Anyone running steelies year round?

[kyle!]

So my P5 came with mp3 racing harts. Great right? Wrong, the previous owner apparently parked by waiting until they felt the wheel grinding on the curb. They have been in rough shape the whole time but now after buying a couple new tires I am having all kinds of issues with the rims. I have a high speed wobble, and they will barely hold air because they are bent.

I am toying with the idea of just getting some dirt cheap steel wheels for now since I can't afford the 600 or so it would cost me to get a set I like. My P5 isn't in perfect shape so looks wise I am not super concerned with it, but I am wondering if anyone has just used steel wheels all the time. Also I found a set of 17"x7" wheels with a +38 offset, I think the MP3 rims are 17x7 +55, that is obviously a big difference but will the +38 fit without rubbing on stock suspension?

 

[mp5la]

Have you had the alignment and the wheel balance checked? Either of those being off would cause tire wear problems.

You need the high offset in the back otherwise you'll run into problems. As far as running steelies, a lot of cars come with them from the factory. The heavy weight of them might hurt your performance somewhat, but it's not going to be an outrageous amount. You might put a wanted ad on here for some factory p5 16" wheels. They usually don't sell for a whole lot and will definitely fit your car.

 

[CTt3P5]

Surprised the shop put the new tires on if they were that bent. Like mp5la said, put up a wtb thread and check out the f/s sections. You can come across some good deals there and check craigslist too. Might be able to pick up a decent set of wheels for a little more than steelies. If you have no luck or don't have the time, hit up some local junk yards for steelies, much cheaper there. Dependent on what you find, 15s and some 14s will fit (gotta watch the caliper clearance). Some specs to keep in mind are the bolt pattern 5x114.3/5x4.5....hub bore 67.1mm. I've been running 14x5.5 +35 Eclipse steelies for winter with 185/70/14s with no issues at stock height or lowered.

As for the 17s you found, you can make them fit but will take some work. Def. a fender roll in the back and more than likely a fender pull.

 

[kyle!]

Thanks for the replies. I was surprised they mounted the new tires on such bent rims also. The worst part is they waited until after I paid them for a balance to tell me that the reason I was having issues was because of bent rims. I guess thats what I get for going to discount tire.

 

[CTt3P5]

Discount tire as in affiliated with the website? Either way, I'd go back to the shop and speak to the manager.

 

[Bastian]

I had 15" steel wheels on my car year round for the first two years I had it. In the winter, I threw on mudflaps and pretended to be a subaru. In the summer, I just looked bad.