I'm looking for wheels to mount winter tires on. I've found a few that will fit but none with the correct offset. Have any of you travelled down this road? Any tips or advice would be appreciated.
Out of interest, why would you get different wheels for winter? Would something with different dimensions perform better, somehow? Are you looking to protect the OEM wheels from winter weather? Do you want to be able to switch between summer and winter tires with just with a jack and a tire iron?
I'm curious, because it had never occurred to me to get different wheels for winter, and I'm wondering what the benefits are. I'm certainly planning to replace the RE070's with winter tires.
Mainly I am don't want to risk compromising the integrity of the RE070s by taking them off and putting them back on. I've been advised by mechanics (family members, not peeps that want my money) that it's very common to damage tires when taking them off the rim.
Added bonuses are the convenience of changing tires and not damaging the BBS rims if I happen to slide into a curb during the winter.
On Mon, 03 Oct 2005 03:20:54 GMT, "bumpfreaq" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
Not to mention the damage the apes^H^H^H^Hmechanics do to the aluminum rims doing the change every six months. This damage allows the aluminum to be exposed to salt leading to corrosion and air leaks.
On Mon, 03 Oct 2005 11:29:20 GMT, Mark Carroll wrote in news:Kag* snipped-for-privacy@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk:
Steel wheels are an investment and not really an expense. Around here the charge is about C$60 to C$80 every six months to swap tires on rims and rebalance. Only two years and you've paid off even the most expensive steel wheels in labour costs alone.
I do it because road salt will corrode and damage the BBS wheels which are very expensive. Consequently, having a cheap set of winter wheels is better. In addition, 225 are not particularly good for a car as light as an STi. Narrower is better for winter tires. I use 205/55 for the winter; same circumference but 2 cm narrower.
Hmmm, thanks very much. You and the other posters have certainly convinced me that I really should get a tire/wheel package for winter.
Ah, that's interesting. With 205/55 what wheel size should I go for? I've not yet figured out how to tell. For instance, if I say with 17", should I probably stay with 53-ish offset, but get something a bit narrower than the BBS' 7.5"? I'd appreciate any advice about winter tire sizes and what wheel sizes will fit those. (For instance, would it be worth going down to 16" to save money? How much wiggle room do I have with offset?)
Ah, good point - I should have looked more carefully. (-: Some Googling suggests that with 205cm tires I can go up to 7.5" wide but no more on the wheels. I think I did see soem reasonable 7" wheels around.
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