Steel rims ; How good are ...

[odie]

the Dorman and The Wheel Source steel wheels ? The Wheel Source are available at Tirerack and Dorman through Autozone , Amazon , Rockauto and others . These would be used from early spring to late fall . Plan to leave the winter tires on the original rims .

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted by odie
the Dorman and The Wheel Source steel wheels ? The Wheel Source are available at Tirerack and Dorman through Autozone , Amazon , Rockauto and others . These would be used from early spring to late fall . Would leave the wnter tires on the original rims .

Years ago I bought some cheap steelies and I think they were generally round and true, but the paint was pathetic, like rusting alot in the first winter and it was a PITA to get off the rust and repaint with the tires on... Never again for me, for the same price or less you can get some older factory alloy rims from a private seller. I got a set of 17" 5 spoke Mazda3 alloy wheels for the Outback that look decent and won't rust for $200.
wheel-size.com is good to find which factory wheels fit.
Factory steel wheels are even cheaper of course and the paint on them is far better as well.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I think Dorman is an OE vendor.

No experience with Wheel Source.

 

[Imp4]

$11.60 for a steel rim at Pull-a-part.
And it's easy to get OEM.

 

[Mr Nice]

^^^^

Yep. Just spray them with Rustoleum if they have some rust.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted by Imp4
$11.60 for a steel rim at Pull-a-part.
And it's easy to get OEM.


Depends on the place.

The ones local to me wanted $30/ea for steelies 25yrs ago.

 

[Padawan]

The two sets of steel wheels I purchased from Tire Rack have held up extremely well. I've been using one set for 5+ years now (including winters here in NJ) and there is no abnormal rusting, peeling of the finish, or other issues.

 

[JimPghPA]

If ^ Padawan found some that have a good paint job you probably should go with them.

I bought a second set of all 4 steel rims for winter tires for two vehicles we had in the past and based on previous experiences I used Rustoleum semi gloss black in spray cans to spray them before the first use, and after that every time I took them off the vehicle I took them to a local self service car wash and blasted off all the salt from the winter, gave them a day or two to dry, and then sprayed them again with the Rustoleum. Kinda a PITA maintenance routine but it kept them from rusting, which I had seen happen with vehicles before this.

So Padawan might have a good idea if the ones from Tire Rack have paint that holds up over 5+ years.

 

[andyd]

I bought a set at Town Fair Tire when I bought snow tires for my wife's Camry 3yrs ago. I should check 'em for rust when they take 'em off to put the summer tires on.

 

[Kira]

Truly, steel wheels are neglected by most. They need to be cleaned and freshened.

With today's power washers, rust converters and paints you really have no excuse. This goes double for removed snows.

I just swapped my snows off and cleaned the wheels 4-5 days ago and was amazed at how filthy the rinse water was.

I don't know about Wheel Source but I have yet to be stung by the alleged lack of quality in Dorman parts.

 

[odie]

Padawan , do the original wheel covers fit the rims from Tirerack ? Don't feel like hunting down a lost wheel cover off the side of a interstate , etc.

. Thanks for the input .

 

[Jarlaxle]

I would just leave the covers off in winter.

 

[odie]

The original wheel covers are on O.E.M. wheels with the winter tires . The all season tires ( liklely RT43 - H-rated ) would be the new rims with T.P.M.S.
from Tirerack . So , hopefully the O.E.M. wheel covers would stay on the new steel wheels by The Wheel Source .

 

[Cdn17Sport6MT]

In past I have used white nylon zap-straps - 2- or 3 per wheel cover - to be extra secure. Did not look objectionable. Just be sure to have a small set of side-cutters in the tool roll in your trunk.

 

[bilibako2]

Our winter tires on steel rims when new-painted it with silver color and bought wheel covers.after season washed it and store it sideway's.
it get rusted slowly.Got the brand at amazon and tire rack.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted by Jarlaxle
I think Dorman is an OE vendor.

No experience with Wheel Source.



Dorman is not OEM for anything. They are aftermarket (and mostly chinese) replacement parts. Their quality ranges from poor to above average. I am a member of their technical committee and review products. They are quickly upping their game to be a leader in quality aftermarket parts. They have a special line of parts that fix the original part failure mode like Moog has with the problem solver line.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Is any of their stuff NOT from China?