You know what someone needs to invent?

Discussion in 'General Subaru Discussion' started by TMF, Dec 10, 2012.

  1. TMF
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    TMF Well-Known Member

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    ...a friggin scraper for your wheels!

    How annoying is it, after you drive/play in deep snow, then get on the highway and your car has a death wobble from hell! Then stop, try to jam your snow scraper in your wheels to get the snow out, pull forward a few inches to clear the spot that was blocked by the caliper, and get on your way, in hopes that the wobbles are gone. (This just happened with my damn Fusion that was only stuck in a snow bank...happens to the subie all the time.)

    Sure you can spray Pam, but that doesn't last long. Then you can go all out and get wheel scrapers that attach to the hub/knuckle and are designed rally cars...but those aren't readily available.

    How nice would it be to have a narrow, curved snow scraper that fits nicely in between the spokes and curved to the conform with the wheels?

    Anyway, I digress. Anyone have any better methods for clearing out the snow?
     
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  2. svxninja
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    svxninja Well-Known Member

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    thats what she said, but that happened to me today the death wobble, especially with the roads the way they are I thought my steering all jacked up
     
  3. svxninja
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    svxninja Well-Known Member

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    I also used a long screwdriver but would like to hear peoples ideas
     
  4. thakrazymule
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    thakrazymule Active Member

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    Park in a heated garage every night. :D
     
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  5. readymix
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    readymix ...Lest ye be trod upon... Staff Member

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    I am willing to bet that the heat from your garage isn't going to do squat for you if you drive to work and accumulate snow in your wheels during your commute.
     
  6. thakrazymule
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    thakrazymule Active Member

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    Haha. I know. I was bein a smart @$$. :p
     
  7. Velislide
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    Velislide New Member

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    Pam non-stick your wheels? Haha, I dont know.
     
  8. tangledupinblu
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    tangledupinblu Event Coordinator Staff Member

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    "Play" next to a self serve car wash. Pressure washer is the quickest, safest on the surface of your wheel, and most effective way. Also, i specifically went from a 10 spoke design for my winter wheels to a 7 spoke design so that i could get my hands in between to clear snow. 5 spokes would be best tho.
     
  9. xluben
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    xluben Well-Known Member

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    My summer wheels are 5 spoke and my winter wheels are 15 spoke! :(

    [​IMG]

    I don't think a scraper would help me much with the 15 spoke. The drive through car was usually clears them out though.

    My garage isn't heated, but it's a tuck under. This morning it was close to 0F outside and it was just over freezing in my garage (35F according to my car's temp gauge).

    It's warm enough that the snow usually all melts off my car overnight (the snow in the above pictures melted off easily). Occasionally it does not melt off, but a quick run through the car was usually takes care of it.
     
  10. tangledupinblu
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    tangledupinblu Event Coordinator Staff Member

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    I thought to myself when you first posted those pics, "damn those would suck to clean the snowz out of". lol. Swap summers and winters around, profit?
     
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  11. J.Rex
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    J.Rex Well-Known Member

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    I'm thinking a heated, vibrating, stiff piece of plastic curved to fit through small spaces would work well.
     
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  12. tangledupinblu
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    tangledupinblu Event Coordinator Staff Member

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    Stop at the 'Smitten Kitten'...i believe that they have what you're looking for.
     
  13. TMF
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    TMF Well-Known Member

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    Haha I thought the same thing!

    But yea, my old rota boosts that I had would have been perfect for clearning the snow, as they had massive openings. Too bad they were my summer wheels and have since been sold (wouldn't fit the STi anyway).

    The last place I lived had a heated garage, which was very nice. Although I guess you could argue that it's almost better for the road junk/salt to stay frozen on until you can actually take it to a car wash.

    I'm thinking I might try the screwdriver idea...a really friggin wide and flat screw driver. But really, a specific scraper would be awesome. Group buy?!?
     
  14. TMF
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    TMF Well-Known Member

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    I've often thought that a plastic cake knife would be ideal...

