For those who live in areas where it snows... do you put yer stock wheels and tires back on in the winter?... and is it for traction purposes or so the salt doesn't mess up the nice wheels?
(I now have Kumho AST's 205/50's and am wondering about winter slippin and slidin)

Also, just got curious, since Discount Tire were the ones who put my wheels on, how they looked underneath.

For those curious about fitment...wow, I was amazed at the tight clearance of the rim AND tire with that bar,.. stabilizer or what ever it is- that attaches low on the rear wheel. I have the stock struts and the new rims (now that I went back and looked at the web site) were 16 inch with a 38 (mm?) offset... I cant even push my finger in between that bar and the tire/rim edge. Seems like the top of the tire is alao awefully close to the bottom of the spring on the strut too.

I would venture to say that's got to be about the limit when it comes to aftermarket wheels/tires in a 16 inch size with stock suspension... are like 17 and 18's different?..like maybe they end up not coming that close? are any of you's guy's closer clearance that that? is it the off-set that is making it tight?

 

it doesn't snow very much where i live in AR but i haven't had any problems...

 

wow, your wheels seem even closer to rbbing than mines are and mines are 17" X 7"rims. 205/40/17. I can fit about one r two fingers between the wheel and the struts or stabalizer thingy...and my wheels are not too close to the bottom of the springs either. And it doesnt snow here in new orleans so i wouldnt know about the snow and stock wheels.

 

I run 215/50/17

 

Well I had a crappy winter with alot of snow and ice where I live . The salt didnt hurt my rims any and my tires were ok in the snow and ice .Only thing that happend was my husband hit a curb and my new pilot sports one of them at least has a huge buldge in it and now the sports are discoutined and I get another all season performance tire from michlin in its place for free since I have warrenty on all them and the rims also. My gal is running I checked today and I was wrong in the last thread they are 215/50/16s a little wider than normal but I love that size.

 

salt causes scratches and the snow covers up a lot of the pot holes and bumps on the road so its harder to avoid them so you get dings and bends in the lip of your rims... so thats why i'm gonna take mine off... traction is just a bonus

 

Well i live in Ontario canada.. This winter was horrible.. I always throw my stock 15s with winter tires on.. adn even then i find it hard to get trackion a lot of the time.. my buddy was rolling on 19s in his cavy and he would drive about 2kms to work and thats it.. somedays wouldn't even take his car to work if it just snowed..

So def keep your stocks and get some winter rubber to wrap them up!

 

I had a set of 205/40/17 Kumho AST's just like you... they seemed fine in the winter when they were BRAND NEW, although not as good as the stock tires when they were new, obviously...

After a bit of treadwear, the slippery-ness of the wider-tread, lower-profile Kumhos really started to suck in winter driving. If you have a skinnier, more weather-oriented set to put on for winter, I recommend it. As far as "rim-gaurds," Kumhos and other brands have a half-decent rubber rim gaurd designed into the tire as you may have noticed. I jave a set of 205/40/17 Fuzion's now... they perform much better in the winter than the Kumhos, but grip just as good in the summer. They also have a wider profile (for some wierd reason) than the Kumhos, and the rim gaurd actually meets flush with the rim now, which I like. Keep in mind that the biggest thing, besided salt and frozen mist, that will kill your rims in the winter is actually driving through the snow and ice in the first place... the edge of your rims blows across the snow and ice on the ground like its a sandblaster... sooner or later, rolling your rims throug those jagged little pieces of ice and snow will scratch/ding/dull your rims pretty fast.

 

it dont snow here but i put on my steelies every winter, except this year i had srt for winter tires

 

I put my stock 15'sback on for winter up here in the great NorthEast which seems to last 7 months now! lol I have 225/45R17's for the other 5 months.