Okay. Finally had a free day to put the alloy gators on. Luckily, no curb rash events as I have been very careful, but we all know that luck may eventually run out!
The installation was as per the video, following instructions to the letter. It was very easy to put the metal clips on, and I just set up each of the rim protectors, one right after the other. That probably took about 25 minutes to fully complete.
Once that was done, I was able to put the car in jack mode, then find the appropriate jack positions (very easily located aft of the front wheel and fore of the rear wheel). I have a 2.5 ton floor jack (craftsman) which I used to jack up the front driver's side corner until the front wheel spun freely. I deflated the tire, then I wet the wheel with a soapy water, which I gather is to facilitate getting the protector to slide a bit easier between wheel and tire. Starting at the valve position, I hammered with the rubber mallet until the protector was well seated around the wheel and the ends joined up. I didn't mallet the gator fully, as I knew I'd need to trim it despite applying to 21" wheels. I trimmed about an inch off, and this length was consistent across all 4 wheels. I used the glue (cyanoacrylate or "crazy glue") to join the edges, then used the mallet to seat the protector as best as I could. Lot of hammering to get this part done. it took about 20 minutes to complete this part. I then applied the bridge piece (plastic bridge to cover the gap of the joined ends of the gator). Held for about a minute to let the glue set properly. Inflated the tire to 42 psi (manufacturer's recommended cold tire pressure), then let the car off of the jack, rechecking pressures afterwards.
I did this on all four tires, total time to completion was about 3 hours which included a lunch break.
Very happy with the results.
Here is the finished product, as well as a couple pics of my garage renovation.
And here are some shots of my garage renovation. No pot shots at my choice of football teams allowed!!
.
