Low profile tyres and alloys
Discussion
Anyone else sick of low profile tyres and alloys getting scraped?
Kerbs are bad enough but when you hit a pothole which is not that bad and it scrapes they alloy it really starts to become
My partner seems to like kerbs and it's not the first time I have had the alloys fixed but I am back in a situation of having all four with slight issues.
Anyone else fed up or is it not something that bothers you?
Kerbs are bad enough but when you hit a pothole which is not that bad and it scrapes they alloy it really starts to become
My partner seems to like kerbs and it's not the first time I have had the alloys fixed but I am back in a situation of having all four with slight issues.
Anyone else fed up or is it not something that bothers you?
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 23 October 14:00
You are now going to suffer a load of posts from people who have never ever scuffed an alloy who will be questioning your manhood and your ability to drive.
But yes - I agree, they're often a pain in the arse, but that is often down to the wheel size and whether the tyre sticks out.
For example - previous E class had this ridiculous AMG wheel configuration where the flat, diamond cut face of the wheel was flush with the width of the tyre. The tyres were 35 profile and offered no protection to the rim whatsoever - a large stone could ding the rim, and if you touched the kerb the alloy was ruined. I gave up even caring after a few months.
New car has lovely wheels - they are still big things but the tyres are whopping big runflats, so although they're 30 profile on the rear they have a really chunky sidewall and they are so well protected. Not had a single problem with them in 10 months.
But yes - I agree, they're often a pain in the arse, but that is often down to the wheel size and whether the tyre sticks out.
For example - previous E class had this ridiculous AMG wheel configuration where the flat, diamond cut face of the wheel was flush with the width of the tyre. The tyres were 35 profile and offered no protection to the rim whatsoever - a large stone could ding the rim, and if you touched the kerb the alloy was ruined. I gave up even caring after a few months.
New car has lovely wheels - they are still big things but the tyres are whopping big runflats, so although they're 30 profile on the rear they have a really chunky sidewall and they are so well protected. Not had a single problem with them in 10 months.
ELUSIVEJIM said:
Anyone else sick of low profile tyres and alloys getting scrapped?
Kerbs are bad enough but when you hit a pothole which is not that bad and it scraps they alloy it really starts to become
My partner seems to like kerbs and it's not the first time I have had the alloys fixed but I am back in a situation of having all four with slight issues.
Anyone else fed up or is it not something that bothers you?
When you say scrapped you mean scraped. When you say scraps you mean scrapes. Sorry to correct you but that was a headfKerbs are bad enough but when you hit a pothole which is not that bad and it scraps they alloy it really starts to become
My partner seems to like kerbs and it's not the first time I have had the alloys fixed but I am back in a situation of having all four with slight issues.
Anyone else fed up or is it not something that bothers you?
k of illiteracy.Olivera said:
ELUSIVEJIM said:
Anyone else sick of low profile tyres and alloys getting scrapped?
Kerbs are bad enough but when you hit a pothole which is not that bad and it scraps they alloy it really starts to become
My partner seems to like kerbs and it's not the first time I have had the alloys fixed but I am back in a situation of having all four with slight issues.
Anyone else fed up or is it not something that bothers you?
When you say scrapped you mean scraped. When you say scraps you mean scrapes. Sorry to correct you but that was a headfKerbs are bad enough but when you hit a pothole which is not that bad and it scraps they alloy it really starts to become
My partner seems to like kerbs and it's not the first time I have had the alloys fixed but I am back in a situation of having all four with slight issues.
Anyone else fed up or is it not something that bothers you?
k of illiteracy.
The worrying part is I didn't notice.
Weekendrebuild said:
My solution all be it not that economical one was to buy the wife a sty 2 year old 1series.
Mine was to buy my wife a VW Tiguan - luckily managed to get in a couple of weeks before the spec changed so it has 17" wheels rather than 18's, and the sidewalls are about a foot high!ty 2 year old 1series. Yes - when I was young and the performance cars came with 14 / 15 / 16 alloys my first upgrade was usually to increase the wheel size and decrease the sidewall.
These days my first modification is to decrease the size to get some comfort back and protect the wheel from potholes.
Wasn't fast enough with the 18" on the Jag nor the 17" on the Swift - two cracked alloys, still made a profit selling the other 3 on ebay as lots of others break them too.
