pbear01

Forgive me if this has been posted - I didn't find any topic related to this.

Is it bad for the tires if we do a changover every season (all seasons to snows, vice versa) on the same rims?

I do my regular maintenance with this garage, and I know the garage owner, and I've known him for more than 5 years since he worked on my 90 Eclipse beatbox..... But he commented that the changeover can be bad for the tires since they are low profile. He therefore suggested that I get an additional set of rims installed and balanced so that they can be easily switched over.

I respect this guy, and he didn't have tires or wheels in stock, nor did he try to make a sale on that. But I found his comment disturbing.

Do any of you have any insight to that?

I get my tires swapped over at Direct Tire since I got my snows from them, and the changeover is free other than having to wait 3 hours to get them swapped...)

Thanks!

Dan Martin

Yes it's not good for your rims or tires to have them swapped every season. It's well worthwhile to buy a second set of rims. You can pick up a set of OEM wheels for less than $400 if you keep an eye on the black market section and on ebay.

TSXDude

When you swap tires each season, you run the risks of scratching your alloys, no matter how good a tire shop they are.

Also, investing in a set of winter dedicated rims will help protect your summer rims from the harsh environments experienced during the winter season. As what Dan said, OEM wheels (if you prefer using alloy) are to be had for less than $400. If not, then invest in a set of steelies.

JeffTSX

Actually, not to burst your bubble but that's a myth. The only time when your rims get scratched is cause the dude who's doing them is not careful and not paying attention.

It's good to invest into a differnet set of rims cause evey time a tire is being mounter and demounted, it puts a lot of pressure onto the tire and might tare.

TSXDude

Yes Jeff, you are right. The 'risk' i'm referring to is the person who is doing the swap. Knowing the owner of the shop is not enough. He is going to send one of his 'apprentice' to do the job, and i'm pretty sure that person will not appreciate the amount of money spent on a set of rims.

JeffTSX

Hmm. I don't know if I should agree or disagree...when WRXs, STis, and Legacy GTs comes in for re-mount and re-balance, we take EXTRA caution so we don't do any damage so please don't think all mechanics or apprentices has beef with customer cars.

btw, usually the apprentice would be a good job on customer's car cause they DO NOT want to get in trouble and usually follow all rules.

crisco

the reason not to swap the tires on the same rim over and over again is that you lose the seal and could run the risk of having a very slow leak. I did this on my old accord and had to diligently monitor the tire pressure.

dom

Not to mention the costs involved every spring and fall.