Have you ever kerbed your Aero wheels?

[pharwood]

Is this a readily available touch up paint? I think I’ll need some.

Kerbed one of my wheels a couple of weeks ago. About 3 inches of damage along the rim. Just removed the aero wheel trim and sanded the damage with different grades of wet and dry. Surprising easy to sand away the damage. Once I was happy I applied a few coats of this touch up paint:
Tesla Sonic Carbon Touch Up Paint

I did buy the lacquer as well, but ended up not using it as I found it thinned the underlying paint on contact. Really happy with the match and final result.

 

[Llama.]

Kerbed one of my wheels a couple of weeks ago. About 3 inches of damage along the rim. Just removed the aero wheel trim and sanded the damage with different grades of wet and dry. Surprising easy to sand away the damage. Once I was happy I applied a few coats of this touch up paint:
Tesla Sonic Carbon Touch Up Paint

I did buy the lacquer as well, but ended up not using it as I found it thinned the underlying paint on contact. Really happy with the match and final result.

Great! Thanks

I’ll give it a go. I hate taking my wheel covers off though. Make me cringe!

 

[Adopado]

Great! Thanks

I’ll give it a go. I hate taking my wheel covers off though. Make me cringe!

Unless they're quite bad you can work with the covers on ... but ... you must obviously take great care to avoid sanding the plastic. If taking them off I find that if you pull using 2 hands "mid radius" it does the job. The nearer to the edge of the cover you pull the more flexing and risk of breakage ... if nearer the hub you can pull very hard without damage. (You don't necessarily need to sand to a perfect finish as you can paint quite thickly and let it form its own level, if you know what I mean! Also, resist the temptation to keep brushing ... like using nail varnish if you've ever done that!)

 

[pharwood]

Great! Thanks

I’ll give it a go. I hate taking my wheel covers off though. Make me cringe!

Take the wheel covers off, you pussy!

 

[Mrklaw]

My previous BMW had protective beads in the tyres and I had 360 camera so I could more easily see kerbs etc. Now I have neither of those..

 

[Adopado]

My previous BMW had protective beads in the tyres and I had 360 camera so I could more easily see kerbs etc. Now I have neither of those..

I yer right ... it's a hard hard life!!!

 

[Tigermad]

All shiny now! Detailed and ceramic coated.View attachment 652834View attachment 652835View attachment 652836

Looks great. How did your wheel come out?

 

[Cardo]

Looks great. How did your wheel come out?

Ah, the wheel...
The repair is top notch, you can’t tell it was ever damaged. However, the colour is the wrong shade. It’s subtle, but it’s ever so slightly darker. The wheel place have agreed to repaint it in the correct colour. It appears Tesla changed the colour slightly and didn’t tell anyone!

 

[Tigermad]

Ah, the wheel...
The repair is top notch, you can’t tell it was ever damaged. However, the colour is the wrong shade. It’s subtle, but it’s ever so slightly darker. The wheel place have agreed to repaint it in the correct colour. It appears Tesla changed the colour slightly and didn’t tell anyone!

Mines a bit darker too. I didn’t mention it though because he did a good job otherwise. So how did your place get the colour code? Did they not just compare paint colours to the existing wheel or did they already have the paint ready ?

 

[Cardo]

It

Mines a bit darker too. I didn’t mention it though because he did a good job otherwise. So how did your place get the colour code? Did they not just compare paint colours to the existing wheel or did they already have the paint ready ?

I think they already had the paint. My detailer said they’d sorted out some other Tesla wheels already. I’m wondering where the MiC models are slightly different or it’s a 2021 refresh thing.

 

[tridge]

It

I think they already had the paint. My detailer said they’d sorted out some other Tesla wheels already. I’m wondering where the MiC models are slightly different or it’s a 2021 refresh thing.

I've had the same issue, slightly darker/more blue hue. My detailer said the same too (that they had done Tesla wheels before) but they had done some Model S grey wheels in 'Sonic Carbon'. Some of the US forums said this was the same as the Model 3 Aero wheels, and another UK thread on here referenced this paint name for their Model 3 so I told him to go ahead. But as you say, I think either the 2021 refresh Aero wheels have changed colour slightly, or we're particularly observant/picky! Looking online 'Anthracite' looks like it might be the new/right colour name. Not sure though... With the hub cap on you'd never spot it unless the car was clean and I told you so I've left it. Means hub caps will need to stay on though, think you would definitely spot it without them.

