| Disclaimer |
This page gives you advice on how to fit whitewall tyre trims.
It is based on my experience in fitting them to
my Lada.
If you damage your car, tyres or self, it's not my fault.
|
| Introduction |
This guide covers the fitment of whitewall tyre trims from
Bravado Automotive.
I wrote this guide because when I fitted the trims to my car it was a pain in the arse.
Maybe I can save you some trouble when you fit them to your car.
Some points to note:
Whitewall trims are a cheap alternative to real whitewall tyres. If you've got the
money, fit real whitewalls.
Parking will never be the same again, you will develop kerbaphobia.
The trims need to be fitted exactly right or they'll split and fall off.
You need to regularly grease behind the trims to avoid friction with the tyre.
You might suffer from air leaks after fitting.
|
| You Will Need |
1 car with wheels
Whitewall trims of the correct diameter
Jack and wheelbrace
Vaseline
Tyre lever
Footpump
Small screwdriver
Small flat file
At least two hours
Several cups of tea
|
| Method |
Each wheel is tackled in turn, and needs to be taken off the car. I will assume
you know how to do that. Once you have the wheel off, totally deflate the tyre - I did
this by standing the wheel upright and sitting on it whilst opening the valve with a small screwdriver.
The flatter the tyre, the easier the fitting.
Once the tyre is flat you need to lever the bead of the tyre back from from the rim. By far
the best way of doing this is a tyre lever, but if you don't have one you could use a
large screwdriver with the sharp corners filed off. The bead only needs to be pushed inwards
a few millimeters. You should push the bead back around the whole tyre before going any further.
Now check inside the rim for sharp
bits which will rip the trim - I had one trim wrecked after 3 months by the clip that holds the wheel weight
on. When I fitted the replacement trim, I filed down the clip inside the rim until there were no sharp corners.
Now you're ready to fit the trim!
First lubricate the "flange" of the trim both sides with Vaseline (try first without
Vaseline, and only use it if necessary - it could cause the trim to not grip). Lay the wheel flat
on the floor. Then, starting at
the wheel weight (if fitted), push the trim between the rim and tyre. I found this was only
possible by pushing the tyre off the rim by standing on it with one foot and really pushing with my
toes at the point where the trim is inserted. Do a little bit at a time, and once you have about a
quarter of the trim in, go back and make sure it is all the way in before continuing.
Once all the trim is inserted, check it's to the same depth all the way around with
reference to the rim. If it isn't, more effort is required.
Once it's all in, inflate the tyre to the correct pressure, and check the fit of the
trim against the tyre all the way around. If it lifts away at any point, it's stretched.
If it looks a bit flabby and bulgy at any point, it's too loose. You will have to
totally deflate the tyre and persuade the trim around the rim a bit until the tight
and loose bits cancel out. Reinflate and check again, repeating until it's a good fit.
This part can be soul destroying, but if you fit the trim wonky it'll fall off after
a couple of months (and look pants), so do a good job.
Now refit the wheel and do the next one.
|
| Problems with Inner Tubes |
I had a lot of trouble with one of my wheels, because the tyre was fitted with a tube,
as a result of a puncture. When the tyre is fully deflated, the tyre casing has a tendency
to reinflate inself by sucking air into the space between the tube and the casing. This
means that when you try to fit the trim, the tyre appears to be magically full of air again
- a right pain. The solution
is to work quickly after deflating the tyre, before is has a chance to suck in too much
air. If it starts reinflating, push the valve to one side to allow the air out, and sit on
the tyre again until it deflates fully. Repeat as necessary.
When reinflating the tyre, you need to get all the trapped air out. The easiest way is
to inflate to around 10psi, then push the valve to one side. The trapped air will all
come out with a hiss. When the hissing stops, finish inflating the tyre.
|
| Maintenance and Cleaning |
Whitewall trims are not maintenance free, you have to make sacrifices for your art.
You need to lubricate them regularly with rubber grease. I don't have any rubber grease,
so I use whatever comes to hand, lithium grease, heavy grease, silicone grease, vaseline,
they all seem to work OK. If you don't grease them, they'll fall off. This is important
for me as I do over 10,000 miles a year in the Lada.
The next problem is parking - one good kerbing and the trim can be ruined. You may have to
re-learn parallel parking, as most of us use the "bump" method to see when we've reached
the kerb. I found the best way is just to park a few inches from the kerb and accept it's
less than perfect. If you have to mount the kerb, go slow and try not to do it at a
shallow angle. Striking the kerb whilst driving is not on, but you should know that anyway.
Cleaning - tyres work hard, in dirty conditions, so you have to accept that your whitewalls
will probably never look as good as the day you fitted them. I wash my car every week, and
always gives the tyres a good scrub. Abrasive scourers just seem to scratch the rubber and
make it worse, so I use a sponge and live with the blemishes. I might try a cream cleaner
like Cif (AKA Jif). I'll keep you posted if it works.
Slow punctures - unfortunately, the trims do seem to cause problems with air leaks.
Only one of my tyres leaks, it needs topping up about once a week. It was a brand new tyre
just fitted before I put the trim on, so I reckon it's the trim causing the leak. As long
as the leak is not too serious, I'd just put up with it, it's part of the price of having
such cool wheels. If the leak is bad, I guess you could try refitting the trim - rotate
it to a different place on the rim and make sure everything is spotlessly clean and free
of rust. I haven't tried taking the car to a tyre fitters, I suspect they would refuse to
touch whitewall trims on safety grounds.
Good luck!
|
|
Menu
How to Lower
Lada Info
Lada Photos
My Cars
Home Page
Guestbook
Search
|