'03 Basic 16" looking for cheap new rims

[MisterHighway]

I love and have a 2003 Vibe, Basic, FWD, and she just turned 185,000 the other day. I have the original rims with the annoying plastic hubcaps. Looking at these plastic hubcaps who have been cracking and starting to fall apart, I decided to get new covers. I have found the hubcap covers to be approximately 30-50 per cover USD. I am going to be putting a new set of tires on the car and don't want to spend the extra cash to put the new tires on the old rims, then buy new rims, then have to pay for changing the tires yet again. I believe I am dealing with 255/55/R16's here. Nothing special. Though I love my vibe, it is a hard driven and daily used vehicle and I don't have the $$ that I would like to spend on it all the time. Basically, I'm looking for this:16" wheels preferably black than alloy or chrome. I have the Abyss (with the Abyss-mal cladding, though after 7 years of Michigan winters I'm glad I don't have the rusting problems other drivers do with metal kick panels)I have been looking around and did find some okay ones for $62/wheel at jegs.com but haven't found out about shipping yet. I just wondered if anyone knew of a place that sells wheels that are more for function than performance and showpieces.What I found:http://www.jegs.com/i/Cragar/260/365-7712/10002/-1Also, the bolt pattern and offset - What do I need? I'm not really experienced when it comes to tires.Any help is greatly appreciated!-Justin[MisterHighway]

[Zimm]

tip for a fellow Michigander-check out Belle Tire. They have a bunch of options, and some good cheap ones. i've been looking for options myself and they're a pretty good source. not sure if this link will work for getting right to the results, but here we go:http://www.belletire.com/WheelResults.aspxpersonally, i like the Pulse Wheels Drifter for $71 perif you're really into black, check the Raceline Style 126 (black w/ chrome outer rim) for $84 per

[vibolista]

Vibe 03-08 bolt pattern is 5X100. Offset should be between 35 and 45 mm. The optional 17 inch Pontiac alloy had a 45mm offset. The 16 steelies and alloys were 39mm offset. The zero offset wheels on the jegs dot com site would stick outside of the fender a bit.255/55 16 tire would also be pretty wide. Original tires on your Vibe were 205/55 16s. You could safely go to a 215/55 16 to make them look beefier or even 225s... but wider might get you some interference problems. Tirerack.com should have some fairly inexpensive alloys that, if not black can be easily painted black. Those steelies on jegs will eventually rust. A few extra bucks and you have a nice set alloys that don't rust.

[bikeman1]

Seems like you have a number of options in wheels -- here's a couple of others you might consider.First option -- go naked! pull the plastic covers and get a good (but inexpensive - about $20) set of chrome lug nuts to replace the concentric ones (which are brass and tend to react with salt badly, don't use those). Chrome nuts on a black (or whatever) finish are not unattractive. There are also colored alloy lug nuts for a few more bucks if you want to accent the body color. I use my steelies bare with chrome nuts in the winter and I think they look great. Have been thinking of detailing the wheel color.Second option - I have a set of plastic covers off my wife's Vibe (2007) that are in perfect shape. I think they will fit your wheels. PM me if you are interested in picking these up at a reasonable cost, help me clean up the garage.Either way, with the time on your vibe, it may be time to paint your steelies if you want to keep them. As you know in MICH, the salt really does a number on the paint and (if not correc ted) the steel. You can do this yourself if you want to save some bucks. Don't forget to prep (sand/coarse steel wool) the surface and use a metal spray primer first. I'm not an expert on paints but I would look for an oil spray gloss enamel for metal, and do it in two coats. I'm thinking I should do mine every 5 years or so to prevent corrosion.So there's a few more options to muddy your waters. Let me know if you are interested in the covers -- I am going to put them up for sale soon anywayBM1

[MisterHighway]

I appreciate all the input. Unfortunately I don't know that my current rims that are on the car are up to getting a repaint. They are getting a bit rusty. Still a lot of integrity, but not really sure how I should tackle removing the buildup of dust and rust, then painting. Though I wouldn't mind the look of the plain w/ chrome lugs if I could do the project successfully and have it look decent enough. I'm sort of loath to go with plastic hubs again just because of the ice/snow/dirt roads out here they like to crack and fiddle around. Though I could take some pictures and post what the current steelies look like probably tomorrow. My internet has been flaky these last few days.I already have a set of tires so just the rims are what I need. I will check out those offered at BelleTire, I think I get a discount via my AAA from there as well Thanks for all the help and if you have anything more to add, I'm all ears.[MisterHighway]

[MisterHighway]