These days my first modification is to decrease the size to get some comfort back and protect the wheel from potholes.
Wasn't fast enough with the 18" on the Jag nor the 17" on the Swift - two cracked alloys, still made a profit selling the other 3 on ebay as lots of others break them too.
Dog Star said:
You are now going to suffer a load of posts from people who have never ever scuffed an alloy who will be questioning your manhood and your ability to drive.
But yes - I agree, they're often a pain in the arse, but that is often down to the wheel size and whether the tyre sticks out.
For example - previous E class had this ridiculous AMG wheel configuration where the flat, diamond cut face of the wheel was flush with the width of the tyre. The tyres were 35 profile and offered no protection to the rim whatsoever - a large stone could ding the rim, and if you touched the kerb the alloy was ruined. I gave up even caring after a few months.
New car has lovely wheels - they are still big things but the tyres are whopping big runflats, so although they're 30 profile on the rear they have a really chunky sidewall and they are so well protected. Not had a single problem with them in 10 months.
But yes - I agree, they're often a pain in the arse, but that is often down to the wheel size and whether the tyre sticks out.
For example - previous E class had this ridiculous AMG wheel configuration where the flat, diamond cut face of the wheel was flush with the width of the tyre. The tyres were 35 profile and offered no protection to the rim whatsoever - a large stone could ding the rim, and if you touched the kerb the alloy was ruined. I gave up even caring after a few months.
New car has lovely wheels - they are still big things but the tyres are whopping big runflats, so although they're 30 profile on the rear they have a really chunky sidewall and they are so well protected. Not had a single problem with them in 10 months.
Personally I have only ever damaged one alloy and that was getting out of the way of a lunatic on the wrong side of the road. That took out the tyre as well. My partner seems to be a magnet to kerbs which I must say drives me insane but two were caused by a pothole.
These alloys are flush with the tyre. The alloys design also curves out a bit which isn't helping.
Kerbs are annoying as hell but when potholes are causing the same issues and the hole isn't that bad it's frustrating, to say the least.
Brilliant your new motor has chunky sidewalls and the alloys are well protected. Must make a huge difference.
My newly acquired BMW 645 has 19" and low profile runflats. It's a bit 'crashy' and so I have some 18" waiting in the wings for some non runflats and they'll obviously have a higher sidewall depth. Not so bad with scuffs but it always happens eventually, but the ride is always compromised with the high alloy to rubber ratio.
Also I had occasion to replace the front pads on both the BMW and the misses SLK R170 era recently, did the BMW first and then when it came to the SLK and it's wee 17" wheels and normal tyres, when I went to 'heave' the wheel from the hub/disc dust cover and near on pulled it into my face! wish I'd weighed them as there was a massive difference in overall wheel with tyre weight. I'm no weakling but the Ellipsoid wheel with 245/40/19 runflat was seriously heavy.
Also I had occasion to replace the front pads on both the BMW and the misses SLK R170 era recently, did the BMW first and then when it came to the SLK and it's wee 17" wheels and normal tyres, when I went to 'heave' the wheel from the hub/disc dust cover and near on pulled it into my face! wish I'd weighed them as there was a massive difference in overall wheel with tyre weight. I'm no weakling but the Ellipsoid wheel with 245/40/19 runflat was seriously heavy.
I’ve got a passat, it has 19 inch wheels and 40 profile tires!! Stupid stupid stupid. I hit a pothole in the fast lane of the motorway. Buckled one beyond repair, and cracked another. All 4 are kerbed. 2 by me and 2 by others who have driven the car. Worse VW charge £900 for a new alloy! Beyond rediculous
slowcars1 said:
Hehe. How low profile is low? I had a set of 18 inch wheels on 35 profile tires but never had an issue with pot holes. Have you got even lower profile tires like 30?
The profile is 40 which isn't that bad. I think it's the alloy design and the fact the alloys are quite flush with the tyre is the main issues. My mate lost two alloys and tyres when he hit a bad pothole with his VXR8 last year. Maybe our roads are just sh**
The local alloy wheel refurbisher seems to be very busy so at least someone is smiling.
V8RX7 said:
Yes - when I was young and the performance cars came with 14 / 15 / 16 alloys my first upgrade was usually to increase the wheel size and decrease the sidewall.
These days my first modification is to decrease the size to get some comfort back and protect the wheel from potholes.
