Rims safe for winter??

well i just got rims Konig 187 18" and yokohome protos 215/35 tires and just the other day one of my friend was saying that the rims are not safe for winter b/c if the salt from the snow get's on em they will f up...is that true?? and he said the tires that i have are only for racing tires they are not good for winter or rain b/c they're only racing tires and they grip onto road good but only if it's not wet......he drives a Jetta and he said he's taking his off for winter too....so wat do i need to do should i take my rims off for winter or is it safe to leave em on???i'm not 100% sure if he's right but it makes sense.....

i would take them off for winter most cars in my area take all of our parts off for winter. i took my carbon fiber hood off. my friend took his rims and tail lights off already. take the rims off just to be safe. and your tires unless they are drag radials or slicks they are not true racing tires.

If salt is used to de-ice the roads you drive on and if you have alloy wheels, the salt can corrode your rims. This can cause them to look nasty and damages your rims. The corrosion can also cause your tires to lose air too because they don't seal properly against the rims. Your biggest concern should be safety though. A low profile tire, esp V or Z rated tires, don't fare well in snowy or icey conditions. Although they may be 'all season' tires they are not designed for snow or ice. If you still have your stock rims and tires put those on for the winter. Also, a narrower tire gets better traction in the snow. A wider tire tends to sit on top of the snow, whereas a narrower tire will cut through the snow better. Inexpensive steel rims (the ones that you put wheel covers on) are the best for snow tires. They won't corrode and leak like alloy rims. And the absolute best would be to get snow tires all around, even putting two up front would give you much better grip. I live in Minnesota, and have sold tires, so I have some expereince with this stuff. Any more questions, just ask. I hope this was helpful.

L8er,
M
:bloated:

Originally posted by MattyO217
If salt is used to de-ice the roads you drive on and if you have alloy wheels, the salt can corrode your rims. This can cause them to look nasty and damages your rims. The corrosion can also cause your tires to lose air too because they don't seal properly against the rims. Your biggest concern should be safety though. A low profile tire, esp V or Z rated tires, don't fare well in snowy or icey conditions. Although they may be 'all season' tires they are not designed for snow or ice. If you still have your stock rims and tires put those on for the winter. Also, a narrower tire gets better traction in the snow. A wider tire tends to sit on top of the snow, whereas a narrower tire will cut through the snow better. Inexpensive steel rims (the ones that you put wheel covers on) are the best for snow tires. They won't corrode and leak like alloy rims. And the absolute best would be to get snow tires all around, even putting two up front would give you much better grip. I live in Minnesota, and have sold tires, so I have some expereince with this stuff. Any more questions, just ask. I hope this was helpful.

L8er,
M
:bloated:




THANKS ALOT MAN IT HELPS!!

High performance tires will not grip all that well in the snow. That's why you should have a second set of rims and tires with snow tires on them. I can't believe most people don't know this.

I see that most of you guys live in Pennsylvania and Ohio. What about states like Tennessee. We usually don't get but one snow a year and if it is snowy I usually don't have to go out in it. Our winters are very short, it may be cold but not near freezing. I think they only salt our roads for a few months (December,January,February). What should I do? I am about to purchase new wheels and need to know if there is a point to doing it before March of next year.
Thanks

Dinzdale40,

I'm in Madison, TN - don't worry about the salt here. They only salt when it snows, once, maybe twice a winter...