Caring for Rims in Winter Time (Winning the battle against Salt!)

[skeck]

Looking to find out what everyone does for their rims in the winter time, for those of us who live in snowy, salt on the road areas?

Do you switch rims in the winter?

Do you just protect your current ones and if so what do you use to do so and how often?

Or...Do you just do nothing and you have never had any issues?

Thanks!

[WeeYari]

Switch over to steelies for the winter. Just did my swap yesterday.

I don't think there is really anything you can do to protect alloys from the ravages of salt.

[A-Dingo-Ate-My-Baby]

you can do this.

Weathershed® http://www.schafco.com/cosmoline.asp

guaranteed to do two things

1) prevent any corrosion
2) will collect lots of dirt and be wicked ugly until you clean it all off in spring

this type of stuff is sprayed on the bottom of a lot of commercial
vehicles and sure it collects grime, but that grime cannot harm the surface
underneath either

myself I have some shiny alloys for summer, and some plain looking silver alloys I will use
in winter. I don't care if the winter alloys start to show corrosion

[MUSKOKA800]

Winter boots on 14" steelies for me. Put them on a week ago.
Handling really bites now going from 215 down to 175. And when the S/C kicks in the Michelin's really howl. I hope theirs still some tread come snow time.

[TheEgg]

Definitely rockin' the steelies during rust season!

[skeck]

Okay so I am a week away from taking my wheels off and reverting to the stock steelies for the winter, but now I have had three people tell me when looking at the rims that if I wax them they will be fine because they are not chrome and then three others tell me to take them off or I will regret it. So here is a pic of them. I sent an email to Konig but never got a reply. I am not sure of the makeup of these wheels but they are the Konig Laces. If anyone knows what material these are made from and if it will be okay in salt/winter weather please let me know. Would like to keep these on if possible.

[upgradedyaris]

Originally Posted by WeeYari

Switch over to steelies for the winter. Just did my swap yesterday.

I don't think there is really anything you can do to protect alloys from the ravages of salt.

Don't live in winterland. No need to witch here.

[A-Dingo-Ate-My-Baby]

Originally Posted by skeck

Okay so I am a week away from taking my wheels off and reverting to the stock steelies for the winter, but now I have had three people tell me when looking at the rims that if I wax them they will be fine because they are not chrome and then three others tell me to take them off or I will regret it. So here is a pic of them. I sent an email to Konig but never got a reply. I am not sure of the makeup of these wheels but they are the Konig Laces. If anyone knows what material these are made from and if it will be okay in salt/winter weather please let me know. Would like to keep these on if possible.

that will take a beating from gritty snow and road chemicals.

with many small spokes, tons of surface area to start some corrosion.

get steelies or very cheap alloys for winter, or use those rims, but
drown them in cosmoline

wax won't do a thing unless you also clean and dry the rims after every single
sloppy day in winter months, and get it before the crud dries. lots of work

[skeck]

Thanks bud. Looks like the final call is switch them out for my stock steelies. Next year i am definitely getting some winter rims so I can still feel good about my car come winter. I did save my yaris hubcaps too...but maybe I'll just clean up the steelies and repaint them since they look a bit tired (no pun intended).