[AllThumbs]

i replaced the original steel wheels on my 84 Le Baron with new alloy wheels.

Question: Is there any reason to keep the old wheels? They are four-lug. I can't imagine they're worth anything, but I don't want to take them to the dump if someone can use them.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Might as well post them for sale. Some of us still have cars with 4 lugs (I'm all set, but maybe someone could use them). Make sure to mention the diameter.

 

[B10alia]

If you have a doughnut spare, I would sell that, buy a cheap tire, and mount that on a steely and use it as a full-size spare. You could also mount snow tires on the spare rims and use those in the winter. I don't know how much snow you get in NoVA, but I know it can get pretty hairy in Blacksburg sometimes, and I would feel a little better if I had a good set of snow tires if I had to drive in that. The steelies will also keep your alloys out of the salt. They don't seem to use as much as they do up here in MA, so it may not be as important, but it's an option for your consideration.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Salt ate through my steel rims here in MA until they wouldn't hold air anymore. The tire shop put soap on them and showed me all the bubbling through the scaly rust.

 

[Doug D]

If you have a doughnut spare, I would sell that, buy a cheap tire, and mount that on a steely and use it as a full-size spare. You could also mount snow tires on the spare rims and use those in the winter. I don't know how much snow you get in NoVA, but I know it can get pretty hairy in Blacksburg sometimes, and I would feel a little better if I had a good set of snow tires if I had to drive in that. The steelies will also keep your alloys out of the salt. They don't seem to use as much as they do up here in MA, so it may not be as important, but it's an option for your consideration.

NoVA gets a little more snow than my location (I'm about 60-70 miles south of DC/NoVA). Snow tires are IMHO hardly worth it. They'd probably have to be replaced due to dry rot before they'd every need replacement. The DC-to-Richmond corridor averages one good snowy winter every 5-7 years. The rest are relatively mild. The past two years we've seen hardly any snow - less than 12".

Blacksburg is not a good comparison for the eastern part of the state. Blacksburg is west of the mountains along the I-81 corridor and that area of the state does get far more snow than we do in the eastern half.

Agree on the suggestion of keeping one for use as a full size spare and selling the rest. Or even of you didn't buy true snow tires, you could mount good all season radials on them and run them in the winter and keep the alloy wheels safe from any salt that is used. But as Bob indicated, the steelies will eventually rust out. It may take longer in NoVA, but they will eventually suffer from corrosion. Fighting corrosion is a constant battle.