2 flats in a week, sidewall damage, huh?

Maybe things are different on the west coast, but here in DC, when we parallel park, we don't rub our tires on the curb. 'Curbing', as you call it, is usually thought of as a sign of bad technique. I know attitudes are different everywhere, so maybe it is common practice there to try to squeeze every last inch out of roadway space, whereas here as long as you are within a foot, you're good.

I'd suggest trying not to hit curbs at any speed. If you're not having luck with that, then perhaps take a high performance driving course to learn basic car control.

To me this is like complaining that your car has dents in it because you keep driving into things, then justifying it by saying that when you drove into things in your old work truck it didn't dent, so it must be a defective car.

Bill

I just realized what you mean by curbing when I realized that you said San Fran and not San Diego, which is much much flatter. You must mean when you turn your wheels, then let the front wheels roll into the curb in order to hold the car on a steep hill. When you do that, turn the wheel all the way so it is more the tread than the sidewall hitting, and ease the car into the curb instead of letting it hit with force. I do this by getting the car close, then stopping completely, then letting off the brake slightly to let the car slowly crawl into the curb. Don't use the rear wheels since you will be forced to use the sidewalls. Only use the tread of the front wheels.

Well, I see you point. I thought I was an OK driver, at least with parking. I certainly have seen worse... and I never expected that everyday parallel parking can ruin one's tires in a matter of weeks. In SF parking is indeed more involved than on flatland, like, parallel parking at a 25% hill which I have to do every other day,

I do hit curbs from time to time with my own car ('00 OB full-size). I've owned this car for 4 years, and "my butt hasn't grown out to the fenders" like it did with the little Bronco II it replaced.

Wanna have fun? Park a Hummer H1 or HMMV. I've done that on both civilian and military versions. It's like you are sitting in an 8-foot wide bathtub.

But I can agree with the hill-parking and such. Seattle isn't as hilly as SanFran, but we do have some fun places to park.

I drive a Chev full-size van at work. They "unofficially" let us park "unconventionally", so I jump-park over the curb all the time if needed to get to a jobsite. That saves on sidewall blowouts.

But the fubared sidewalls shouldn't be happening that fast. I can't remember the brand/model tires I've seen with heavy "curb guards", but I know they exist.

What's your tire size now? If you could put up with the limitations, there may be a "LT" (light truck) answer. There's a fairly decent selection of 15" and 16" sizes, but height may be a problem. You might have to "drop an inch" in rim size to stay in the outside diameter for clearance.

I'm assuming they are shaving them to get all four tires to the same diameter, which is helpful in preserving the center differential.

Yes. But at this point I doubt if it makes that big of a difference.