@ Zimm - I found the wheels you were talking about.http://www.racelinewheels.com/....aspxThey are on Belle Tires for $84.00 just like you said. What does everyone think? I like the black just because I do drive a lot of dirty roads and alloy/chrome seems to take a lot of work. I've had them before as well as black and black just seemed to clean up easier.[MisterHighway]

[vibolista]

Quote, originally posted by MisterHighway »I appreciate all the input. Unfortunately I don't know that my current rims that are on the car are up to getting a repaint. They are getting a bit rusty. Still a lot of integrity, but not really sure how I should tackle removing the buildup of dust and rust, then painting. Though I wouldn't mind the look of the plain w/ chrome lugs if I could do the project successfully and have it look decent enough. I'm sort of loath to go with plastic hubs again just because of the ice/snow/dirt roads out here they like to crack and fiddle around. I already have a set of tires so just the rims are what I need. I will check out those offered at BelleTire, I think I get a discount via my AAA from there as well Thanks for all the help and if you have anything more to add, I'm all ears.[MisterHighway]First wash the wheels really well. Scrub and scrub some more, then let dry. Metal brush to knock the lose rust off the wheel. Then sand the wheel down smooth. Do that on both sides of the wheel. Clean the wheels off and make sure there is no more dust on them. Get some rusty metal primer and spray each one, using light coats. Apply susequent coats of primer as directions on the can allow. Then top coat with semigloss black. A few very light coats, don't get impatient. Let them dry well... and you should end up with near new looking steelies in about 3 hours. I did this for my son's very rusty steelies, They have been on the car all Winter and no rust!!!!!! There are good looking plastic hub caps out there... and they hold up very well as long as they don't get curbed. But really good looking ones are tough to find. Good luck!

[Zimm]

Quote, originally posted by MisterHighway »@ Zimm - I found the wheels you were talking about.http://www.racelinewheels.com/....aspxThey are on Belle Tires for $84.00 just like you said. What does everyone think? I like the black just because I do drive a lot of dirty roads and alloy/chrome seems to take a lot of work. I've had them before as well as black and black just seemed to clean up easier.[MisterHighway]if you're into black, i thought those were a good looking set-especially that chrome/polished ring around the outside. maybe your local store has one on display? one thing i know that that all blacks are not the same "black" and would warrant a look to see how it would look on your car. imo, the vibe looks best with simple wheels, without a ton of spokes and oddball shapes (since the car is already kinda odd looking...). this seems to fit the bill. simple shapes and minimal spokes means easy cleaning too.i've never bought aftermarket wheels, so i have no idea if there are any additional costs for mounting, etc. if you're putting tires on at the same time, i don't think there would be any extra charge. heck, they might even give you sort of big spender discount! well, maybe not... but i've bought plenty of tires at Belle Tire and have always been happy. They're always willing to get prices down to what i've seen on Tirerack.com, or at least in the neighborhood, without all the shipping hassles.

[bikeman1]

Good instructions Vibo. Do you recall what brand of paint you used? Was it acrylic or oil? Does the topcoat have to be a metal paint, or just the primer? I suppose I should check on DIY.com for details. But it seems to me in salty conditions repainting is going to be an every three year proposition if you want to keep the wheels looking good (and not rusting off...). But the wheels are off every summer anyway, and if you get it before the rust starts in, it should not be much work. The paint probably dulled the same with wheel covers, but the dulling of the paint is more noticeable once you go bare.Hey I should have taken some photos of the black steelies with chrome nuts huh! With fresh paint they would look super.One question vibo - why a semi-gloss black rather than gloss?? Is it harder to get the paint right (easier to get runs) or just preference?Keep at it Mister H[QUOTE=vibolista]First wash the wheels really well. Scrub and scrub some more, then let dry. Metal brush to knock the lose rust off the wheel. Then sand the wheel down smooth. Do that on both sides of the wheel. Clean the wheels off and make sure there is no more dust on them. Get some rusty metal primer and spray each one, using light coats. Apply susequent coats of primer as directions on the can allow. Then top coat with semigloss black. A few very light coats, don't get impatient. Let them dry well... and you should end up with near new looking steelies in about 3 hours. I did this for my son's very rusty steelies, They have been on the car all Winter and no rust!!!!!!

