Snow Tires and RIMS... pretty difficult... really!

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SumpChump

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DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO GET A WINTER SET OF RIMS AND TIRES! Any trustworthy names for rims especially?

Somehow it has actually been difficult to source acceptable quality basic rims and snow tires for my 2013 Camry SE with the 17 inch wheels. 225-55 R17.

I looked on Discount Tire and the Tires part is the easy part to find...
Michelin X-Ice Xi3 $134
General Altimax Arctic $103

now I know both will likely be noisy and after two winter... probably unbearably noisy. The Michelin seems preferred.
Wife has something stuck in her head that after 30 years of driving on all season tires in Wisconsin , that she suddenly must have snow tires. Part of me wants to get the cheapest loudest ones to teacher her a lesson... alas I digress since I will probably hear enough complaints about how the car is loud and wanders with even the most expensive snow tire brand.

SO the tough part is getting the RIMS. I found some steelies on Discount but they are of unknown quality and work with almost no wheel covers. Then there are some cheapo alloys (the must disliked MB line). As far as OEM take offs, all I can find are so called "refurbished" on ebay, again totally unknown quality. I don't live in L.A. so dealer takeoffs and tuner shops are nonexistent.

In the end... I don't need $800 of rims just to have a snow tire setup.
 
DTD steel wheels are lugcentric and not nearly as good as tirerack.

You seem like a pretty miserable person if you need to "teach your wife a lesson"

I'd go with blizzak ws-80, michelin xice xi3, yokohama ig-52c or other name brand winter tire.

This isnt that hard. goto www.tirerack.com buy the steel wheel combo.

No need to keep 17" size if 16" fit

For example in aprox 32seconds I went to tirerack.com
selected your vehicle and winter tire package and boom done.

16x6.5 steel wheels and yokohama ig52c tires. 591$
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
DTD steel wheels are lugcentric and not nearly as good as tirerack.

You seem like a pretty miserable person if you need to "teach your wife a lesson"

I'd go with blizzak ws-80, michelin xice xi3, yokohama ig-52c or other name brand winter tire.

This isnt that hard. goto www.tirerack.com buy the steel wheel combo.

No need to keep 17" size if 15" or 16" fit


Don't I have to yield to the exorbitant fee at the dealer for a TPMS reprogram then?
 
Neither tire that you mentioned will be very noisy! My daughter actually has the AltiMAX Arctic(4 winters/going on 5th winter coming) on her '06 Mazda 3(no sound insulation). And the Arctic are very quiet for the most part. The Arctic are on TireRack steelies as a package. Quality is good!
The Michelin Xi3 should be equally quiet.
 
You want to teach her a lesson because she wants to have a safe car?

Wow.

And neither of those tires is going to be noisey. I'm willing to bet they'll be quieter than your "superior" all seasons
 
I'd keep looking for OEM take-offs. Do some research for other models that have the same bolt pattern, bore diameter and offset and find a set on Craigslist. Also, take a look at 16" wheels, tires will be cheaper too. Of course, verify that it will fit over your brakes (a quick google shows that other trim levels had 16" wheels, so I'd bet you're good to go). OEM wheels have a nice way of looking somewhat stock as well.

For example here's a set of brand new alloy wheels for an 2016 Camry for $595.

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/wto/5762766159.html

That post also implies that you can look for Avalon, Sienna, RAV4, Highlander wheels too.

Here's a set of 17" wheels from a 2013 Highlander for $300. https://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/pts/5794266657.html

http://www.wheel-size.com/size/toyota/camry/2013/
http://www.wheel-size.com/size/toyota/highlander/2013/

Looks like it is a 7.5" wide wheel, which would work on the camry, but wider isn't really what you want for snow tires.

Good luck!



Edit: Wow, lots of replies while I was typing that up!
 
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I've been using these since 2008 without any issues. 17"x7" in the dreaded MB series...
wink.gif
??? The wheels with lug nuts were only $300 shipped to my door. Quality seems fine.

P1010004.jpg
 
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Originally Posted By: Miller88
You want to teach her a lesson because she wants to have a safe car?

Wow.

And neither of those tires is going to be noisey. I'm willing to bet they'll be quieter than your "superior" all seasons


Oh just a lesson with the noise issue, certainly not safety. But don't worry , that was just "big talk", I'll wimp out anyways and buy the top $$$ of the line snow tires and they will be noisier and turn less sharply than her Pirellis and I'll hear complaints about it anyways LOL. She'll claim I bought garbage and that she never remembers snow tires on her first cars a 1975 LeSabre ever putting off any noise or cornering less responsively.

