Steel rims? Snow tire saga?

20621 Views 35 Replies 11 Participants Last post by wanate86, Nov 30, 2020

gn842

Discussion Starter · May 27, 2019

As my signature indicates I am abruptly a member of the 2019 Accord club. I had a nice set of Michelin snows on steel rims. I don't feel the need to impress anyone in winter conditions. I think steel rims are best for pot holes. Am I wrong? Let me know.

Anyhow I have four Michelin snows, steel rims, formerly used on my 2014 Accord. I would use them in a heart beat on my new car (come winter) but Tire Rack says this is a big no-no, the 16" rims don't leave room for the brakes. Is that true? No hope? Right now I have them listed on Craig's. As a complete digression I would note the phenomenal lack of treadwear (comparatively) on the Michelin snows they still have 7/32 of tread after five seasons which beats any other snow tire I've ever had. And they're good snow tires too, of course. (They were my first unidirectionals and I got schooled by them on how to pay attention when mounting tires.)

I haven't been able to find 17" Accord STEEL RIMS anywhere. They don't have them at Tire Rack or any other place on the net I have searched. Well, Alibaba might have some, but it seems you have to order 100 at once. The 2019 and 2018 Accords are very similar and I kinda sorta think that if after market rim makers were going to put out some steel 17" rims (17x7.5 to be precise) for Accords that they would have done so already.

Bottom line guys: Am I really looking at $500 for alloy rims for some effing snow tires? That will put me at around $1200 come this fall, on top of buying the new car in May. Car insurance is really only symbolic isn't it? My payout was $12.5k I'm out $10k for the new car and now I'm looking at $1200 more to get my seasonal needs in order. I have a vision of nifty alloy rims with snow tires hitting a pot hole and going SNAP.

Greg N

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gn842

Discussion Starter · #2 · May 28, 2019

(nudge)

gn842

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 30, 2019

Well three days and nary a whisper. I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that 75% of Accord owners are in California or similar climes and that of the 25% who are left, most wouldn't be caught dead with snow tires and that of those that would get snow tires 99% wouldn't be caught dead with a steel rim.

And that's why there are no steel rims out there because y'all ain't buying 'em.

Fired00d

· #4 · May 30, 2019

gn842 said:
Well three days and nary a whisper. I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that 75% of Accord owners are in California or similar climes and that of the 25% who are left, most wouldn't be caught dead with snow tires and that of those that would get snow tires 99% wouldn't be caught dead with a steel rim.

And that's why there are no steel rims out there because y'all ain't buying 'em.

Actually none of the above :grin: I do live in a location that gets snow but I have a four wheel drive SUV for that weather. :smile_big: I do remember a thread that a member had acquired a second set of wheels to install snow tires on I'll try to find it and provide the link. Not sure if they are steel wheels though.

Fired00d

· #5 · May 30, 2019

Check these two threads... not sure if they are steel wheels but will give some input on tires and wheel size...

New Wheels & Tires (Winter)

Winter tires on Sport

mrodrig2

· #6 · May 30, 2019

gn842 - you can't find 17" steel wheels for 2018+ Accords because all trim levels come with various styles of alloy wheels. You will need to buy a set of wheels on your own or try to get some cheap OEM take-offs from your local dealer.

As far as winter tire tread - that's not particularly unusual. I have a set of General Altimax Arctics which have 7mm tread depth (over 7/32") from 2010 with 5-6 winters of use. However, I would still never recommend them. Tread depth is not the only thing for winter performance; the tire compound itself is more of a factor for low temp performance. Best winter tires I've used so far are Bridgestone Blizzaks.

hansboomer

· #7 · Jun 6, 2019 (Edited)

I have the same issue as the OP, but I haven't bought the car yet.

It looks like there's clearance for a 16 inch wheel on the EX, and all the versions with 17 inch wheels have 16 inch spares. The 19 inch wheel cars all have 17 inch spares. https://hondanews.com/releases/2018-accord-specifications-features I'm gonna try my 16 inch alloys before I replace the wheels.

It's too bad you can't find steel wheels. All the new cars except the most basic ones come with alloys now, so there's no more cheap takeoffs anymore. Aftermarket alloys are a PITA on Hondas because they need difference lug nuts than the standard Honda nuts.

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gn842

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 11, 2019

Well I have looked for after market steel in 17" and I can't find it anywhere, never mind for an Accord or any other vehicle. There's no OEM steel. It is sinking in that I am going to get hammered when I buy my snows and rims...looks like $1200 or so.

So now I'm wondering whether to get the Chinese knockoffs of the Honda alloys, they have exactly the same pattern as OEM, or whether to try some of the (100% Chinese) rims on TireRack. These rims are all a very different style, spokes with a lot of space between them. To my eye the OEM alloy rims look stronger but for all I know it's just an illusion. Anyhow if they are good knockoffs then that will take care of the lug nut issue, they'll be the same.

I haven't measured the spare yet. I have heard that even 2WD vehicles with CVTs have a lot of computerized input into the transmission and that you want to keep to the same tire sizes...I've even read that you need to replace all four tires if you get one flat!!!! I thought that was a 4WD thing.

Anyhow one of the advantages of having snows is that if you do get a flat when you get home you can put the snow on and remove the donut tire. I wouldn't want to drive that way forever but it is a good substitute while waiting for a new tire to come. Or tires, as the case may be.

