Rust protection (undercarriage) and winter daily driving

[K4fxd]

I have a 2012 F150 that gets used in the snow and I wash it maybe every two months. It has just started to show some rust in the wheel wells on the bed.

I'm not worried about my mustang rusting out.

As for tires getting some dedicated winter wheels and going narrow tire is the way to go. Remember the old army jeeps, they had tall narrow tires and went anywhere. 235/50-18's would be very good in snow. I'd put them on an 8 or 8.5 inch wide wheel.

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[Jmtoast]

I have a 2012 F150 that gets used in the snow and I wash it maybe every two months. It has just started to show some rust in the wheel wells on the bed.

I'm not worried about my mustang rusting out.

As for tires getting some dedicated winter wheels and going narrow tire is the way to go. Remember the old army jeeps, they had tall narrow tires and went anywhere. 235/50-18's would be very good in snow. I'd put them on an 8 or 8.5 inch wide wheel.

Yeah I buy a lot of high mileage used cars here in Michigan. I have only had one with rust. I don’t even wash them that ofton. My Malibu hasn’t been washed in years, sits outside, has 100k, is 10 years old and doesn’t have a spec of rust. Zero.. way too much exaggerated drama on here about rust. Usually my chevy trucks get the rust.

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

I have a 2012 F150 that gets used in the snow and I wash it maybe every two months. It has just started to show some rust in the wheel wells on the bed.

I'm not worried about my mustang rusting out.

As for tires getting some dedicated winter wheels and going narrow tire is the way to go. Remember the old army jeeps, they had tall narrow tires and went anywhere. 235/50-18's would be very good in snow. I'd put them on an 8 or 8.5 inch wide wheel.

I've kind of settled (I think) at 255/40R19, Sottozero 3s. On an 8.5" rim, with offset 45mm it's almost identical to current summer setup on the Bullitt (it's staggered design) and back will go down from 275/40R19 with 52.5mm offset, so should be comparable. Thought about all-seasons, but then I'd get meh summer meh winter, my summer set is good, so I might do full winters assuming I'll get at least 3-4 mild Ohio winters out of them.

 

[K4fxd]

My F150 has 310,000 miles so it's of to another home. Coyote and has not started to nickle and dime me. Great powerplant.

I don't need a truck anymore so the stang will be my only transportation.

 

[stantonabc]

Hi all,

I'm looking to drive my daily (Bullitt) through winter here in SW OH. I'm shopping around for winter tires and wheels, but was wondering if anyone has good experience with underbody coating against rust, rust inhibition, companies that do this, etc?

It is like taking your money and burning it.

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

It is like taking your money and burning it.

I guess I burnt through $140 last Thursday then...

 

[stantonabc]

Yeah I buy a lot of high mileage used cars here in Michigan. I have only had one with rust. I don’t even wash them that ofton. My Malibu hasn’t been washed in years, sits outside, has 100k, is 10 years old and doesn’t have a spec of rust. Zero.. way too much exaggerated drama on here about rust. Usually my chevy trucks get the rust.

I agree with you.. The drama is to sell rust protection services. On the average, the owner would have sold the car in 5-7 years. The next owner's issue.

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

Alright all, thank you very much for all the input, I've gone with a 255/40R19 Sottozero 3 all around (non-staggered set). Fit great, although at the front the brakes don't have huge extra space, but neither they did with the stock wheels.

Really am enjoying the look of this, almost more than the original wheels!

 

[stantonabc]

Alright all, thank you very much for all the input, I've gone with a 255/40R19 Sottozero 3 all around (non-staggered set). Fit great, although at the front the brakes don't have huge extra space, but neither they did with the stock wheels.

Really am enjoying the look of this, almost more than the original wheels!

Awesome looking.

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

Awesome looking.

Appreciate it! All in all I'm very happy, it's still a classy look, I love the matte titanium color. Kind of makes the car look more athletic for the winter with skinny spokes, contrasting the burrly big rims for summer.

 

[Stang55]

Well executed sir. Traction for days! Stay safe in the snow

 

[Kevindust]

Alright all, thank you very much for all the input, I've gone with a 255/40R19 Sottozero 3 all around (non-staggered set). Fit great, although at the front the brakes don't have huge extra space, but neither they did with the stock wheels.

Really am enjoying the look of this, almost more than the original wheels!

Your winter set up looks fantastic. What wheel width and offset did you choose?

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

Your winter set up looks fantastic. What wheel width and offset did you choose?

Thank you! I am genuinely very surprised and very pleased as well. Overall everyone that's seen them loves them. I've spent good week and half taking screenshots of Tirerack site to compare.

The tires are Sottozero 3 winters. Still am breaking them in, they still stink from all the lubricant etc being rubbed off, but already am noticing car is nicely planted and at the right time as OH is getting to high 20s low 30s.

Went 255/40R19 all around instead of the recommended stock 255/40R19 F and 275/40R19 R. The original wheels were I think 9" wide (45mm offset) F and 9.5" wide (52.5mm) offset on the back.
The wheels I got are 8.5" 45mm for all 4.
Comparison pictures below. Speedo now shows higher speed than I'm going by about 3mph at 75mph. Not a biggie.

As with probably most winter tires, they get louder at highway speeds than the summer Pilot 4s.

Wheels are called Bremmer Kraft BR16 in Matte Titanium. I actually noticed yesterday that a coworker's 2017-2020 Explorer has similar rims, I'm guessing Bremmer either supplies them or they share design partially.

TPMS was pre-installed for an upcharge by Tirerack, overall great experience. Didn't even need to reset anything, the system was already caught up when I started the car. I thought it was the old set in the garage sending info at first, but never got a control light on my drive to work either.

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