Good Winter Rims--May Have Bought the Wrong Ones

[98GSX-WI]

It seems like it doesn't matter how much I read up on and research these things...some kind of problem always arises...

I have some 18" chrome rims with fuzion tires for summer. I got caught in one snow last year with them...and it was like driving on skies. I have been switching to the stock tires and rims for winter...but don't like the look and they are too small for my taste.

So I just bought some new Pirelli Ultra High Performance PZero All Season tires (235/40/18) and went with the Excel TZ-10 Hyper Black rims (18" x 7.5). I figured that these would be great for winter instead of the chrome rims and performance tires...and some guy tells me that the hyper black color looks great...but that they pit even worst than chrome when exposed to salt!

Does anyone know if this is true--and if so--is there anything that can be sprayed on them to protect them from the salt in the winter? THXs.

 

[IMMORTALSPYDER]

Well I can't answer your question fully, but powdercoating them would make the finish very durable.

 

[Rx3]

I agree about powdercoating, and I can give you a good example, seeing as I live in Buffalo, N.Y. where Santa moved his workshop to



I powdercoated my stock wheels and put Blizzaks on them. After 4 years and for Buffalo winters (salt anyone?), they still are in excellent condition:

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and here they are on the car:

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On your wheel choice, I can't comment about the color, but I can about the size. 18s are not a good choice for winter use, handling wise. Unless you have some kind of brake kit that you need 18s for clearance, I would strongly suggest going back to 17s, or even 16s. You can easily find a set of stock wheels for cheap, clean them up and powder coat them. They will look good, and they will withstand the winter a lot better than these other
aftermarket wheels you are looking at.

While the stock GSX wheels left a lot to be desired, there size and skinny width make them an excellent choice for winter use.

 

[98GSX-WI]

Since I already have the new 18" rims and all-season tires on the car...I guess that I'll just keep them on for this winter. When the rims get chipped, pitted, and start looking bad, I guess that at that point I will look into getting them powder coated.

(I assume that they can sandblast the rims and take care of any imperfections before they powdercoat them...)

Thanks for the replies.