    [​IMG]
     
  15. tangledupinblu
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    tangledupinblu Event Coordinator Staff Member

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    brass-scraper-wood-handle-2c.jpg

    Get a 3" metal hand scraper and see if you can bend/curve the blade? If you actually found something that worked, i'd go in on a group buy. lmao
     
  16. fancyfootwork15
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    fancyfootwork15 Well-Known Member

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    Daytona speed brush. Safe on wheels. Would probably work great. Maybe I will give one of mine a try.
     
  17. fancyfootwork15
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    fancyfootwork15 Well-Known Member

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  18. TMF
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    TMF Well-Known Member

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    Hmm, not a bad idea, but I'm thinking that the bristles will not be stiff enough to clear out the ice.
     
  19. tangledupinblu
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    tangledupinblu Event Coordinator Staff Member

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    Those may work with soft snow. But when it gets packed in there from shenanigans and the brakes are warm, it gets frozen and packed too tight for a brush. You basically need a mini jack hammer. lol

    I still think that the best idea is 5 spokes. ftw
     
  20. SurlyOldManMN
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    SurlyOldManMN Omdat fok jou Staff Member

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    My scraper is a perfect fit for my enkie edr-9's. Almost like it was made for it. I think it would be cool if there were an "attachment" assembly on the scraper so you could put a few different shapes/materials on it. If you did it in such a way that the attachment could be stowed on the stalk or something else equally convenient it might sell.
     
  21. TMF
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    TMF Well-Known Member

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    Yep exactly.

    What kind of scraper do you have that fits well?
     
  22. CarpalTomO
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    CarpalTomO Well-Known Member

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    This is what I do:
    Spray Pam, or WD-40, or Silicone on the inside of the rim (preferably off the car so you don't get any on the rotors) and carry a 2" Plastic Joint Knife with you. If the knife isn't long enough, pick up a 3/4" wooden dowel while you're picking up the plastic knife at Home Depot and tape it to the handle of the knife.

    I also spray the silicone on the inside of the fender wells, it helps to keep the snow from sticking in there.
     
  23. SurlyOldManMN
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    SurlyOldManMN Omdat fok jou Staff Member

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    Dunno. Some kind of gas-station special. Just happens to fit perfect such that I can get into the wheel at an angle, then rotate it to be parallel with the outside of the rim and pull out a whole chunk at once. Also wraps around the back of the wheel nicely so I can clear the wheel well (useful given my car's clearance is roughly the height of my shoe).
     
  24. SurlyOldManMN
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    SurlyOldManMN Omdat fok jou Staff Member

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    I bet a trim removal kit would be a good bet too, now that I'm looking at that knife.
     
  25. phi11
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    phi11 Well-Known Member

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    group buy on pam?
     
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  26. TMF
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    TMF Well-Known Member

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    This is genius, I like the plastic joint knife idea.
     
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  27. idget
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    idget Want to pokéman? PM ShortytheFirefighter Staff Member

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    Wanna know how I know you've never looked closely at a stage rally car?

    Hey look, it's tallDan:
    http://www.dirtyimpreza.com/forums/...01f5d99ae0af5b563dcddfa6&p=205089&postcount=4

    http://www.dirtyimpreza.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14637&highlight=scraper
     
  28. TMF
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    TMF Well-Known Member

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    Wanna know how I know that you don't read my posts thoroughly?
    Haha I'm just giving you a hard time, but I did see those. They would be awesome though. Just seems like a hassle to find/setup when I only technically need them when it snows heavily once in a blue moon.
     
  29. idget
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    idget Want to pokéman? PM ShortytheFirefighter Staff Member

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    Super easy to make.
     
