advice needed on my wheels -- keep or buy new?

[wrooster]

guys,
need a little input here.

my stock aluminum wheels are pretty hosed up due to the snow/salt/sand here in the northeast. i drive out to PA, NH, and VT about 20 times during the course of the winter so there is no way of avoiding all that corrosive salt, dirt, and sand.

see the results:
http://losdos.dyndns.org:8080/public...SCN0664_sm.jpg
http://losdos.dyndns.org:8080/public...SCN0667_sm.jpg

i am considering the following:
(1)
pull these crapped up OEM wheels off and take them somewhere to get refinished, and possibly powder coated. (i've pretty much fallen for black wheels, to give the moto-hauler a new look.) i have seen some refinishing kits (Mother's Wheel etc) but i don't know if these can be saved by that method.

(2)
take these crapped up OEM wheels off and replace them with a set of Wheeler's 16x8 alloy, in powder coated black. i.e.:
http://www.wheelersoffroad.com/toyblackalloys.htm

if i go for option (1) i'm pretty sure that i'll be halfway to the price of the new Wheeler's alloys by the time i'm done. plus, i'll have no wheels (literally) while the refinishing/powdercoating is in progress. if i go for (2) i'm out $125/corner but i could hypothetically get the OEM's bead blasted and then either save them for a rainy day or sell them to recoup some coin on the deal.

anyway, what advice can you guys give me?

thanks
jim aka the wrooster

ps:
Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revos are going on the wheels.

pps:
all dressed up and ready to go:

[TacoDell]

I'd go for the Wheeler's and depending on what you have planned for the future I'd go to an 8 inch width. But make sure to get the proper offset as well... That way you can just get the Krylon out and fix em yourself...

[Intrepid]

Personally I like the wheelers black allows better than stock, but it is an option to get those powdercoated black. Of course you could always find some cheap steelies in the classified section and buy them just long enough to get those powdercoated, then sell them when you get your stock ones back.

[wrooster]

guys,
thanks for the comments... keep 'em coming. i'm leaning towards the wheeler's black alloys route. just have to decide on black or chrome lugs, and same for the center caps. seen 'em both ways and i think i'll go chrome lugs with black centers.

very cool look courtesy of half baked taco:
http://image28.webshots.com/28/1/83/...8peziIV_ph.jpg

jim aka the wrooster
2002 xtracab TRD 4x4 v6

[Bear]

Jim, I am not trying to throw a wrench into the works for you with this, but…

Have you considered much about regardless of which ever route you decide, you are going to be back at square one in a few years either way?

What I would do is buy a new set of wheels, but keep your current wheels. Mount your winter/snow tires on the OEM stockers. That way you can continue to beat the crap out of them with the salt since they are already showing wear. when the snow "melts" and the roads clear up, you can swap out the new wheels and have that "bling" look.

I use the same principal with my street set up vs. my trail set up. Hell I have been known to swap my streets out for the week, throw on the trail set up and swap back to streets on Monday, only to do it all again on Friday... that is when I had two sets of tires. currently I am nursing a set of bald streets with two sets of rims sitting in the garage.

[TacoDell]

Bear's Idea is the best yet...

[nauvooguy]

A little acid will bring em' back to life.

[wrooster]

Originally Posted by nauvooguy

A little acid will bring em' back to life.

explain?

thanks,
jim aka the wrooster

[sqwirlytaco]

hey wrooster -- I'm a little biased so take this with a grain of salt (no pun intended).

I've been rollin' the wheeler's black alloys for about a year now (been thru one winter, driving from the sf bay area to tahoe; no salt, just sand on the roads when there's snow) and am very happy with them. They clean up pretty quick and I'm not seeing any adverse affects from the winter roads out here in norcal.

So, a couple of things:
(1) I opted for the black lugs and black center caps. NOTE that the center caps are just painted -- I figure I'll have to re-paint them after this winter. No biggie... just throwin' it out there.

(2) I have to agree, that Bear's idea is sound... ride the stockers during the winter, and then dress up the rig when the weather's better. Best of both worlds.

(3) If you wheel your rig, and/or think wheel dings/scapes/scratches/rock rash are in your future, you might wanna save the wheeler's alloys. They're nice and probably capable, but cheap steelies probably save you a lot of headache/heartache.

cheers,
ryan

[nauvooguy]

I'm not exactly sure what the technical name of the acid is. So all I know for you to do is go to a detail shop, or the like, and ask if they can spray your wheels with acid. Or if you can find some, just spray a light coat all over each wheel, but dont let it sit on there to long. Then just hose off. Use a pressure washer for best results. Also try not to get any in your eyes, or inhale it. Trust me on the inhaling part it will clear your sinus' up for years to come.

[Intrepid]

Up here they dump salt on the roads starting around August I think, just to make sure they have enough on there when winter hits, then they continue to dump it until about May "just in case", buy some wheel cleaner and once every week or two spray them down with the cleaner and hose them off. Hell, go to one of those do it yourself washes, for only $3 every couple weeks you will keep those looking good. I never had any problem with mine, I would usually hose them off once every week or two.
I agree with what everyone said about keeping those for winter tires. I also agree that if you are going to wheel it that you should buy black steelies.

[TacoDell]

If they are pitted really bad I doubt anything can correct that except polishing/buffing them out... But here's a link... C-56? http://www.autodetailsupply.com/Prod...l_Cleaners.htm

[wrooster]

guys,
i bit the bullet this afternoon and ordered the black alloys from wheelers. i'm going to mount the new Revos on them, and then put them on the truck.

the OEM wheels i'm going to refinish, and either i'll sell 'em outright /or/ as suggested above just use them as a seasonal set. thanks for all the comments above.

i'll post pics when things are together.

jim aka the wrooster

[NorcalPR]

Hey fellow TT buddy, 250ThumpHer here...

Anyways, best polish I have used is called Brasso. It'll refinish a lot more things than you think. I had a bumper that you wouldnt even see your face in and bought it for 40 bucks from the dismantler for my old truck. Took some brasso and barely rubbed it in and it made it look like brand new. Stuffs amazing..

Even on my polished rims on my taco now, I parked under a uclyptus tree at my bros house I learned my lesson the hard way. It dropped little seeds and left etched dots in my rims. Took brasso to it and cleaned it right up.

Alls I can say is that whatever polish you decide to go with, follow up with a good quality wax. Remember that if you dont protect what you just polished, you will be doing your hard work all over again.

Do a search you NOOB

-Phill

[Super Doody]

Did your wheels balance well?

[Super Doody]

I dont think the wheelers wheels (or pro comp) aren't all that quailty. Seems like that type of powder coating would chip and peel pretty easily. For that price you can get a set of Mickey Thompson Class IIs.