I live in Chicago and was thinking about getting 15" Rota Slipstreams (and 205/50/15 HRII tires). They seem like awesome wheels for the price and are really low weight but I am wondering if they will be able to stand up the potholes and cold/wet of Chicago. I have heard of rims cracking under these conditions and was wondering if anyone on here has had experience with these (or similar) rims in conditions like mine. Most people say to save the stock wheels but I would prefer not to switch. Also, I have heard of salt messing up the rims, but was wondering if that is purely cosmetic or structural damage. I am not so much concerned with the looks but the improved acceleration, braking, mileage, handling... Thank you.

 

Well what are you running right now for rims? your rotas will weigh the same (if not more) than the steelies so mpg wont change... neither will handling braking or accelleration... if your stock rims are 14" you're going to have less performance of just about all the things you're looking for. If you want improved braking get new brakes... if you want handling, lower your car and consider struts/sways... better mpg means you just need to drive slower!

As for potholes, 15's will take a beating and keep spinning. As for road debris, as long as you take care of your rims (no curb rash) they will hold up fine... I went to school in Idaho and Utah and it is nothing but salt and red rock and my 15's held up perfectly.

 

F to the A-L-S-E

15" rota slipstreams weigh less than every stock honda rim except the VX and HX.

 

just telling you right now, you NEED to change the rims for the winter, if you get salt/snow..then its a must, it only takes 10 min to do..isent 10min worth it for keeping your rims clean and salt free not to menton if you get performance summer tires, it will handle terribly!!!
CHANGE THEM!

 

Nail I3unny, thats exactly what I was going to say. I guess I'll go with mill$civic on this one. I feel that I will be fine with the Rotas (and all season tires) until it snows, and then go with the steelies. I just want to ride the Slips as long as possible- they seem awesome. Thanks guys.

 

I also had one more question; Is it true that you cannot get an alignment done with certain rims? And if so, are Rota Slipstreams one of those rims? Thanks again.

 

99.9% sure you can get a alignment with any wheels you have, else they wouldnt sell very good

 

its not so much the rim in winter as it is the tire. Depending if you go all season or summer performance makes a big difference. You arent gonna wanna leave you summer tires on in snow because then you wont be able to go, stop, or turn. As long as you wash the wheels very often and dont hit curbs they wont be ruined. But as the others say I recommend having 2 sets. It doesnt take much to switch them out and then you can have clean rims/good tires in summer and snow tires in winter

 

i say just keep the steelies with snow tires then put Summer Performance tires on the slips to have fun with in the spring/summer/fall.

 

the thing to consider is, if you're getting winter tires, you're proibably better off getting a second set of rims. CHEAP ones. Considering it will cost you ~$75 to get the winter tires mounted, and another 75 to get your summer tires mounted in the spring, if you can get cheap steelies for <$150 then you're coming out ahead.