The first is not to cry and the second is to try not to suffer excessively when we get out of the car and approach the tire that has just been damaged. rub a few centimeters against the curb. Yes, it was a few centimeters but it seemed like meters and you have noticed every bit of paint coming off your tire and merging with the asphalt of your municipality.
This is like the ASMR videos on the internet but in reverse, with a (mental) pain that you have noticed in every millimeter of your wheel and in your heart. Let's see what we can do if we have scratched tires and if this micro incident has a solution.
Or not, because many times the solution is to leave the tires as they are and not look at them when passing by the car. To keep your peace of mind, it's more than normal If at some point in your life, the wheels of your car get scratched, think that along with the tires, they are in full contact with the asphalt and are separated from it by a few centimeters from the ground. To avoid offending the sensitivity of readers, we will omit damaged tires and in the preparation of this article no damage has occurred to our tires. Word.
Fix scratched tires
There is no good news here, depending on the material of your tires, it will cost you more or less to repair them and as you can imagine, the more expensive they are, the more expensive the repair will be. In this sense, you will miss the hubcaps.
steel wheels
We start with the easiest ones to repair. Those that, yes, have hubcaps. As easy as buying other hubcaps plus tuning if you want and not spending more than €30 maximum. If you've lost one of these wonderful rim protectors, buy a similar set and keep the rest just in case. In the event that we hit a curb with this type of tire and it becomes deformed, it is necessary to take it for inspection to make sure that the tire does not lose air. If the blow was slight, we can solve it at a lower cost than changing the tire. the entire rim.
aluminum wheels
Depending on the tire and model we can say that, in the configurator price, these tires can cost us between €700-€1,300 for a set of four. This price will obviously depend on the brand and design, so in these cases, it is better to repair than replace.
Depending on the artisan work that we have to request, we may have a price of €60-150 per tire if they are visual repairs. In case of breakage or loss of a spoke or other part, although it can be welded, it is advisable to replace the rim. It works as a precautionary measure, but in the long run we will have to take out the checkbook. Finally, as with steel rims, if a curb hit has caused the micro heart attack, we will have to see the extent of it to check the good condition of our tires.
carbon rims
Popular in high-end sports and competition vehicles due to their llightness and rigidity, can improve handling, fuel efficiency and overall vehicle performance. Here we have to talk about the fact that on rare occasions they can be fixed given their monoblock construction. Depending on the use of the tire (normal use or competition) these can cost us a couple of extra microinfarctions, since their price can exceed €6,000.
How to fix a scratched tire?
Cheap and crappy technique: buy yourself an eding. Recommended practice: go to a professional. Technique for handymen, as always, summarized in points:
- Be upset again with the tire damage and analyzes its reach.
- disassemble the tire if you see that it is necessary and you want to work in a more ergonomic way.
- Wash and dry the area to be repaired.
- sandpaper the most affected parts and use different grains to smooth and smooth the area, start with the largest grain and adjust to the finest grain.
- Fill scratches by adding a solution of aluminum alloy or polyester filler putty.
- In case the tire has deformed and you have material at home, use a lathe to try to return it to its original shape.
- Polish and paint rim.
