materials costing up to three times more. Protect your alloy wheel rims from kerb damage and cover up existing marks using our easy to fit, self-adhesive alloy wheel protectors. World Class Manufacture: Rimblades are manufactured wholly in the UK utilising the most advanced materials on the market, supplied by global technology partners such as 3M and Exxon Mobil. Rimblades carry multiple international design patents. SELF-ADHESIVE RIM PROTECTORS WITH BOND GUARANTEE The new Rimblades® Ultra are made from Santoprene by Exxon Mobil (appearance of hard rubber) with a micro fine wire core to prevent expansion or contraction due to extreme temperatures. Rimblades® Ultra have a genuine 3M GTE6208 Automotive grade VHB tape factory applied to the rear side. They are available in 8 colours. So which is better? We fitted Alloygators on the driver’s side of our test car and Rimblades on the passenger side to find out.

Alloy wheel protection? Rimblades, high quality, self

Alloygator rim protectors cover the edges of your wheels to keep them safe from harm and, until now, have had this market all to themselves. But new Rimblades claim to offer similar protection in just as many colours. Rimsavers are made from a near rigid plastic, that if it wasn’t made in such a thin design would appear as a hard plastic. It gets its flexibility from the thin lightweight design profile. Rimsavers are a bond on solution and have a semi-gloss smooth appearance that brake dust wipes straight off. Rimsavers have a stiff fitting guide lip on the top side and the 3M VHB (very high bond) tape is sealed from the weather, brake dust, road salt and wheel cleaners by a sealing lip. BOND ON UNIVERSAL FITTING The new Rimblades® Original are made from Santoprene by Exxon Mobil (appearance of hard rubber) with a micro fine wire core to prevent expansion or contraction due to extreme temperatures. Rimblades® Original have a genuine 3M GTE6208 Automotive grade VHB tape factory applied to the rear side. They are available in 9 colours. In all honesty, the product looks great and will do the job as advertised. If they work for you, that’s great. For me, I’ll just make sure I keep away from the curb rash. Rimblades® Ultra are best suited to diamond cut & flat faced or flat lipped wheels. As they are rubber based they can cope with a gentle curved edge to the rim. In basic terms, Rimblades® Ultra are a D shaped profile with a fitting guide lip at the top.What’s distressing here is, again, according to Skoda, British motorists are spending hundreds of millions of pounds on kerb damage. This type of alloy wheel damage is widespread - so what do you need to do to avoid paying out for such costs? How to Prevent Alloy Wheel Kerb Damage PLEASE NOTE: The 2023 version of Rimsavers is a lighter shade of pink than shown with a rose gold joint cover kit and the Gold is also lighter than the image and comes with a chrome joint cover kit KIT INCLUDES: Due to the lightweight design, although they use a 5MM wide tape, we have successfully fitted them on narrower flat lips with no issues. Rimsavers require cutting to size during each application, and are supplied in 4 x 2.1m metre lengths and will fit wheels up to and including 24” in diameter. Additionally included in the Rimsavers kit is a set of joint covers and adhesive, so even if you don’t get the cut just right, you can cover where the ends meet.