Steelies with solid wheel covers. I never had issues in my Loyale with the stock covers over them. Have to find some like that for my 15s. I've been running 15" steelies for about 6 years. They're great, they keep 95% of the crap out of the rims. But fawk me if they do get anything in there, they have to come off the car to clear them up. But the only times I've had it get that bad were ice racing. Never on the street.
Anyway, I digress. Anyone have any better methods for clearing out the snow?[/quote] pee on it? eat more snow(be careful not to eat your own pee) and pee again, repeat for all affected areas.
yep, i used to drive a 89 corolla back in my youth in 96, when i went to california, i thought toyota came out with a new corolla, but it was the same 1, just looks cleaner and no rust! Old cars in other states makes new cars here looks old!
Maybe you two can just get a room or try pistols at 20 paces. Is snow pack in steelies an issue? For some people, it can be. For other people, it isn't. When they do get loaded up with snow, they're more difficult to clean out compared to an OEM style wheel due to the lack of spaces to get a scraper/washer through. They both have good points, steel wheels are more forgiving of impacts as they can be (within reason) bent back to shape if the impact is bad enough. However, I also like the clearance provided by an alloy wheel. One of the reasons I ran 6 spoke RS wheels for my winter wheels was that they gave great access to get a scraper in and get the wheels cleared out. Now I run 20s and have plenty of space to get a scraper in and haven't had an issue with having to clear the wheels.
Terry is saying that the oxidation reaction is inhibited by colder temperatures. If you remember chemistry class, heat generally accelerates a chemical reaction. Also, an electrolyte (in this case salt water) is needed for an oxidation reaction to occur. Practically speaking, you won't get all the salt off from washing your car. There are just too many seams. So leaving it frozen is as good of a preventative measure. The thought is that if nothing else, it slows the rate of reaction.
Very scientific and accurate post (I was a Chem major for a period of time myself). You don't see real logic very often on the interwebz!
I've done the hair drier on ice. It does the job, but it's not something I would go and do every day...
I sort of think one of those plastic putty knives or whatever would be perfect if coupled with a stiff-bristled plastic brush - sort of like those ice scrapers, but smaller, I guess? If I could custom-make something, I'd make a plastic T with the top part curved to match the curve of the wheel, so it could be pushed past the spokes, rotated, and used to scrape everything off of the wheels rather quickly. I suppose it mostly depends on the style of wheels.
I think this is what you are looking for. This is for an ATV but I'm sure you could modify it to work.
Jesus christ man. All that's missing is a coat hanger and som fishing line to make it the most ghetto homemade contraption ever.
Haha yes sir! Someone suggested the paint stick and putty knife. We'll see how they fair. Ha I lol'ed! For 1.50 total, I figured its worth a shot. If this doesn't work, I may un-ghettoify and install real wheel scrapers.
Well I must say, the paint stick is great success! So I'm up north with the family, and some genius (aka me) is driving (with sis and bro in law) down the snowy back road after a nice hike. Sis has to piss, and I try to pull out my Ken Block rally skills. Only problem, I forgot that I was driving my Ford Fusion on all seasons...not the Subie on snow tires As you can guess, I took a turn a hair to fast and slid into the ditch Sis hops into the parent's car that was trailing me, and off they went. After some digging with my skis, we get right out and of course, tons of snow in the wheels. At my next pit stop, I cracked out the paint stick and it worked marvelously to clean out the snow! Long story short...drive to fast in non-subaru, get stuck, get snow in tires...paint stick clears snow well.
Fixed that for you. Subarus are great, but put them on mediocre tires, and they'll suck just as much as anything else.
Looking at this, these could probably be made from sheet metal with an adaptable rubber wheel sheet for something in the 60-100 range, I've personally had this problem a lot and I think I might build a set for my new wrangler. Any body interested in building and prototyping? I have access to two lasers, and a powder coat line
Now this makes the most sense. We need someone in this group to makes something...and sell to us! This is where the most snow packs in and freezes. You can't even get to it most times, or see it!
The problem is, the exact shape and size of that would be different for every wheel. I've often thought about doing something like that, but unfortunately my snow wheels are not the smallest wheel that I run....
My Grizzly 700 actually has scrapers similar to those in the picture, but if I remember correctly the scraperson my Griz have a UHMW plate that is much closer to the wheel. I think the built in angle that is not apparent in the picture likely conducts rocks out if they get in, I've never had any problems and I beat the Griz through gravel pits and rocky areas
Not too many rocks on the streets, or roads where I go. Also, if you had a rock jammed in there, wouldn't it take out your caliper and wedge the rim into a skid? In addition, it was made for and works well on an ATV. Those are primarily off road, and are usually in the muddy trails. I would venture a guess and say it was designed to keep mud from building up in the backside of the rim. Snow would be an easier task, and wasn't that the reason for this thread?
