16" Steelies for winter...

[huy397]

Hello... I am buyng a set of 4 steel rims for my Vibe this year after two winters of swapping... I have a set of 16" Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50. Upon some reading, the general consensus seems to "any decent steelies will do", I am leaning towards either Canadian Tire, Walmart or Costco ones now shelling out approx $70 a pop before tax. Is that too much? What other considerations are there? Thank you

[vibe-04]

My experience is that the Costco steelies are thinner which could bend easily in a slide into a curb. This could be a good thing since it's cheaper to replace a wheel than steering linkages and an alignment. Weakest link in the chain.I got the 15" OEM and they look thicker than my wife's Costco's on the Accord. I paid $55 each and got replacement nuts.I'd go with the OEMs and not trust "Crappy Tire." Call the dealership or Toyota.The Blizzaks are a great choice of tire.Question: are your sumer tires on steelies or alloy?

[Sputnik]

Ah yes time to start thinking of winter. Is it too early to put my winter tires on? I'm on vacation until Thanksgiving so I thought I might beat the rush and do it in the next two weeks.

[vibe-04]

Some tire manufactures do not warranty tires if on the car before "official" winter (as told by a car dealer so take this info with a grain of salt). The warmer roads rip the softer compund apart. But then again, how would htey know when you installed them anyway I wait until November here in Ottawa and do it in the garage. A floor jack is a great investment.CheersAndrew

[Sputnik]

Normally I get it done at Frisby in November - but after waiting 4 hours last year I thought I might get a jump on it. Usually I leave them on until May because I just don't get a chance before then, to get them off.

[huy397]

I had been using the stock alloys for the past two winters but it cost me $100 each seaon to mount and dismount the tires... that's why I figure it'd be more economical to get a set of steelies.I read it in aother thread that I might even be able to use the ones from Corolla's ( 2002 and on ? )...Would you recommend getting rims from salvage yards?Thank you

[vibe-04]

I have bought rims from a yards before and have regreted it. My 87 Bronco II needed rims cause of my, ahem, winter pastime of massive slides with rear wheel drive truck. I've never saved that much money. Problems include badly rusted lip seals which can be ground down but more cost, bent or dished which can cause difficulty balancing. More often than not they all ended up to with slow leaks, pain.Unless you have access to clean southern accident free rims, don't risk it. You could try Ebay or Tirerack.com but be careful of shipping or duty charges. (Your in Canada, right?)As for your other question, I "believe" they are the same but somone else on Gen Vibe can probably quote you the offset faster than I can can do a search.Cheersp.s.. I have since matured and no longer drive like Bo Duke

[huy397]

All right, thanks for the input guys.I will report back once I have decided on something

[northvibe]

not to hijack the thread,but i have the eagle tires and winter is of course upon me in duluth, MN. my friend has these same ones on his cavy and said they werent to bad for winter. has anyone drove with the eagles on in the winter? im rotaing my tires so the more treaded ones are inthe front but im just wondering.

[huy397]

I have decided to get the steel rims from the local Wal-mart...16" rims are $60 a piece mounting is $5/tirebalancing is $10.50/tireHere's the question, I don't remember having to balance the tires when I simply swapped out the stock tires using the stock alloys.Is it because of the new rims I am putting on the car that I need to get the balancing done?Thank you.--------------------------------I normally go through a couple of weeks of snow without my Blizzaks on ( for no real good reason ) and I managed just fine. The Eagles RSA's are OK tires, I actually found them better in snow than water. As long as your city is quite diligent in cleaning off the streets and you don't travel long distances in town, you might be ok to get by with the stock all seaons.... just drive very very very carefully.Of course, snow tires are still the best way to go... they will last a long time.

[Cougar Vibe]

Tire Rack: 16" Toyota OEM steel wheels = $40/per including lugnuts. I just got my Dunlop M3's ($440) on those wheels ($160). They arrived mounted & balanced (free) and as I mentioned earlier, lugs were free too. All I've got left to do is send in the rebate coupon ($50)...C.T.

[Jahntassa]

The balancing is for the tire/rim combo. Anytime you get new tires on wheels you should get them balanced. Putting them on the car doesn't matter.So when you switch out wheels during the winter you don't need to get them balanced, but anytime you put new rubber on a rim, they need to be balanced.

[vibe-04]

Quote, originally posted by Cougar Vibe »Tire Rack: 16" Toyota OEM steel wheels = $40/per including lugnuts. I just got my Dunlop M3's ($440) on those wheels ($160). They arrived mounted & balanced (free) and as I mentioned earlier, lugs were free too. All I've got left to do is send in the rebate coupon ($50)...C.T.I called Tirerack last year and we Canadians get hit with a huge import tax (depending on the tire's county or origin), higher shipping rates and a customs brokerage fees. Then mix that with an exchange rate and you'll wind up paying way more than at the dealership!I have this problem with eBay so I'm carful and lucky that many of the people I deal with mark packages as "toys" or "gifts" but four mounted tires woudn't work I think the Wal-mart prices above were CDN.Andrew

[ArcsVibe]

Try http://www.tiretrends.com they are based I believe in Vancouver, B.C That is where I purchased my wheels, great price and service. Ask for Bob the owner

[huy397]

Shows how much I know about cars.. Thanks a lot for your help and suggestions guys...Jeff

[Raven]

Hey vibe-04, you are really close to Ogdensburg, NY as am I. If you want to save a bundle on brokerage fees etc., just have stuff shipped to The UPS Store about 2 km across the border. You pay $5.00 for each package you pick up and at customs all you pay is PST and GST. As a resident of Quebec, I only pay GST.

[huy397]

I just the works done @ the local Wal-Mart today...*The 16" steelies are $54 a piece ( $60 with 10% off )*The lugs are $6 for 4, and I paid $24 for 20 lugs ( 5 packs with 20% off )*The mounting + balance was $36 for all four tires as opposed to $62.Overall, I am quite happy with the set-up and (although there is no snow at all on the ground as we speak now )Total cost $276 + tax...Thanks again for all your help on this topic.PS. Curious about the discounts? see the following thread about my day and find out all about it...http://forums.genvibe.com/zeropost?cmd=fshow&id=37

[Sputnik]

I had my snowies put on yesterday as well. I use my regular rims. Up until this year I didn't have room to have extra steelies sitting around so I just get the snowies and all seasons swapped on the same rims. Costs around $75 to get them put on.

[huy397]

Here are some picshere are the pics...yes, I know I the tires look disgusting but I just washed Frosty on Wednesday.