I was debating to buy steelies for winter time or not. Anyone got suggestions?

 

1) which balt?
2) what area of the country do you live in?
3) how much snow do you usually see?
4) what kind of roads are you on in the winter? mostly main roads? city streets? side roads? back roads?

 

i am looking too. i live in wichita, ks. we been getting real nasty snow these last few winters, ice storms sucked ass too.

ive got the 05 cobalt 4dr with 4nut wheels.

 

Well, I chose to drive my SS/SC all last winter. Bad idea! The thing went nowhere when there was snow or ice on the roads. I will be buying a set of winter wheels and tires this season.

 

I don't know if you guys have gotten this advice before but,
Generally, for snow skinny, tall tires work better than short, wide tires.
Skinny helps them dig into the snow to get traction, instead of riding on top.
Tall gives them more flexibility in the sidewalls to get better grip.

The stock SS/SC setup is about the worst you can use in snow. Much better to get smaller wheels, I've heard 16" fit, and maybe around a 195/65-16 if you can get that size in a good snow tire.

But even if you stay with the stock wheels, get some good all-season tires, at the very least.

 

Very good advice^^^^ this why so many people go to 16s in the winter.

 

My setup:

SS/SC with 16" Pontiac G6 rims with Dunlop WinterSport M3 tires in 205/60-R16.

LOVE THEM. I can go anywhere with em, best thing I ever bought for the Balt. And they look good to boot (well the rims, the tires just look like I'm going offroading)

 

I got an 07 ss 2.4 and I live in upstate new york so it can get pretty nasty in the winter. I dont know if it pays to get steel rims or not still

 

Most cities in Canada put salt on the roads during winter.
I kept my mags on the previous car and the salt damaged them.
Definitively going with steelies this year

 

The others that posted gave some really great advice on this topic. In addition to that, if you decided to hit the track during the spring, summer or fall, you could put some nice DR's on there right quick for a couple passes. Smaller has alot of advantages

 

For brand new steelies, people have been paying ~$50-65/each NEW. By now there are enough cars with 5x110 steelies that you should be able to find a set relatively easily from a junkyard. There've been 5x110 cars since at least the mid 90s. Most likely to find them on Cadillac Cateras, SAAB 900s if you can find the right year(s), and Saturn L-series cars (<-- probably the most common). Just make sure they're true and not bent and then buy em up. You could probably get them out of the junkyard for anywhere between $25-35/each. So potentially you could get 4 winter rims for as little as $100 or so.

 

4 lug or 5 lug???

I got a brand new set of steelies in a 4 lug. Upstate NY located also.

 

2.4 SS = 5-lug

 

yeah its 5 lug. wont work

 

Great idea! I'd check into getting some alloy Saab or G5 wheels, then get them clear powdercoated for corrosion protection against the salt and cinders in the winter. The car would look and handle better when the roads were clear.
Then get two of the snow tires replaced with DRs for strip trips in the summer.

 

i just got the sweetest deal ever. picked up a set of 16" hhr wheels, not the steelies with firestone affinity tires that have maybe 500 miles on them for $350. thank god i won't have to run the pirelli's this winter.

 

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about, I bet they will look good, at least better than the steelies!