Does any make of tyre offer better gutter-damage protection to the rims?

[sharkpatrol7]

Hi all,
I want to buy some tyres for a set of 7.5 x 18 rims we’ve obtained for a mk6 R - was thinking of Continental SportContact 6, Dunlop Sport Maxx RT, Michelin Pilot Super Sport or Pirelli P Zeros. I’ve been trying to find out if any of these tyres offer better protection for the rims against gutter-rash/damage (ie; via the raised triangular ‘protection strip’ that some tyres seem to feature or having the outer bead quite inset from the sidewall). Before you say it, I know the best way to protect against gutter-damage is to avoid the gutters... but the car is occasionally driven by those who see the sound of alloys crunching against concrete as merely as indication that we’ve reached our destination


If none of these tyre makes have the protection features I mentioned, any suggestions for a good all round performance tyre that might?


On a related note - any reason not to fit a slightly wider tyre to offer a bit of protection for the rims? According to the charts, the 7.5” alloys have an optimal tyre width of 215 or 225mm but can also accept 235mm - I figure the extra 5mm either side when fitting 235’s may help against the gutters vs 225’s (which are the OEM spec tyre) and would hardly be visible.


Thanks for any help!
Cheers

[Tuan]

Goodyear Eagle F1 Assym 2 ... great protection .. average tyre ..

RE003 - no protection - good/average tyre

PS4 - no protection - great tyre

Yes you can go 10mm wider, but factor in different speedo vs real life speed.

[sharkpatrol7]

Thanks for the info, I’ve read in a couple of places that the newer Goodyear Eagle F1 Assym 3 has reduced the rim protection compared to what the Assam 2’s had which is a bit annoying.

Im quite interested in the SportMaxx RT 2 - anyone know how well those protect the rims?

cheers