Purpose of the rim tape
Tuning a car can have a different character. There is a tuning aimed exclusively at the visual component of the car, that is, only the appearance of the vehicle will change. And there is tuning that changes the characteristics of the car or allows you to protect it from dangerous factors. Installation of rim tape applies to both situations, although it is more needed for protective purposes.
Rim tape or flipper today means a special pad on the tire, which is installed on its side surface. Their main material is rubber. The use of such linings is due not only to the issue of decorating the wheels, but also to protect the tires from accidental damage when hitting a hard or sharp object. There are several varieties of flippers. There are ribbons with one color, with two colors, as well as designed for installation on bias tires, there are ribbons for motor vehicles and bicycles.
When choosing, always consider the following:
- Rim tape has a mark that need to be studied. Of the important, we can note the width of the tape, the landing meter, as well as the maximum allowable pressure.
- It is best used on curved tires and on wheels with a tube.
- The hard diagonal rubber is more suited to fit such belts than soft textured rubber. In the second case, small stones can fall under it, which will be a problem.
- These flippers cannot be repaired, so they should be replaced immediately if damaged.
- The presence of a rim strip on the wheels automatically limits the maximum permissible driving speed. In this case, we are talking about a limit of 95 kilometers per hour.
Installation Features
You can also install the rim tape yourself, since no special conditions or special equipment are required. First you need to carefully wash the wheels, dry them, deflate and squeeze the tire until there is no gap between the disc and the tire. After that, a flipper is installed in the resulting gap. Now you can inflate the wheel to check the integrity of the flipper. If there is no problem, the wheel can be fully inflated. Now you can put the wheel back. Do not install the wheel if the belt is incorrectly installed or defective.
