Winter steelies and rubber

When the rivers and lakes freeze over you can test them out

 

Well once winter arrives and we see normal -20C temps again everything should freeze solid as usual. And then we will all be driving across the rivers.

 

Now, a drop of a heavy duty rust inhibitor on the exposed threads of the lug studs, and they'll be ready to come off easy next spring. LPS-3 is my favorite. Or maybe some chrome or black acorn lug nuts, or some good looking black or black-chrome wheel covers.

 

That’s my issue too, with open-ended lug nuts. I install the nuts dry, then a drop of 3-in-one oil on the exposed stud tip, then brush it around with an old toothbrush. The toothbrush has occasionally been used to spread anti-seize too, so that adds a bit of patina. I apply with fall install of the snows, then refresh halfway through winter.

I also push a 2” (nom) ABS end cap onto hub openings, again for rust prevention. Only works with Toyota rims. And it’s “slightly” loose, so I sandwich a rubber band to fill the gap, cut from bicycle inner tube.

i do have a set of PIP rims in the wings: if i ever wear out current snows, I’ll use OEM lug nuts and reg Toyota centre caps, no rust issues.

well except I like to put a very thin layer of anti-seize on hub faces, eliminates rim “glue on”.

 

Nice!

Can we get 15" x 6-1/2" steelies to use with snow tires?
If so, could you please let me know the part number, or provide a link?
I could only find 15" x 6" steelies.
A Gen4 wheel is 15" x 6-1/2". The Gen3 (?and Gen2?) wheels where 15" x 6".

I still have to mount my new Blizzacks.

I'm using the Autel TPMS sensors and programmer.
That way, I can just put my snows on/off, and not then spend another ~30-60mins dealing with reprogramming the TPMS IDs.
Imho, especially in winter, and with tire pressure dropping with the temperature, I want a working TPMS system.

For next year, I'd like to change to the better grip Michelin Low Resistance Tires. And keep my OEM tires/wheels as backup.
However, even used Gen4 wheels are ~$200 each (USD).

 

This is the current rim/nut I'm using:

Corolla 15" black steel rims p/n: 42611-02471
With lug nuts p/n: 90942-01007 (utilitarian, open-ended, galvanized)

I googled the rim part number a bit, didn't find a rim width stat. I'd suspect it's 6". Question in my mind, if the gen 3 and 4 use the same tire, how important is it to use 6 1/2" rim width. Not a rhetorical question, and moot for me (with a gen 3). There may be something about gen 4 that makes the extra 1/2" "preferable", but I'd wager if I (for example) traded to a 4th gen, and put my current snows on it, they'd be fine.

The rims cost me $70 CDN apiece, installed by dealership, in November of 2010 (within weeks of new car purchase). AFAIK they were new. Current prices are crazy.

They just have plain valves, no TPMS.

I'm somewhat impatient to retire the tires (terrible pun), and use the PIP rims with next set, but they have around 8/32" tread depth remaining, absolutely no cracking, and I had a tire place look them over last fall; said they're still fine. I'm resigned to slapping them on again, in about a month.

Attached is a pic of my current snow tire setup.

 

It’s a standard hardware store item: 2” ABS end cap. The dim is nominal, ID is 2 3/8”, which is “slightly” loose on the aforementioned Corolla rim, hence the need to push on some sort of rubber band first, fill the gap and keep it secure as well. Bicycle inner tube section, about 1/4” wide, works good. Funky, but have never lost one.

I didn’t use such caps the first few years, and the exposed hubs rusted up quick.

I did have a link to this info in my signature, but pushed it out to make room for another, now kinda wish I hadn’t.

 

Very good point. Wire brush the hub face to remove loose dirt & rust, then apply a thin coat of any antiseize. We don't want antiseize on the lug threads...that changes the needed torque spec for the correct clamping force, and we don't know the correct spec for lubed lugs. If torqued too much the lugs can stretch or break. A torque spec takes into account the friction of the threads and the nut face, and lubing them changes everything.