THIRTY years on all seasons and she now needs snow tires. LOL Almost as insane as those online oyster shucking sessions they are doing on Facebook live now.
 
Oh gotcha. She will complain about the noise. I misunderstood that one completely.

I don't know your location, but I wouldn't run the X-Ice if you get more snow than ice. The Altimax Arctic will be good. And they are quite quiet.

I run junkyard wheels ... OE quality. But after 16 years they leak and by February I'm breaking down at least one or two.
 
Just scored a set of OEM steelies with with snows no less on CL. Gotta be willing to keep an eye on CL and willing to run out to get 'em when the show up. I'd go that route. If you really must "teach her a lesson" then put on ugly steel rims, sans hubcaps.

Will 16" fit? I'd go with taller and more narrow. Might make the tires cheaper too.

Apart from that, I'd skip the TPMS sensors and run without. It isn't required for state inspection here (plus you can always put on the a/s if the inspector wants to throw a fit).

Depending upon how much she drives, I'd view it as just the price of rims--cost/mile may be similar to a/s, hopefully not 2x.
 
90% of people here just buy steelies, either new or from the wreckers. If you are buying local you can still get them to fix or replace the odd one that isn't round. My tip with new cheap steelies is to prime and paint them again with some rust paint and they almost stay rust free as long as OEM steel wheels.
 
Originally Posted By: supton


Apart from that, I'd skip the TPMS sensors and run without. It isn't required for state inspection here (plus you can always put on the a/s if the inspector wants to throw a fit).


Problem is that the TPMS light will be illuminated and the system won't activate the same and if there is a crash and data is looked at.... we didn't have the car in "proper" condition aka "modified".
 
I tend to go through cars quickly and have been lucky? enough to find a set of snow tires and rims on Craigslist for under $300 for each of my past vehicles. For the couple sets I did buy new I just used Steel wheels from Tire Rack with no covers. No need for the TPMS sensors, a black piece of electrical tape will cover the light. Anyone that tries to argue the car wasn't in proper condition in an accident would have no chance of actually getting anything out of it. Check your tire pressures manually and keep a log if you are that worried about it.
 
Originally Posted By: 09_GXP
I tend to go through cars quickly and have been lucky? enough to find a set of snow tires and rims on Craigslist for under $300 for each of my past vehicles. For the couple sets I did buy new I just used Steel wheels from Tire Rack with no covers. No need for the TPMS sensors, a black piece of electrical tape will cover the light. Anyone that tries to argue the car wasn't in proper condition in an accident would have no chance of actually getting anything out of it. Check your tire pressures manually and keep a log if you are that worried about it.


But I believed that the tire pressure data was a factor in the computer somehow for it's calculations in skids etc and without that data it goes into a less preferred default program. Perhaps I misunderstood.

Also in an accident I would suppose that they could claim that your "tires all reading 0psi data" were to blame or at least a percentage "at fault" contributing factor.

I hate TPMS.
 
Originally Posted By: SumpChump
Originally Posted By: supton


Apart from that, I'd skip the TPMS sensors and run without. It isn't required for state inspection here (plus you can always put on the a/s if the inspector wants to throw a fit).


Problem is that the TPMS light will be illuminated and the system won't activate the same and if there is a crash and data is looked at.... we didn't have the car in "proper" condition aka "modified".
What are you talking about? A TPMS light being on isn't going to make you get into an accident. No one would even know. My car doesn't have TPMS.

Just choose wheels and tires for an LE Camry, you don't have monster sized brakes that won't clear 16" wheels.

And what's wrong with aftermarket cheap wheels? I've never heard of a wheel breaking off. Who cares.

And you want hubcaps on in the winter? Why? So they can get packed full of snow?

With an SE Camry why would it have hubcaps anyways?
 
Originally Posted By: SumpChump
Don't I have to yield to the exorbitant fee at the dealer for a TPMS reprogram then?

I think a tire shop can also code your new TPMS. It does not have to be a Toyota dealer.

Call and ask.

And yeah, step down to 16" rims/tires - that'll save you some money.

BTW, Altimax Arctic isn't particularly noisy, in my experience.
 
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