Greg N

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hansboomer

· #9 · Jun 12, 2019

I use the Tire Rack alloy wheels and they work fine. After 10 years they look a little scruffier than the OEM wheels. You could replace them four times for the price of a OEM Honda wheel, but they still look good enough to put on the new car. The hard part is that they use a plastic center ring spacer the sometimes sticks to the hub, and you need to use different lug nuts. All my Hondas had alloy wheels that used nuts with spherical seats, and every other alloy wheel I've ever seen uses conical seats. I threw away the center spacers.
I'm sure the 16 inch alloy wheels are gonna work on my EX because it came with a 16 inch steel spare, but I haven't tried it yet.

gn842

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jun 14, 2019

hansboomer said:
I use the Tire Rack alloy wheels and they work fine. After 10 years they look a little scruffier than the OEM wheels. You could replace them four times for the price of a OEM Honda wheel, but they still look good enough to put on the new car. The hard part is that they use a plastic center ring spacer the sometimes sticks to the hub, and you need to use different lug nuts. All my Hondas had alloy wheels that used nuts with spherical seats, and every other alloy wheel I've ever seen uses conical seats. I threw away the center spacers.
I'm sure the 16 inch alloy wheels are gonna work on my EX because it came with a 16 inch steel spare, but I haven't tried it yet.

That's a good tip. I'll measure the spare. However, Tire Rack tech told me 16 inch on my 2019 LX is a no-go.

gn842

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 14, 2019

Well I just measured my spare. It's a steel donut--17 inch rim. Probably the only steel rim in the U.S. Maybe I should just get four donuts. GN

MarkiVR6

· #12 · Aug 8, 2019

Been contemplating on getting an Accord Touring 2.0T and upon my research for a winter set-up I found these. SInce I am on the Volkswagen side of car enthusiasm at the moment, a lot of forum members over there have been using RTX steel wheels and have reported nothing but positive feedback. If you check the reviews an Si owner chimes in on his purchase also.

PS - SInce this is my first post the forum won't let me post an Amazon link due to spamming? Anyway just copy and paste this into Amazon's search bar:

RTX, Steel Rim, New Aftermarket Wheel, 17X7, 5X114.3, 64.1, 45, black finish X47564

mtdave

· #13 · Aug 15, 2019

MarkiVR6 said:
Been contemplating on getting an Accord Touring 2.0T and upon my research for a winter set-up I found these. SInce I am on the Volkswagen side of car enthusiasm at the moment, a lot of forum members over there have been using RTX steel wheels and have reported nothing but positive feedback. If you check the reviews an Si owner chimes in on his purchase also.

PS - SInce this is my first post the forum won't let me post an Amazon link due to spamming? Anyway just copy and paste this into Amazon's search bar:

RTX, Steel Rim, New Aftermarket Wheel, 17X7, 5X114.3, 64.1, 45, black finish X47564

Hi I just joined this forum when I saw this post. I just bought a brand new 2018 Accord EX and I live in Montana and always like to have a set of snow tires on their own rims, preferably steel. The ones you show here are like what I'd be interested in. I also found these on Amazon. I'm wondering if this would work? It looks like the offset is 50cm where I think the OEM aluminum wheels on the car are 45cm offset. It would be great to know either of these will work, I'm far from an expert on this sort of thing.

Search the following: Road Ready Car Wheel For 2013-2015 Honda Accord 2007-2011 Honda CR-V 17 Inch 5 Lug Gray Steel Rim Fits R17 Tire - Exact OEM Replacement - Full-Size Spare

mtdave

· #14 · Aug 15, 2019

Ah, just saw on the Amazon review of these wheels that someone has them on their 2019 so I'm thinking these should be good. They are the same size, offset and bolt pattern so should work right?

RTX, Steel Rim, New Aftermarket Wheel, 17X7, 5X114.3, 64.1, 45, black finish X47564

MarkiVR6

· #15 · Aug 15, 2019

i would buy 1 wheel first just to try out the fitment. I would do it but don't have an Accord yet lol Tbh, they look good to go!

mtdave

· #16 · Aug 15, 2019

MarkiVR6 said:
i would buy 1 wheel first just to try out the fitment. I would do it but don't have an Accord yet lol Tbh, they look good to go!

I'm thinking that the inner hole diameter 64.1 is the only possible issue, I'll have to confirm that. I'm also thinking that the tire pressure monitoring won't work? Then I'm wondering if the stock lug nuts will work with the steel rims or maybe get some old school lug nuts for winter use.

mtdave

· #17 · Aug 15, 2019

I found a site, wheel-size.com and looked up my car and it confirms center bore of 64.1 so I'm certain these will work.

It also looks like carid.com carries steel wheels it says will fit the car.

mtdave

· #18 · Aug 16, 2019

Alright, so I see that the newer Accords use the ABS system to test for tire pressure changes in the tires and there are no sensors in the wheels themselves. No worries then about having TPMS sensors in the tires. Should be able to just buy the wheels and put tires on them and then run the calibrate after they are mounted, balanced and installed.

mtdave

· #19 · Sep 19, 2019

So I bought one of these on Amazon and tried it on the car and it fits good. I went ahead and ordered three more.

RTX, Steel Rim, New Aftermarket Wheel, 17X7, 5X114.3, 64.1, 45, black finish X47564

The stock lug nuts tightened down but they seem barely deep enough to do it so I think I'll either get some old school lug nuts or some deeper ones. I also need to find a cap to fit over the axle hole but it looks like there are a lot of those available on Amazon too.

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mtdave

· #20 · Nov 15, 2019

It totally looks like a Montana car now. We have our Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 snow tires and we are ready. Bring it on!
I ordered a set of small center caps.

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