Wasn't fast enough with the 18" on the Jag nor the 17" on the Swift - two cracked alloys, still made a profit selling the other 3 on ebay as lots of others break them too.
Cracked alloys These days my first modification is to decrease the size to get some comfort back and protect the wheel from potholes.
Wasn't fast enough with the 18" on the Jag nor the 17" on the Swift - two cracked alloys, still made a profit selling the other 3 on ebay as lots of others break them too.
Ouch. The problem is many of the 17" and 18" alloys just look better
But I can see myself doing the exact same modification.
ELUSIVEJIM said:
slowcars1 said:
Hehe. How low profile is low? I had a set of 18 inch wheels on 35 profile tires but never had an issue with pot holes. Have you got even lower profile tires like 30?
The profile is 40 which isn't that bad. I think it's the alloy design and the fact the alloys are quite flush with the tyre is the main issues. My mate lost two alloys and tyres when he hit a bad pothole with his VXR8 last year. Maybe our roads are just sh**
The local alloy wheel refurbisher seems to be very busy so at least someone is smiling.
cowboyengineer said:
I’ve got a passat, it has 19 inch wheels and 40 profile tires!! Stupid stupid stupid. I hit a pothole in the fast lane of the motorway. Buckled one beyond repair, and cracked another. All 4 are kerbed. 2 by me and 2 by others who have driven the car. Worse VW charge £900 for a new alloy! Beyond rediculous
It really is beyond ridiculous the cost of replacing an alloy. Even more so when it's not your fault.My mother was trading in her Suzuki Swift a few years ago so I bought it off her and ran it for two years on the daily commute.
Only had 15" alloys and it just skipped over any pothole which made driving so much less stressful.
Saying that the other half was still using the main car
craigjm said:
ELUSIVEJIM said:
slowcars1 said:
Hehe. How low profile is low? I had a set of 18 inch wheels on 35 profile tires but never had an issue with pot holes. Have you got even lower profile tires like 30?
The profile is 40 which isn't that bad. I think it's the alloy design and the fact the alloys are quite flush with the tyre is the main issues. My mate lost two alloys and tyres when he hit a bad pothole with his VXR8 last year. Maybe our roads are just sh**
The local alloy wheel refurbisher seems to be very busy so at least someone is smiling.
But the car came with Bridgestone tyres but will be changing them when the times comes.
They are run-flats as well.
Just paid £600+ for a new alloy (not that I moaned about it....much) due to developing a crack. Common occurrence according to the dealer due to bigger sizes and thin spoke design.
Got half an eye on replacing the car in the nearish future so wandered around the dealership when picking up my car and discounted most of them due to the wheels! Think I’ve developed a paranoia over wheel design after my open wallet surgery.
Got half an eye on replacing the car in the nearish future so wandered around the dealership when picking up my car and discounted most of them due to the wheels! Think I’ve developed a paranoia over wheel design after my open wallet surgery.
I think the issue is as much with the tendency to fit tyres which are narrower (or at least no wider) than the rims as the lack of profile. The rear of our Elise has 45 profile tyres but the tyres are significantly wider than the rims; our Skoda has 40 profile tyres of the same width, so similar profile, but the tyres are no wider than the rims so there is no inherant rim protection. The Skoda's rims are kerbed to buggery, the Lotus's are immaculate.
ETA: Curiously it appears that the rims are actually the same width, so it must be that the Skoda's wheel protrude a lot further beyond the bead than the Lotus ones?
ETA: Curiously it appears that the rims are actually the same width, so it must be that the Skoda's wheel protrude a lot further beyond the bead than the Lotus ones?
Edited by kambites on Wednesday 23 October 15:12
valiant said:
Just paid £600+ for a new alloy (not that I moaned about it....much) due to developing a crack. Common occurrence according to the dealer due to bigger sizes and thin spoke design.
Got half an eye on replacing the car in the nearish future so wandered around the dealership when picking up my car and discounted most of them due to the wheels! Think I’ve developed a paranoia over wheel design after my open wallet surgery.
Got half an eye on replacing the car in the nearish future so wandered around the dealership when picking up my car and discounted most of them due to the wheels! Think I’ve developed a paranoia over wheel design after my open wallet surgery.
It does make you think twice.
Wallet surgery
Unfortunately, car manufacturers are very good at making the bigger alloys just look better on the car.
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