# tires and rims



## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

I know there are some car enthusiasts here. What is the best website to buy tires and rims? Specifically, I recall a site that would display the alloy rims on a picture of the vehicle. Anyone know of this site?


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Website?

I buy those locally. Shipping too expensive.

I bought winter tires last year and found a garage that stores the other tires for me. I pay them to swap them off the rims 2x per year. Ugly winter rims cost more money than the cost of swapping off rims. 

Winter tires are important.


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## Homerhomer (Oct 18, 2010)

The website you speak of is http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/wtpack.jsp

I am also looking for rims and tires so would appreciate tips on good deals, would prefer local but the cheaper the better.

Some of the links I have found so far that may be of interest:

Discussion on promo codes from JCwhitney (apparently good prices there)
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/jc-w...-than-gta-997627/?prefixid=Auto9&daysprune=30

Ebay store with free shipping and good selection and prices on rims
http://stores.ebay.com/ElitesWheels?_trksid=p4340.l2563


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

the-royal-mail said:


> Website?
> 
> I buy those locally. Shipping too expensive.
> 
> ...


Depends on the exchange rate, taxes etc. Generally websites sell tires for significantly less than local shops. Last year I bought new winter tires on pmctire.com (Québec website) for even less than people were asking used on kijiji. They have their own delivery service included. More Canadian businesses need to learn to use the internet this way. My friend just sold these tires used for the same price I paid lol (locally they cost double)

If the exchange rate is favourable you can save big money ordering from the US. Shipping is less than the taxes you save and I've never had to pay any extra duties shipping by USPS or UPS Express for large items (UPS standard is the biggest shipping scam with a atrocious brokerage fee for the border paperwork)

I actually just paid for winter tires and rims for my new car today. They were used for 1 season and are OEM BMW M rims for 1/3 the orig price not to mention the 19% tax I avoid. There were lots of them for sale on the local forum

Mounting winter/summer tires twice a year is more expensive than buying a set of steel winter rims or used OEM rims after a few years. It also wears on the rims, possible damage (I've seen it often) and the tires often don't seal the first time etc. Mount some winters on used OEM rims and then they're hassle free for years. You can even install them yourself if you know how to use a jack. I find I can install a set of wheels myself faster than I can get someone else to do it for me


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Nothing wrong with used winter tires IMO. Saves me the tax, mounting, balancing, TPMS etc and the seller had to take a big loss as these only fit certain sports cars and not many people drive them in the winter. The way I see it I got these rims for the cost of the tires alone, and I'll be able to sell the rims when I'm done with them



















I have nothing against running steelies or OEM rims in the winter but be careful with cheap aftermarket rims. Cheap alloy rims are not worth it on Cdn roads imo I wuold rather have steel. I'm also a big fan of narrow high profile winter tires, which is another reason to have different winter rims. If you look at winter rally cars, they use *skinny* tires. Mine are not because of the car, and not much snow here anyways


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## rookie (Mar 19, 2010)

saved at least 300 bucks by buying them from discounttire and getting it installed in US.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

We got a great deal on snow tires and rims for our 2010 Flex ,my husband found rims in local scrap yard for 25 bux each then he bought the snow tires at flea market brand new for $400 no tax.They wanted $1300 plus tax for new ones from Ford.
We bought used ones on Kijiji for $200 for our F150 ,they came from a 2007 F-150 whose lease was up.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

I haven't dealt with them but another competitive Canadian website for tires is 1010tires.com however based out of BC. I'm sure there's one in Ontario

Pretty much all the manufacturers offer ~$50 mail in rebates on 4 tires as well


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

marina628 said:


> We got a great deal on snow tires and rims for our 2010 Flex ,*my husband found rims in local scrap yard for 25 bux each *then he bought the snow tires at flea market brand new for $400 no tax.


That is the way to buy winter rims for snow tires. You got a super deal from
the scrap yard, because my 98 dodge dakota alloy rims cost me $50 each.
I bought new snow tires a few years ago, and had a garage install them and balance them.
I put my snow tires on the end of Oct and they come off in April, so the
two snow tires I have mounted on the rims look almost new with lots of tread after several winters here in Ottawa which uses megatons of salt. 

Alloy rims however corrode very quickly around the bead of the tire where
the salt gets at it. I discovered that with my spare tire which was mounted
under the truck. After about 4-5 winters of not using it, I dropped it down
to check the pressure and it was totally flat. The salt spray underneath
from the wheels had corroded the aluminum around the bead and all the
air pressure leaked out. 

I had to take the tire off, sand the aluminum rim around the bead on both sides until it was clean of corrosion, then reseal with 3 coats
of clear seal coat spray to be able to trust it again. Mounted the tire back
on and balanced it and it's now stored inside the truck's cargo area which has a cap on it, so the tire is protected from the elements and I can 
check the tire pressure on it regularly. 

Lesson I learned..if trucks come with the spare mounted underneath the cargo box, don't leave it there in winter conditions. 
Corrosion sets in and when you need to use the spare, it won't hold air.


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