Has anyone fitted Alloy Gators to their VRS Geminis?

Are they any good? What protection do they offer?

After having two wheels damaged and repaired (and two tyres replaced due to pothole and a stray screw) in the last month I am thinking that these might be a more cost effective option.

And if anyone from SUK is reading this why aren't SportContact 5 tyres fitted like on the Leon? Far superior rim protection.

Edited 21 June, 201411 yr by Black_Sheep

Black_sheep I am thinking along the same lines I have got two damaged alloys at the moment not impressed to say the least.

Matty,

My wife claims it is the UK roads as she had no damage the whole time she had the car in Germany!

The damage caused this week was in a car park with a cobbled surface - no kerbs in sight. I expect one of the cobbles has lifted, but the damage caused seems excessive. The rim protector on the SportContact 5 protrudes at least 5 mm clear of the alloy where as the SportContact 2 is virtually flush with the rim.

Whilst the repairs have been excellent, one of the firms tried to charge me for a full refurb (down to bare metal and custom re-paint / diamond finish and lacquer) - whilst initially impressed with colour match, on closer inspection the quality control mark on the rim was still present and there were one or two tar spots under the new lacquer. Whilst happy to pay for repairs to damage I have caused, I don't like being lied to, especially by a company I have recommended to others on here in the past!

I have these on my second set of wheels,

Some observations:

 

1) They are a pain to fit, if you do it yourself.
2) You need to refit them whenever you change tyres.

3) One of mine bowed out when the car was driven enthusiastically. I had to deflate the tyre and pull it out.

Although, they do look nice,if you go for the right colour.

I have these on my second set of wheels,

Some observations:

1) They are a pain to fit, if you do it yourself.

2) You need to refit them whenever you change tyres.

3) One of mine bowed out when the car was driven enthusiastically. I had to deflate the tyre and pull it out.

Although, they do look nice,if you go for the right colour.

Thanks for the quick response hardcorehobbit.

How much do the Gators overlap the alloy? - my question specific to the Gemini wheels is would the Gators cover the diamond finished area near to the edge of the rim? And if it does am I asking for trouble as the grime will get trapped behind it as the diamond finished area will not allow the Gator to sit flush against the alloy?

Edited 21 June, 201411 yr by Black_Sheep

I'll try and get some more pictures.

The gator does sit proud of the alloy. How much gap there is, I guess would depend on what the "edge" of the alloy is like. Mine have a sort of round edge, which I think is normal. Not sure of the design of the Geminis.

Will edit.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

 

Definitely sit a good few mill out of the tyre, none of these Santa Monicas is outside the gator.

There isn't much gap between the gator and the edge of the wheel rim, it wraps around it, as it were, but there is a small channel where I guess dirt could gather.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

I have these on my second set of wheels, Me too - they are 18x 8s - the OG tyres on the stock 18x7.5s seem to have decent rim protection so I didn't bother fitting 'gators to those wheels

Some observations:

 

1) They are a pain to fit, if you do it yourself.  I agree. I tried fitting them but ended up taking them to the local agent who charged me £20 for the hour it took to do it.

2) You need to refit them whenever you change tyres. Not had to do this yet but you are correct!  In fact you have to break the glued joint so you may well have to shell out more money to replace some of the Alloygator bits and bobs

3) One of mine bowed out when the car was driven enthusiastically. I had to deflate the tyre and pull it out. That must have been some seriously 'enthusiastic' driving

4) When  they get damaged (and it will be WHEN, not IF as they stick out about 5mm) they will look sh1te and the repair tool doesn't work like they claim it does.

Although, they do look nice,if you go for the right colour. I got black ones on silver wheels (2nd set for winter tyres). You barely notice they are there apart from the joining pieces next to the valves.  I looked at the blue ones but they didn't match the paint on the car and the silver ones were too dull - more grey than silver, and I'm too old for bright colours   

Thanks guys - dilemma time I think....

I must say these do look pretty grim. Also what happens when dirt gets under them and start grinding away at the paint?

I must say these do look pretty grim. Also what happens when dirt gets under them and start grinding away at the paint?

They don't tell you this...

You just have to never take them off..

Frankly, it was mostly for the looks that I got these. I could achieve the same effect with a decent tyre rim protector and a few strips of rim tape. However... they do indeed do what they say and stop you from kerbing your wheels. It's just a question of whether it's worth it or not...

and @smeghead, yes it was.... 7 or 8 hot laps of Oulton Park with a mad instructor in the passenger seat trying to get me to go faster.

However... they do indeed do what they say and stop you from kerbing your wheels.

You mean they stop to damaging you wheels when you kerb them? Surely it's better not to drive you car into kerbs?

You mean they stop to damaging you wheels when you kerb them? Surely it's better not to drive you car into kerbs?

 

Oh good, it wasn't just me thinking that then... I just didn't want to be the person to point this out though 

You mean they stop to damaging you wheels when you kerb them? Surely it's better not to drive you car into kerbs?

