Chrome wheels and winter

R

Robb

New member
I bought some aftermarket chrome wheels this spring and am debating wether or not to put the factory wheels back on for the winter(they have little rubber left, and i cant afford new tires), is it safe to have them on in the winter in terms of not having them rust? I am autopian so if i do drive this winter im sure i would qd them or wew them when i got my car back to my garage, but i dont really wanna take the chance of messing up my nice rims, what do you guys think? safe to leave them on? Thanks for your help
 
Acuracl98 said:
Id say stick with the rims with the better tires, better to be safe than sorry.
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I have to agree :up



The last thing you'll think of when spinning out of control are the chrome wheels. Winter traction is much more important.



Will the tires on the chromes fit the other wheels? You could do a tire swap if so.



I think you should keep your stock wheels, save your $$, and buy some snow tires for next winter. That way you'll have the best of both worlds.
 
I swap mine back to the stock wheels and tires every year about this time.



I guarantee, no matter how maticulous you are about keeping them clean, ROAD SALT will find it's way into and behind the chorme layers and start to do it's damage.



In two years they will start to flake. And you'll be saying....."But I kept them super clean!"



Not worth the risk. Store 'em for winter.



:xyxthumbs



It's only a few months of ugly stock wheels.



I swap mine back on April 1.



Ironically, my factory wheels are chrome also. So I don't really have a choice, I have to run them in the winter. I have noticed some pitting. But I keep them waxed about every 2 weeks so it's not too bad. BUT NOT MY PRECIOUS DUBS!





BEFORE SWAP:



fb6ee14f.jpg




AFTER SWAP



fcb2eeb7.jpg
 
your car looks great either way Luster, i really dislike my little 15" stocks, ive got about 3 months and counting before i put my 18's back on, i cant wait,
 
Admittedly, I'm not the expert that many others here are.



But ... what's the big deal? I show my old Jags with their chrome wheels. So when winter comes, I move the good tires onto the who-cares wheels ... and that's it for the winter. Garages don't charge much for re-mounting. ...
 
i have factory wheels for winter, and the bigger 18's for summer, so i cant change the tires, thats all
 
keep winter tires on the stock wheels, and summer tires on the 18's. then you have good rims and tires for summer, and good rims and tires for winter. You can even mount them yourself that way.
 
I try NOT to mount/dismount/remount tires any more than necessary. Opinions vary about damage to the tire's bead, but *I* worry about damage to the wheels. Every time they are put through the process, that's just one more time that SOMETHING could happen to them. BTW, this might be a good time to champion the use of ADHESIVE wheel weights, as opposed to the crimp-on style, for the same reason.



If you're more concerned about PROTECTING your chrome (wheels and other stuff) than making it LOOK pretty all winter, you might try applying Meg's #16 paste wax (not TOO thick) and NOT BUFFING IT OFF. It'll form a barrier that will keep salt and moisture off the chrome. Once that stuff dries, it's really tough (note that it's also used as a mold-release wax).



But ultimately, as others have said, dedicated winter wheels with snows is the way to go. Compare the cost to your insurance deductible ;)



OH, and if you're changing wheels back and forth, make sure that you have the appropriate lug nuts/bolts for your spare. Those for aftermarket wheels are often NOT compatible with OEM spares.
 
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