Wheel "protecting" tires?

[Dimitrios]

I remember seeing a make of tires a while back that had a "lip" on the tire that helped protect the wheel against curbing and other related scuffs.

Can anyone else recall? I tried a fair amount of Google iterations, but nada (closest was some info from Falken and BF Goodridge, but not exactly).

D

 

[JCell]

i think toyo had one, don't remember which model though

 

[nate0123]

our stock dunlop sp5000s had a bit of a lip

 

[Protege_Speed]

Just got my toyo proxes 4. It has a rim protector.

 

[ForceFed]

IIRC...I think its correctly called a "BEAD PROTECTOR"...The stock Bridgestones on the MSP have these as do A lot of other Hi-perf tires.My brothers Falkens have it as well.

Matt

 

[Douggie]

I wouldn't count on that to protect your wheels. There's no way that little strip of rubber can stop your wheel from being scraped.

 

[toucci]

they only help if you're going really slowly rubbing up against it. if you hit a curb at any appreciable speed it'll still gash

also, if the tire is mounted on a wide rim it's useless

 

[Dimitrios]

Yeah, I've looked around a bit more and Dunlop, Toyo, et all have versions of this.

Tanks for the feedback.

 

[DeanSweet]

I have a lip on my cheapo Hankooks but Toucci is right, they wont help that much...
Sorry for the blurry/bad picture.

 

[peepsalot]

My msp tires didn't save my rims. They got curb rash a couple times from bad parking.

 

[vindication]

the fuzion zri's have a "protector" if I'm not mistaken

 

[Douggie]

My msp tires didn't save my rims. They got curb rash a couple times from bad parking.

LOL. The best "protector" is to learn how to park

 

[Protege_Speed]

Yeah they don't really help curb rash but they actually do help. On my old car, I had 16" Konig Elysees and Falken Ziex that had the rim protector. I was driving down the highway at about 60mph when all of a sudden I got a flat. I was like "aw ****, my rim!!". There was no shoulder to stop so I drove it all the way home which about 5 miles away. When I got home, I was surprised to see not one scratch on the edge of the rim. I couldn't believe it. If I didn't have the protector, I think it would be a different story. I think that's what these protectors are really good for. I think they are also good for those unexpected pot holes. They add a stiffer sidewall which also helps lateral movement when cornering.

 

[MP5_509]

My old Potenza RE-910s that i had on my old car had em. didnt do s***, false sense of security is all it really is.

 

[DrummerJim50]

My Goodyear Eagle F1s have a rim protector. A lot of high-performance tires do. Look at the descriptions on tirerack.com. It doesn't do a whole lot but helps sometimes, like when I go through a drive-in carwash.

 

[Mr. Win]

yoko prada spec2s have them...

 

[Douggie]

Yeah they don't really help curb rash but they actually do help. On my old car, I had 16" Konig Elysees and Falken Ziex that had the rim protector. I was driving down the highway at about 60mph when all of a sudden I got a flat. I was like "aw ****, my rim!!". There was no shoulder to stop so I drove it all the way home which about 5 miles away. When I got home, I was surprised to see not one scratch on the edge of the rim. I couldn't believe it. If I didn't have the protector, I think it would be a different story. I think that's what these protectors are really good for. I think they are also good for those unexpected pot holes. They add a stiffer sidewall which also helps lateral movement when cornering.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes, now it makes more sense to me. It only protects the rim/wheel when you have a flat or maybe when you hit a pothole (well, depends on how hard you hit).

 

[Action Jackson]

I don't have curb rashes on my rims (b/c I can park )

But one track experience that I'll never forget......

I went off track and tried to enter it from the grass through the middle of the curbing [or turtles as they are sometimes called]. It was b/c the curb had a 90 degree edge to it instead of being "dome" shaped".

I wasn't going that fast but managed to blow my tire and very slightly bent the rim. My guess is that if it wasn't for that "bead" my rim would've been toast.

 

[SciFiMan]

Several tires advertise it as a feature. But if it's a big concern, just make sure you don't let a "non-car person" drive (e.g. parents, girlfriend, valet, etc.)

 

[Mike R]

Almost ALL tires have them now. All the tires I've put on my 17's have it, but the rim still is out further than the tire.