Winter tires and rims - replacement

 "Be free from grief not through insensibility like the irrational animals, nor through want of thought like the foolish, but like a man of virtue by having reason as the consolation of grief." - Epictetus

 I recently disposed of the bent alloy rims on the Subaru, and also disposed of a set of summer and winter tires.  The all-season Pirelli tires have been absolutely wonderful, and I have no complaints about them - other than they are lower profile than the OEM tires, and therefore have a smaller diameter.  The speedometer now indicates that the car is going faster than it actually is.  No big deal - I can manage.

But I got thinking about winter, and having to drive to work before the snowplows are even out clearing the highway and roads.  And our own road, which is never plowed when I head to work in the morning.  Sometimes the snow is half a foot deep, and the Subaru now has less clearance, as well as all-season tires - rather than dedicated snow tires.  

So I started looking around for replacement tires and rims.  I'm a bit of a tightwad, so it's always nice to get a decent price.  I got two absolute bargains!   A full set of tires and rims (used) for less than the price of a single new tire and rim.

Some folks sold me these for $100.  I didn't dicker with them over the price.  I paid what they asked.  These are in way better shape than the ones I just got rid of.  Those were down to the wear bar.  All four for $100!!!  They have two winters on them, so maybe 2000-3000 miles.

Compare the tread (and the condition of the studs) on the new and old winter tires, below.

 

Then I had to find some rims to put them on.  I'm not paying a tire shop $100 each season to swap tires onto a single set of rims.  I found these OEM steel Subaru rims.  The guy wanted $40 for the set, and again I just paid him full price.  I looked them over carefully and they don't seem to have issues.

 For the measly price of $140, I got a full set of replacement winter tires and rims.  It will still cost another $100 to have the tires mounted and balanced - which is freaking insane, but that's what it costs these days.  I'm honesty pretty excited about this!  How often do you get a great deal these days?

A generic rim to fit a Subaru sells on Amazon for $68, and these Hankook Tires cost $121 each, for a total cost new of just over $750.

I haven't yet decided whether to beautify (read wipe down and spray silver paint on the face) the rims, or just have the tires mounted.  

UPDATE:  I had some gloss black paint on hand, so the rims got sprayed.

 Below:  Laid out, as purchased.

 Below:  Cleaned and prepped for paint

First rim sprayed

The center caps were pretty nasty looking, so I put a coat of primer on them.  I may paint them later on, or I may just leave them as-is.  Tomorrow I'll see about getting the tires mounted on them, once the paint has hardened a bit more.

Update 2:

Today I loaded the rims and tires into the old plow truck and hauled them down to the local tire shop.  The tire shop owner sold the business and retired.  The one employee who was minding the shop said that the new business owner has not yet been issued a license, so he could not help me.  I asked him to look over the tires and rims, and he said they looked in great condition, BUT... the tires are old enough that a chain store would definitely not mount them for me.  He said that he would be able to do so once the business license was granted, but not right now.  The snow is a ways off yet, so I guess that's OK.  I'd just like to have it done.

Meanwhile I sprayed the center caps.  I have the best paint booth!  Gravel.

 Update Final - I hope 8-20

Finally got a day off and was able to take the rims and tires to a different "mom & pop" tire shop, who would mount the tires.  The shop owner informed me that one of the rims was bent - of course it was!  However he said that he was able to straighten it up, and get it to zero out on the balance machine.  Just in case, he recommended that rim should be installed on a rear hub.  I had him replace all the valve stems, because who knows what condition they were in?  I gave him a bit extra and told him to get a 6 pack of cold ones after work.  He said 'thanks' and that that he would.

Anyhow, $100 later, I got home with the loot.  It's taken a while and been far more hassle than having the big chain store tire shop sell me fancy stuff, but it's finished.  

Below:  Home with the loot, before storing it on the rack.