[MisterHighway]

Semi-Gloss - maybe the semi-gloss versus the brighter gloss because of the fact that the more mirror like and shiny it is, the more it will show imperfections and mistakes? Also, I don't have "winter tires" and "summer tires". Like I said, I drive the heck out of this car year round. I buy all season tires and spend a decent penny on them.@ Zimm - I liked the minimalistic look of these and they think they would look sharp against my Abyss color. Though Abyss is not really black and I would imagine this would make the wheels darker and stand out a bit, I don't know if that would be a bad thing. Like I said above as well I have the rubbermaid cladding so my color scheme will get broken up anyways. On a bit of an offshoot to all who are following the progress - Has anyone else had their gas tank doors break off? I'm going to search GV after I post this, but my Mother and I both had the same exact vibe and completely different driving styles and both our doors ground on the body @ the hinge until the hinge itself broke. Asking the dealership (and looking on here, though this was several years ago) I found this not to be a warranty covered item and when my Mother turned in her lease (I bought mine instead of leasing) they charged her $275 for a new door, painting, and hinge replacement even though she still had the door, unmarred except for the needed hinge replacement!Thanks for all your help, its been raining something fierce the last few days so a pic has been kind of a pain. I was under my car yesterday morning to change my oil and did see my steelies (at least my fronts) to have a few minor to decent size dents on the inside of the rim (where tire meets rim, not the inside wall) I would hate to have to take my tires off, have the tires removed from the steelies, repaint them, take the wheels and (new) tires I have and have them put back on the rims and balanced, then take them home just to find rim leaks or something of that nature. Would you guys guess it is worth the risk? Another issue I'll have is I don't know where I'd have space inside to paint them or let them dry. We're in the process of moving and the garage is now storage until our other house sells. Well I guess if I was careful and put down plastic, I could paint in our old garage.....hmm.I'm rambling, but I'll keep at it![MisterHighway]

[Kincaid]

I painted my steelies and ran for a short while with just gloss black wheels and chrome lug nuts. It did look great and kind of made me wish I hadn't spent $100 a wheel for the Konigs that replaced them.Gloss looked just fine - they looked brand new and they were 10 years old at the time. One of the four wheels did come from a junk yard (curb damage from winter necessitated the whole process) and it had something on it that did make the paint orange peel. So, I do recommend the wire brush/cleaning process before painting.Anyway, doing that buys you a lot of time to shop. For the 5x100 wheels, I always recommend going with the Scion 12-spoke factory wheels (six split spokes). If you are patient, you can pick them up off of craigslist for $100-150 for a set of four.Here's a set locally in my area for $300, but I've seen them for $100 two different times. You could paint them black, though I like the silver look.http://portland.craigslist.org....htmlI also have to give a to those wheels from Bell tire. Look nice. I like the chrome lip on black spokes.

[MisterHighway]

Well I got my new wheels a couple months ago and it's been hectic in my neck of the woods but now I'm tagging back!First off, I'd like to thank all you fellow viber's out there giving me tips and tricks to what I could do, what would work, what wouldn't and other information. You guys really make this whole thing work and I appreciate all your help and information. The wheels I picked were suggested by another user (Zimm, mucho gracias partner) and they are the 16x7 Raceline 126 Mirror Black. I picked them up for about 83 bux apiece at Belle Tire and paid something like 425 out the door with a new set of tuner lugs and disposal and all that happy crappy. I love them. I'm hard on my car and do a lot of dirt road and poor road driving (welcome to Michigan) and they have held up beautifully as well as being aesthetically pleasing even though I don't get to the wash for my baby as much as I'd like. Here they are:The application pics can be seen at http://s80.photobucket.com/alb...Black/Again, I really appreciate the help and the ideas you all have given me. I will be using the advice posted earlier about how to paint my steelies and painting my calipers and drums. I will be searching the all powerful GV for more information!Again, Thanks!-Justin[MisterHighway]P.S. - I just rolled 187,000 on my baby the other day and she's still running strong! I'm going to be putting on the 3rd set of brakes on tomorrow that she's needed (1st was original brakes). My rotors are still good from the last time I did brakes and rotors (about 94,000 miles) so I'll probably leave them.

[MisterHighway]

And P.P.S. - I haven't ignored my brakes! I check them with my caliper (and my good sense my momma gave me) regularly. They are just starting to get to the "squeak" point and my rotors are good! I'm not mistreating her, I swear!

[cptnsolo77]

those are great looking wheels for under 100 bucks!

[Kincaid]

Love those wheels! Can't see it on your photobucket account, tho.

[MisterHighway]

Photobucket album made public now! Haven't had a chance to take some really good pics with my actual camera, these are just from my phone. Like I said, I'll be painting my drum and my calipers soon. Probably a semi-gloss black.

[Kincaid]

Those look nice. Maybe should lower it now.

[Zimm]

looks great!