Extra Set of Wheels For Winter Tires

20 years ago

Good Day: I want to get another set of used aluminum rims for my 03 Malibu to use in winter for a set of snow tires. How can I find out what other GM model years & rims will also fit my car. I've tried to get a set of matching rims for the past year without any success unless I buy new which is just Way to expensive for winter rims. Where would this kind of cross reference wheel fit information be available? Thanks a lot.

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Comments (5)

earthworm
20 years ago
An interchangeability list - wonderful thing to have.
Try Googling...
IF you know the exact wheel size, I'd think you would be in business - to do business at your local junque-yarde...

Why not use the steelies from the TireRack ??? They, even with covers, are not that expensive...
The GM forum can also help...
bill_h
20 years ago
check the tire stores, like belle tire, discount tire etc.,they sell new car take offs at very reasonable prices. i bought a set of alloy take offs for my elantra for 200.00 with new michelins on them and a set of alloy wheels with g.y wranglers off a ranger for 250.00 for my toyota truck.
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Thanks, a very different response that I thought. I understand the pounds per square inch issue, and hadn't given that a thought. I guess I was let to bigger or wider tires from a like of the look they have on the fancy sport trucks. Still, my old Dodge had aggressive wide tire all around, and 4WD. That too led me to think on a 2WD, put the aggressive tread on the rear. I do have a sporty 70R15 tire on a small car and its wet pavement/snow performance is not as good as an all season. Still too, in the old days of big rear wheel drive cars, I've had a few myself, snow tires (I've had the studded tires too) were common practice. They may have been no wider, but they looked that way because of the aggressive tread. Looks like I should stay with what I've got. I'll spend the saved money putting on a class III trailer hitch/receiver. I understand installation of one made for the specific truck will require no drilling, just bolt to existing holes. I've already installed the light wiring, easy with the "T" wire adapter now on new trucks. I'd think the sooner the better on the installation. The truck has under 2,000 miles on it so the underside is still clean.
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I agree that you need to know more about (and pay less for) the current alloy wheels. A couple of things you can do beyond that: - Check tire stores and/or tire company Web sites to see if there are 16" tires which will fit the existing alloy wheels. If they are in usable shape (just not that pretty), make them the rims you use for winter. Road salt in Minnesota will chew up any wheel, so if you're talking about a daily driver, you don't want anything too good in the winter anyway. - I don't know where you live in Minnesota, but here in The Cities, there is any number of car dealerships and tire shops which have take-offs -- wheels (or older wheels) they took off when someone bought new wheels and tires. Since you'll pretty much have the winter to look around, you might be able to get a good price on wheels that someone upgraded. - If you're comfortable buying on-line, there probably is a Mustang forum somewhere on which people will post ads for their take-offs. You're likely buying used wheels there, but used wheels aren't bad if they've been taken care of.
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The 235 45R-17 tires are slightly less in diameter than the 225 50R-17 tires. If used on the front, your speedometer readout will be affected by 2.1% It will indicate a greater speed than actual. Calculations below: 225 50R -17 Tire diameter: 17 + (2x225x0.5/25.4) = 25.86 inches 235 45R -17 Tire diameter: 17 + (2x235x0.45/25.4) = 25.33 inches The speedometer will read fast by 25.86/25.33 or 1.0209 or 102.09%. At indicated speed of 60 mph, the actual speed would be: 60 x 25.33 / 25.86 = 58.77 mph. But, since these will be on the rear, therefore handling and wheel well clearance are the main issues. Wheel well clearance gains importance when snow packs into the wheel well. The 235 45R tires are wider by 10mm or about 0.4 inches; That would be 0.2 inches per side. If you have ample clearance, this litle difference can be accomodated. The effect on hamdling is unknown to me. There should be little change if the sideways stiffness of the two tires are the same. However, if the replacement tires are more flexible in the side-to-side direction, it may cause the vehicle to 'hunt' while at speed, e.g., wanders from side to side and require constant steering correction to stay in your lane. A few reports that I have read states that the ride is stiffer with the lower profile tires. I have no experience therein.
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steve_o
20 years ago
Takeoffs are a great idea -- if you're sure you want alloy wheels. If you live in an area in which they use a lot of salt in the winter, you'll find that the constant high-sodium diet will flake the clear coating on the wheels and discolor them. It's not easy to clean the salt and gunk out of many alloy wheels, either. Just experience based on what I see around here. I run steel wheels with my snows; much lower maintenance.
bob411
20 years ago
I have a 91 Ford Festiva. There are wires that go to the side of the distributor, that the accelerator cable wore through. It was right up against the quick connect coupler, so I went to the junk yard, to get another connector, with some wire on it. Every Festiva was missing either the whole engine, the distributor, or just the coupler I wanted. I went back to the office and told the the guy I had no luck. He punched some things in to his computer, and told me to try Mazda 323s from 1990- 1993, they used the same distributor. Long story short, the junk yard has the interchangeability list.

Bob
jemdandy
20 years ago
Make sure that the wheels you get are for disc brakes (if you have disc brakes). Although you may find that the bolt pattern of wheels for shoe brakes will fit a disc brake equipped wheel, the wheel may interfere with the caliper assemby and that won't be discovered until the final tightening of the lug nuts. Damage may result since great force can be developed by the lug nuts.

The dished shape of wheels for disc brakes are different to older wheels for shoe brake autos. Beware of this when getting wheels from a slavage yard.

Also, when buying used wheels, make sure that the beveled holes for the lugs are not worn out. The lug nut should contact the wheel face and become snug before the backside of the material around the hole touches its clamping surface. The wheel acts as a very stiff spring lock washer to keep the lug nut in place. If the backside of the wheel bottoms, or the lug nut bottoms, before the lug nut begins to tighten on the wheel face, the lug may loosen, or the wheel will not be tight. This happens when the beveled hole is too large.

Extra Set of Wheels For Winter Tires

Comments (5)

earthworm

bill_h

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steve_o

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