 

[Adopado]

Noting comments elsewhere in this forum about wheel colour. It appears that the Aero wheels of the newer cars are a slightly different shade. Therefore my own comment about a Ford touch up colour earlier in this thread may not be suitable for everyone. Mine is a 2019 car. I don’t know when the change took place and if it applies to both Fremont and MIC cars.

 

[MrBadger]

Two variants of the 18" currently listed in the parts catalogue

Late 2019, the rims that we were supplied for our winters were listed as
1234221-00-B M3 18x8.5J ET40, PINWHEEL
so a part number variant (B vs C) of first one below but similar PINWHEEL (colour?) description of second highlighted one

 

[HenryT]

I haven’t kerbed my wheels yet, but it’s only a month old. It’s bound to happen though.

When it comes time to replace the tyres, is there a type that sits proud of the wheel?

On that score, the wheel/tyre setup on the new M3P scares me to death. Looks like the tyres are way too narrow for the rims and have been stretched to fit.

 

[Adopado]

On that score, the wheel/tyre setup on the new M3P scares me to death. Looks like the tyres are way too narrow for the rims and have been stretched to fit.

Yes, all the wheel variants on the Model 3 are 8.5inch wide which stretches those 235 tyres. The Performance has less sidewall available for the stretch so it's going to be the "worst" in that respect. Supposedly better for handling but the rims are SO exposed!

 

[Medved_77]

Saw a youtube review of these yesterday:

Rimetrix - Performance Wheel Covers

Efficiency reimagined - Rimetrix is providing advanced wheel trim solutions for the electric vehicle market.

rimetrix.com

They're an inch larger than the standard aero covers so actually fully cover the rim of the alloy. Useful for preventing scratches to the alloy and for covering up any existing damage.

 

[s88ats]

Saw a youtube review of these yesterday:

Rimetrix - Performance Wheel Covers

Efficiency reimagined - Rimetrix is providing advanced wheel trim solutions for the electric vehicle market.

rimetrix.com

They're an inch larger than the standard aero covers so actually fully cover the rim of the alloy. Useful for preventing scratches to the alloy and for covering up any existing damage.

If you hit the curb no matter what you have on top of it, the damage will still hurt the alloy (depending on the severity of course). Yes, it could cover any existing damage but I'd suppose that would be more expensive than a repair?

 

[flowuk]

Saw a youtube review of these yesterday:

Rimetrix - Performance Wheel Covers

Efficiency reimagined - Rimetrix is providing advanced wheel trim solutions for the electric vehicle market.

rimetrix.com

They're an inch larger than the standard aero covers so actually fully cover the rim of the alloy. Useful for preventing scratches to the alloy and for covering up any existing damage.

What happens if you curb your Rimetrix cover? Could potentially be more expensive in the long run.

 

[tridge]

Noting comments elsewhere in this forum about wheel colour. It appears that the Aero wheels of the newer cars are a slightly different shade. Therefore my own comment about a Ford touch up colour earlier in this thread may not be suitable for everyone. Mine is a 2019 car. I don’t know when the change took place and if it applies to both Fremont and MIC cars.

For reference, mine is a Fremont car — 2021 refresh delivered Q4 2020

 

[Medved_77]

If you hit the curb no matter what you have on top of it, the damage will still hurt the alloy (depending on the severity of course). Yes, it could cover any existing damage but I'd suppose that would be more expensive than a repair?

If you scrape your wheel against the kerb the cover, given that none of the alloy is left exposed with the Rimetrix Aero Covers, the cover will take the hit. The cover will be damaged, but the metal alloy should not, unless of course it's a major collision. Problem with the Tesla covers is that they don't cover the outer rim of the alloy.

What happens if you curb your Rimetrix cover? Could potentially be more expensive in the long run.

If you curb your Rimetrix cover then it'll be damaged, just like it would with the standard aero covers. But unlike the standard aero covers you're unlikely to need to replace your aero cover and get a smart repair on the exposed part of the alloy wheel. My smart repair was ~£75, an aero cover (when in stock) is ~£25. These work out at about £50 per corner so half the price of an alloy repair and replacement cover, assuming you'll be able to buy single units for replacements at a later date.

For me, the USP for this product is that it protects the outer rim of the alloy wheel.