Cheap winter alloy rims
 

I don't really want to drive around on steelies for 4 months a year, but at the same time I am not willing to drop 3K on high priced alloys for my winter tires. Any ideas/sources for lower-priced alloy rims in southern Ontario?

Used 16" WRX wheels.

^^

VW forums are also a good place to look for all kinds of 5X100 stuff.

Prob with used is that you can have non-visible warping or off-true deformation that only shows up when you drive - feels like a wheel balance problem that can't be fixed.

Besides wheel bolt pattern and size (17 X 7 standard) you have to specify the offset, correct? Which is IIRC 48mm.

the offset can be anything you want it to be so long as the wheel/tire combo doesnt rub

deviating from OEM width and offset will impact your scrub radius which has peculiar effects on handling. I won't go into the details, but anything you'll be fine with anything between the +55 and +40 range.

and don't worry about centerbore, so long as it's larger than yours


you are right, hidden problems with used wheels could happen. I've had a number of used wheels over the years and no problems.. knock on wood. I bought a set of used Kosei K1's in 2005 and they've seen track and street duty ever since.. and if they happen to fit over the FRS brakes then i might as well use em, haha.


but if you're worried about used then buying NEW steelies is your best bet. Less headaches for everybody, plus adds to that sleeper look.

Buy a set of nice wheels for summer tires.

Buy a set of winter tires and mount them on stock wheels.

???

Profit

fixed

I was just going to use the stock rims as winter wheels lol.. and get something else for summer (konigs or enkei)

Enkei > Konig. Big time.

I think with going to a 16" for winter you'll find a better, less expensive winter tire selection. With my old Civic, I went +1 for the summers and -1 for the winters. (For example stock wheels and tires were 185/60R14, so in the summer I went to a slightly wider 15" rim and tire that kept the diameter ~ the same with 195/50R15, and for the winters I did the opposite with 175/70R13.)

-1 for the FR-S will be ~205/55R16 (a little bit more diameter, and older WRX standard tires) or 195/55R16 (a little bit less diameter).

I've got a set of WRX rims on my Legacy. But the Legacy will be the winter beater...

Well, if you get cheap rims at 16 inch, they are like 100+ each. With tires and rims package from TireRack, it may come in around 1K or so. If you get those in CDN Tire, I think it would be somewhere around 1200 to 1400. (Had a set of 205/55/R16 for my wife in that price range.)

Another idea suggested of buying a set of good rims for summer and use the stock ones for winter is also good since the stock rim does not look too bad (IMHO) for winter use. It is just that you need to use up the stock tire pretty quick for the winter time. It is a bit pricy, though.

why dont u just get some el cheapo black steelies for winters...doesnt have to be alloys....

Tire Rack does not have a Canadian site. Do you have experience with them shipping to Canada? If so where did they ship - your home?
The wheel supplied with the FR-S looks OK with SWP so I think I'll go the cheaper route of getting a winter wheel/tire package. Now to research the tire choice. Love my Michelins (currently running Pilot Exalto A/S) but they are pricey.

Some guys on my VW club have done Tire Rack to Canada and depending on the wheels it can still come out cheaper than local. But it IS like 200 bucks shipping or so.

But for winter wheels, totally not needed. In Calgary I have at least 5 non-chain shops I know that will have tons of options or can order them in. Toronto will have many more. There are many 5x100 choices for us especially in 16s.