 

Oh good, it wasn't just me thinking that then... I just didn't want to be the person to point this out though 

 

+1… I just wish others in my family would share my views on careful driving (father 2 - wheels 0, wife 1 - rear bumper 0)!

 

Suffice to say they don't get to drive the car anymore (MKII facelift) and won't be getting anywhere close to the drivers seat when the MKIII arrives.

Oh good, it wasn't just me thinking that then... I just didn't want to be the person to point this out though 

Hazard of everyday life living here.  Wing mirrors also take a regular bashing on our narrow roads.

You mean they stop to damaging you wheels when you kerb them? Surely it's better not to drive you car into kerbs?

First time I've heard of them here, seems like a good idea but I guess it's the same as keeping a smartphone in a case to prevent it getting scratched. It serves the purpose but slightly compromises the aesthetics of the very thing you're trying to preserve.

My phone is naked, and I suspect my alloys will remain so too.

Oh good, it wasn't just me thinking that then... I just didn't want to be the person to point this out though 

2 wheels damaged in a month - one from a pot hole and one from a loose cobble. First car with damaged alloys in last 6 years, so either bad luck or a poor design / choice of tyre fitted to the Gemini rim that affords no protection whatsoever.

As stated above the SportContact 2 rim protector is virtually flush with the diamond finish on the Gemini, where as the SportContact 5 fitted to the 18" Leon alloys offers approx 5 mm buffer from the rim protector.

You might not be so smug when forking out circa £100 - 150 to repair diamond finished alloys (2 or 3 times the price of a repair to a painted only alloy) - hence the question.

In addition, you only have to look at the fate of the Mk2 Scout alloys to realise you need to keep the diamond finished alloys in tip-top condition - any damage to the lacquer and these will be toast too!

I am sure I mentioned these before but not sure. Can't be bothered checking. I thought there maybe problems when I saw the type of tyres on my nice new car/rims. So within days had Alloygaters fitted locally. Due to the kerbs outside my house being high with a quarter segment where it drops for access decided it was best. First reverse up,and scrapped the Alloygater, but not the Alloy. I do find that I have to keep a small camping mallet in the car to knock them back in sometimes. Also they are not as flexible as a tyre so do easily scuff. However they will do for now as a cheaper option . waiting for a customer call from SK UK as I was out first time. Said they will call back in a few days. Will mention this issue to them, though too late for me, and should have been spotted in R&D department.

I am sure I mentioned these before but not sure. Can't be bothered checking. I thought there maybe problems when I saw the type of tyres on my nice new car/rims. So within days had Alloygaters fitted locally. Due to the kerbs outside my house being high with a quarter segment where it drops for access decided it was best. First reverse up,and scrapped the Alloygater, but not the Alloy. I do find that I have to keep a small camping mallet in the car to knock them back in sometimes. Also they are not as flexible as a tyre so do easily scuff. However they will do for now as a cheaper option . waiting for a customer call from SK UK as I was out first time. Said they will call back in a few days. Will mention this issue to them, though too late for me, and should have been spotted in R&D department.

Your complaining to SUK because you drove into a curb?

No because they don't fit tyres that protect the rims. If you put a straight edge across the surface of the tyres they are fitting now you will notice they are not suitable. A bit like buying the old fashioned wheel trims that scraped every kerb when road side parking because they were too convexed. I have have 2 mk2 octys, and over 40yrs driving.so think I can drive them.

No because they don't fit tyres that protect the rims. If you put a straight edge across the surface of the tyres they are fitting now you will notice they are not suitable. A bit like buying the old fashioned wheel trims that scraped every kerb when road side parking because they were too convexed. I have have 2 mk2 octys, and over 40yrs driving.so think I can drive them.

 

I still don't understand why you feel Skoda are under some obligation to fit a certain type of tyre that still offers little to no protection from a curb (seeing as they're concrete and a tyre is rubber) because some people want to drive into curbs....

I'm not sure that using the tyre to take the brunt of kerbing is any better than using the alloy...

 

At least if the alloy is damaged you can see the issue, if you've damaged the tyre internally by kerbing it you won't find out until something catastrophic happens???

 

And nope I'm not perfect and yes I occasionally come into contact with a kerb. Just don't think a tyre is designed to protect your alloy so you can bounce off kerbs!

This thread has taken over the top spot of ridiculous complaints I've read on a forum. The previous being someone who complained to VW that the petrol in the tank was sloshing about as the car moved.

And nope I'm not perfect and yes I occasionally come into contact with a kerb. Just don't think a tyre is designed to protect your alloy so you can bounce off kerbs!

I agree with this statement, but the issue (for me at least) was to stop the rim getting scraped when you inadvertently get too close to the kerb and rub the tyre on it.  On my stock wheels this is no problem as there is a good 5mm of rubber in the way, but on my winter wheels it means the alloy gets scratched so I put the 'gators on to prevent this.

 

Long term rubbing of tyres will wreck the sidewall, but it's a fact of life driving over here on Fraggle Rock :(

 

Worse still, someone had the bright idea of using old granite cobbles as kerb stones so you can imagine the damage they can do!!!