This being my first winter with good rims and a lowered car, im wondering if the snow/salt and other things will dammage my rims. Should i go back to my 15's when it snows, its pretty mild where i live so far , hopefully it will stay that way so i can put my christmas presents to use ( KYB agx , Budget Y pipe , Porterfield pads and powerslot rotors ,,,,hopefully ) I have one big bald spot on one of my stock tires, and i am not sure if i have the hubcaps anymore , but anyway. the bottom line is , will the snow be bad news for my rims ,,, if it snows , i hope it doesnt , i hate snow now that i ahve to drive in it with my nice maxima...maybe ill just park her when it snows and drive my moms jeep

 

I wouldnt take a chance with the nice rims...put the ugly ones on for the winter...and save the nice ones to show off during the warm months...my .02$$

 

Well, here in Nebraska, it really doesnt matter "when" it snows...there's salt and grime on the roads from the first snowstorm it seems, all the way through winter. Well, most of the time.

I've heard of people taking preventative methods to put protective coatings on their rims during the winter (something about vaseline, sexual innuendos aside? I think that was a post I read on the org...), but personally, I'd take 'em off and go back to the stockies. Besides, those nice rims should be wrapped in nice performance rubber...the kind that usually doesnt work too well in the winter.

 

take em off...do you want your rims to see salt and gravel on the roads? is surely wouldn't...run a search on this topic...this has been discussed several times...

 

What does the salt do to the rims? Most rims are aluminum alloy correct? I wouldnt think it would cause corrosion especially with the coating that they rims come with. What causes the problem?

 

Half the cars on the road today have alloy wheels. Its not a corrosion problem as much as it is a traction problem. Most people with aftermarket rims have high performance tires, and high performance tires become NO performance tires in the snow. Also it's far more likely to go sliding into a curb in the winter than it is in the summer, which can wreak havoc on a nice set of wheels.

Take your wheels off and live through the winter... leave them on and you are taking a risk with your life.

 

kind of makes me wish the guy I bought this from had included the stock wheels ]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Nealoc187
Half the cars on the road today have alloy wheels. Its not a corrosion problem as much as it is a traction problem. Most people with aftermarket rims have high performance tires, and high performance tires become NO performance tires in the snow. Also it's far more likely to go sliding into a curb in the winter than it is in the summer, which can wreak havoc on a nice set of wheels.

Take your wheels off and live through the winter... leave them on and you are taking a risk with your life. [/QUOTE

 

James - yea, gotta ask about the stock wheels

I think with corrosion, the worries are that the grime effects the clearcoat (a lot more than just normal dirt/grime say, that might accumulate in the non-winter months), leaving the alloy more prone to other things, possibly oxidation. But I'm *way* out of my league here...

All I know is, I had a set of alloys on my older car that I believe got really heavily oxidized (they had an unremovable 'fog' that nothing got out...tried many wheel cleaners, steel wool, buffing them out...I'd imagine it'd take a polishing from someone to remove it)...and I kept them clean when I could, but I left them on in the winters. They were pretty old wheels, but I've seen the same effect on newer wheels (most noticably on people that dont wash their cars often). I'd be real upset if this happened on some nice wheels.

Feel free to let me know if I'm way off - at least I made a solid point above in the thread

 

i think the worst part of the winter weather is the gravel and dirt on the roads. you run an increased risk of those rocks chipping away at your nice set of wheels.

as for the salt...even though most rims are alloy now, they still have a clearcoat on top. the buildup of salt...well, i'm not quite sure exactly, but i'm pretty sure it's not good for your rims...