Deicing car wheels

[the_digital_dentist]

My car has low profile tires and very wide wheels.  I have to park outside at work so snow gets into the wheels on days when it snows, and since it sits so long, the snow turns to ice.  No big deal, right?  Except that the ice unbalances the wheels and the car shakes like crazy if I try to drive faster than about 45 mph.  Anyone have any ideas for deicing the wheels?

If I had a pressure washer I think I could knock it off easily, but I don't have a pressure washer.  I could try throwing buckets of hot water on them, but that will freeze on the ground and may ultimately add to the problem.  A heat gun doesn't move enough air so it would take a full day's work to deice 4 wheels.

Looking for suggestions...

[Pete Prodoehl]

Replace the car.

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[Tom Gralewicz]

Are you running the lowest air pressure recommended?  It gives the tires some flex and should crack the ice out.

Or just buy "ice proof" tires. Aka bald tires.

When I had problems with low profile tires I took Pete's advice.   Although you might be able to get normal rims and tires that fit.

[Eric Berna]

Spray it down with windshield wiper fluid, the deicing kind. 

Even better is winter wheels. Get rims and tires that are better suited for the winter, and run them when it's cold. I did this years ago, back when I drove a car with wheels that were bad for winter. 

Eric Berna

[Ed Hagopian]

Are you talking about the rims? if it's ice in the rims from snow blowing into it, you could make some cheap rim covers and slap some harddrive magnets on the backside. then just pop them off before you leave. You could lazor some cool designs in them too. 

On Sunday, February 9, 2014 9:36:06 AM UTC-6, eric wrote:

Spray it down with windshield wiper fluid, the deicing kind. 

Even better is winter wheels. Get rims and tires that are better suited for the winter, and run them when it's cold. I did this years ago, back when I drove a car with wheels that were bad for winter. 

Eric Berna

On Feb 9, 2014, at 9:24 AM, Tom Gralewicz <m...@ieee.org> wrote:

Are you running the lowest air pressure recommended?  It gives the tires some flex and should crack the ice out.

Or just buy "ice proof" tires. Aka bald tires.

When I had problems with low profile tires I took Pete's advice.   Although you might be able to get normal rims and tires that fit.

On Feb 9, 2014 7:39 AM, "Pete Prodoehl" <ras...@gmail.com> wrote:

Replace the car.

On Feb 9, 2014, at 7:36 AM, the_digital_dentist <mark.r...@gmail.com> wrote:

My car has low profile tires and very wide wheels.  I have to park outside at work so snow gets into the wheels on days when it snows, and since it sits so long, the snow turns to ice.  No big deal, right?  Except that the ice unbalances the wheels and the car shakes like crazy if I try to drive faster than about 45 mph.  Anyone have any ideas for deicing the wheels?

If I had a pressure washer I think I could knock it off easily, but I don't have a pressure washer.  I could try throwing buckets of hot water on them, but that will freeze on the ground and may ultimately add to the problem.  A heat gun doesn't move enough air so it would take a full day's work to deice 4 wheels.

Looking for suggestions...

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[the_digital_dentist]

The problem is ice inside the wheel rims.  They are just big aluminum cylinders so they can accumulate a lot of ice in a hurry, and it is hard to heat them enough to melt it out.

Maybe I need to park it in a shopping mall garage where warm engines from other cars heats the air temp above freezing...

[Dont let google be evil]

Covers is a thing. Maybe a spray bottle w/ -less than totally toxic- antifreeze - I've got this big one for applying wood deck treatments, or something.
If there was a car wash nearby, either a drive thru, or the do it yourself pressure washer type that would probably be best -like $2 for 4 min. or something.
Pain in the ass, but there might be some relief in cleaning the inside of the wheels, and apply some kind of wax.
I'd go w/ the $2 "wash it yourself" hosedown if available.

SteakEnchiladas

[ironmonger]

Try this:
http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/neverwet/neverwet-kit/

Paul
WB9HCO
No trees were killed sending this message, but a tremendous number of electrons were terribly inconvienced...

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[the_digital_dentist]

The demos are impressive, but the stuff is completely impractical.  It wears off quickly, besides making everything coated with it looked like is has a layer of frost on it.  Besides that, I'd have to get the ice off the wheels to apply it.  By the time that happens, the weather will have turned and ice won't be a problem any more.