  30. ShortytheFirefighter
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    ShortytheFirefighter Pokemans. I has none. Staff Member

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    If you tell them Josh sent you they'll take an extra 20% off for the referral bonus/frequent visitor discount.
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2012
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  31. ofspunk7
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    ofspunk7 Well-Known Member

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    Steelies


    end thread/


    :D
     
  32. xluben
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    xluben Well-Known Member

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    My steelies were the worst for snow/ice. It was good 95% of the time because it blocked the snow, but once it got in there it was pretty much impossible to get out. The car wash would remove the ice right at the holes in the steelies, but not between/behind them. And then they turned into solid ice chunks. Probably once a year it would get so bad that I'd go out with a hair drier and melt them! I think the only other way to get it off would have been to remove the wheels from the car and chisel them off.
     
  33. gc8
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    gc8 Well-Known Member

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    Pizza pans

    end thread/

    :D
     
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  34. ofspunk7
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    ofspunk7 Well-Known Member

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    Never had this issue. 4th winter on them, never had a snow/ice build up. IMHO, your OEM style is way worse.
     
  35. 03subyR
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    03subyR Well-Known Member

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    Stuffed wheels :(
    IMAG0387.jpg
     
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  36. xluben
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    xluben Well-Known Member

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    You seem to commonly employ this logic. If you have positive experience with something, you seem to disregard any negative experience someone else (or many people) have/has had. I've seen the same type of thought process for other items/vendors/products/etc. I feel the bad experiences (even if rare) are a lot more relevant in many cases.

    It's also not a black and white issue like you make many things out to be. Both have good and bad qualities. The multi-spoke design is a LOT more likely to get snow built up, but it is very easy to get it out (spray off with a car wash). A more closed face (like steelies) makes snow pack behind the wheel very rare, but when it does happen, it can be much more work to remove.
     
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  37. ofspunk7
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    ofspunk7 Well-Known Member

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    Funny that you took it so personal. I was just saying that I never had this issue. Also, In My Humble Opinion, an open wheel style is going to get snow packed in it a lot easier. Showing that it is simply an opinion and has nothing to do with any Science that I know about the matter, just putting together an option based on how I understand the snow packing issue. No one said it was black and white. No need to read into anything. Just saying cleaning my wheels more often seems like a worse setup. Assuming you are near a car wash at all times in the winter is pretty silly. I have never had an issue with my wheels, so I would go with what has worked for 4 winters for me. That is all.

    Need a hug today?
     
  38. TMF
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    TMF Well-Known Member

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    Yea, I'm curious to buy some of the scrapers and try them out, or attempt making some...I guess I do have time off to burn at the end of this year. Otherwise the plastic joint knife will fit the bill.

    Heck, I just hope we still get plenty of snow to play in (and ski on) for the rest of the year!
     
  39. WRX1
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    WRX1 _ Staff Member

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    Wooden paint stir stick. Just thin enough to scrap everything out and strong enough to not break. I am on my 3 winter with it so far. I also wax my rims and that seems to help a bit too, along with making the brake dust a snap to clean off.

    Russ
     
  40. idget
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    idget Want to pokéman? PM ShortytheFirefighter Staff Member

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    Rejex ftw
     
  41. Musashi
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    Musashi Well-Known Member

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    If I catch it early enough I usually will use my air tank to blast it all off.
     
  42. AWD 101
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    AWD 101 Well-Known Member

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    was waiting for someone to finally say this! the best tool i've found is about 1/2 of a cheap yardstick from a hardware store, works great and clears the tight parts around (most) calipers and is unlikely to damage your finish. $0-$2. $3 if you need to buy a sharpie to write your favorite brand name on it.
    or, you could buy a heated garage with a pressure washer and drainage installed.
     
  43. Terry Ammerman
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    Terry Ammerman Well-Known Member

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    The biggest cause of rusty cars.
     
  44. WRX1
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    WRX1 _ Staff Member

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    Yep, best 10-12 I have ever spent.

    Russ
     
  45. thakrazymule
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    thakrazymule Active Member

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    Not if you wash it regularly. Biggest cause of rusty cars is this salt ridden state anyway. I've been all over the country, and this state is by far the worst.