jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I brought that leaky tire I posted about yesterday to the local guy, and he put it into a tub of water. There was a tiny slit in the sidewall, near the tread. It would seal itself under some conditions, and let air escape under others. Mystery solved.

I ordered a new tire from Tire Rack, and it's being delivered today - FedEx. The tread on the current Michelin X-Ice tires is good, so it will be a good match.

Then I had to decide what to do about the Blizzaks on the rusty wheels. I wound up ordering four new Blizzaks mounted on alloy wheels. I figured the time and effort involved in removing the rust from four wheels wasn't worth it. The alloy wheels won't rust. They're arriving today, too - UPS. I could have driven there and saved $90, but it would have been a five-hour round trip. They allow $120 per wheel and $10 per tire for pick-ups. I could have had the old Blizzaks installed on the new alloy wheels, but that would be another expense, and the tires aren't new. I'll put the new wheels and tires on my son's car.

Those $50 steel wheels I got from Amazon - they sent the wrong wheels - five bolt holes. I'm hoping UPS picks them up today. The cost of steel wheels for the Fit isn't much less than the cost of the alloy wheels.

One thing I hate about the alloy wheels is the recessed holes for the lug nuts. Working from ground level, it's very difficult to match the hole with the bolt. Another thing - these aftermarket alloy wheels all come with unusual lug nuts that need a special socket. The hole in the wheel isn't large enough for a regular lug nut or wrench.

Country Boy Loc: Beckley, WV

I took my mothers car to SAMS Club for new tires. Her alloy wheels were rough and I was not sure if they were worth saving but they ran something around them to smooth the to some degree then coated them with a rubber coating to make sure they stayed smooth. This was 5 years ago, I would guess they still do the same and if I remember correctly, there was no charge for it.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That's a good idea.

Mr. SONY Loc: LI, NY

The alloy wheels won't rust.

OH yea!
We have a SABLE with aluminum wheels, and we started having a problem with the tires losing air.
Traced it to what is called rim rot.
A small amount of oxidation builds up where the tire meets the rim.
Turns out it is a problem for aluminum rims as they age.
Doesn't matter the manufacturer.
I thought we were going to have to replace our otherwise undamaged rims for this problem.
Went to a local tire store and they were very familiar with this problem and how to fix it.
A little over $100 to have all four rim beads lightly sanded and a coating put on them.
Problem solved.
Now for those POS low air pressure sensors.
That's another store.

Sirsnapalot Loc: Hammond, Louisiana

While driving more in the colder months may be convenient, it can also accelerate corrosion. Road salt, in particular, can be highly corrosive to alloy wheels. Whenever possible, avoid driving on roads covered with grit or wash your wheels thoroughly after driving through salted areas.

Mr. SONY Loc: LI, NY

Yep, sure did.
I had to look close at the rims in the area where the rubber meets the aluminum to see what looked like little bumps.
Nothing that looked like it would cause a problem for a tire already mounted and working for some time.
Never had this problem with my older MB cars.
1976 280E and a 1988 300E, most likely because those rims were forged not cast.

ecblackiii Loc: Maryland

I suspect that Amazon set you the exact wheels that you ordered. When one orders parts for automobiles, one should always read the detailed description to see if they fit your particular vehicle.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

The page said that they would fit my Fit. They have a little window appear top, right. It indicates whether or not the item will fit my car. This had a green check mark. UPS will pick them up and return them - maybe today.

I'm getting five tires and four wheels delivered today from orders I placed yesterday. I'm still trying to decide what to do about my current Blizzaks on rusty wheels. It's $351 for new steel wheels and $438 for alloys. Or, I could try to clean and paint what I have.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

They will corrode!!! isn't rust corrosion?
All the alloy wheels I have removed with take a standard walled socket not an impact socket, The first thing I do when getting a new (er) car is add a 24" breaker bar with the proper sized socket to the tool kit.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

How rusty are they light or scaly ? if light have them media blasted and repaint.
I'm needing a new spare wheel for my explorer and a new steel is twice the cost of a used alloy. but I don't know if the alloy will fit my tire carrier.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

All the alloy wheels sold by Tire Rack need special lug nuts. They are smaller in diameter, almost round, with maybe a dozen grooves cut into them. Those grooves match up with the socket they give you. The tires/wheels arrived a few minutes ago. I'll check.

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Excellent! They're regular wheels with regular lug nuts! Some of their wheels have eight mounting holes so they'll fit different cars. That makes it more difficult to mount them because I have to use the correct holes. The wheels and tires are beautiful, and I hate to give them to my son, but he does more driving than I do.

I'll take a picture of those odd lug nuts one of these days.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

They have been doing that for years
Universal wheels No way in hell I would mess with stuff like that. O.E.M of an exact fit!!! only they did that with alloy wheels back in the 60/70's only they slotted the hole and used a reversible washer to make them work.I took them off my 340 78 Duster and replaced them with exotic fit.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Honda no longer offers the original wheel. I can buy a black one discounted for $253 plus tax. I don't think so.

agillot

The past few tires set i bought , i used Walmart on line , best prices , plus free delivery at your house , or the local store . Since i can mount and balance tires at home , i get them at home .

Lucasdv123

I got aluminum Wheels for my boy's car.the socket has 10 grooves and is skinny..we had to replaced the brakes so we tried to take the wheels off.we broken the socket.we called Discount Tire and went by and they gave us another 2 sockets.We used the next one and cracked it.the Crack was about 3/8 inch long from the tip of the socket so before we cracked the last one I got an idea to cut of the cracked part with my grinder just past the crack.the socket was just long enough to reach the nut.we were able to slowly loosen the nut using a cheater bar.the guys at discount tire alway check manually with a torque wrench to make sure that the nuts are tight enough. The problem with these idiots is that they torque the nuts with an impact wrench that tightens them up with about 250 pounds of torque and when checking them to about 150 pounds of torque, ofcourse it's going to pass the test.what a bunch of idiots.corperate need to train them well.