Why are you switching wheels/tires?

[vinny68]

I live in central Illinois and have been looking at upgrading to some 20" wheels and tires. Recently there have been a lot of posts here about people switching out their "summer wheels and tires" for their "winter wheels and tires". Are people doing this solely for switching to snow tires or are there concerns about winter road salt damaging your chrome rims?

I would like to be able to purchase one set of wheels and tires that will last me all four seasons if at all possible. I've talked with Ernie at ACW about the Foose Notrous Grey wheels which he indicated are painted with a stainless steel lip so caring for them wouldn't be any different than caring for your vehicle's paint. So are all grey/black wheels this way or are there any others like these?

Finally, does anyone else in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, etc. change out their chrome wheels every winter? Maybe this is only a common practice for our Canadian members eh?

[Strykker]

IMHO, it is just a matter of personal preference. If you have a stock set sitting around why not use those for the harshes months of the year, if your Maggie is a daily driver and sits outside most of the time. Eventually any wheel will be affected by the ravages of road salt, etc. I know in some places it just isn't practical to think you will be going outside on a regular basis to clean the aftermarket wheel. I am one of the fortunate ones, I have a second and third vehicle so MYTOYRT does not go out in crappy weather unless I just get caught in it.

[FloridaRT]

Having lived in Illinois most of my life (before I moved to Florida) I have a lot of experience with nasty winters.

There is nothing like FOUR snow tires on your car, not just on the rear or driving wheels.

That was the best thing I ever did to my 96' Impala SS, was to put 4 snow tires on for the winter. Better traction, steering and stopping.

Plus it saves your good summer wheels and tires.

Bob In Florida, with NO snow tires..................LOL

[Fireman512]

I plan on changing mine for both reasons. Things can get a bit slick here in the winter, so since I still have my stockers, I'm gonna toss a set to snow tires on the Mag.

[Token]

Having real winter tires makes a big difference, the traction and stopping distance on all season tires doesn't even come close to true winter tires when it's cold out, not to mention snowy or slushy. Personally I'd prefer to have the winters mounted on a rim rather than unmounting a tire and putting another on twice a year. Also, winter will be the time when it's most likely that you would slide on some ice, or be driving on a snow covered road and perhaps come into contact with a curb. Now if you hit a curb with your Foose, just ask Ernie how many he has in stock to replace it...... I'm going to bet on ZERO, and it could be a while before he got one in for you, so what would you drive on in the meantime? Stock wheels can usually be found on ebay pretty cheap (relatively speaking)

People pay BIG BUCKS for aftermarket wheels, and want to keep them looking NEW. Road salt WILL damage any wheel.

[magnum lover]

Some people that have the chrome/painted 20 and 22 inch wheels don't have the tires they need for traction for snow. They are most likely running performance tires which are terrible when it gets cold and snowy. I have two sets of stock rims. I bought the second set with snow tires already mounted for the winter. I have had trouble getting up my hill the last two years and refuse to fight with it again. If I had a nice set of rims I'd take them off for the winter just because there is a higher chance of damaging them in the winter and I'd want them to stay looking shiny or buy a winter beater car to run when it's bad.