I don’t know if I mentioned this but the tires that came on my car are powerfully bad in the winter. Thank goodness we had a mild winter last year or I certainly would have wrapped myself around a(nother) tree, and that was on relatively brand new rubber. I’ve never before even considered winter tires, feeling that good all season tires were sufficient, but although these tires are called ‘all season’ they are summer tires, straight up. And they still have another season left in them next year so I’m not in a hurry to replace them. So I resolved to get me a set of winter tires rather than cross my fingers and pray for no snow. Snow is one of the reason I live here, after all.

You can buy a set of winter rubber and mount and dismount them twice a year, which some people do. After you go through two winters, though, you’re into the cost of a set of dedicated steel wheels that you can swap yourself in the driveway. You’re also down a car for the day(s). I went a litter further than steel wheels, which obviously increased the cost quite a bit, but I viewed it from the perspective of a hobby project.

I’ve been a fan of the 2004 WRX STi BBS wheels since they debuted. It was always a bit of a bummer to me that my 2002 WRX had such plain wheels and I looked upon the fancier and lighter-weight BBS wheels with envy. BBS are known for making killer light weight wheels that, in my opinion, always look hot – especially the CH style. They’re also stupid expensive. Like $600+ per wheel typically, new. I paid nearly that for all four used wheels.

So that’s where I went for the winter set. The 2004 wheels are popular for reasons beyond aesthetics too. They match the hub size of subsequent WRX model years, while the STi went on to use a larger hub in later years. That makes the 2004 wheels one of the last BBS forged aluminum examples you can get for the WRX from the factory. I prowled the forums for a while looking for a used set that was in decent shape and reasonably priced. The set I found looked to be in relatively good shape, with only a little curb rash, and had been media blasted down to the bare aluminum. Both brought the price down a bit and I looked at it as an opportunity to learn a little bit about wheel repair and finishing.

These wheels came from the factory typically in silver, but gold evokes Subaru’s rally heritage and livery, and since the wheels I bought came media blasted I am free to do basically whatever I want.

Naturally I’ve had these wheels since… Spring, and snow is rapidly approaching. Not only that, but epoxy and paint likes some warm weather to cure in. Best to get preppin! First I had to fill in a bit of that curb rash, which I did using some JB Weld. I sanded down the rough patches to eliminated any high spots, then I filled it with the epoxy and let it dry over 24 hours. After that I sanded it down again to take away the excess epoxy. I didn’t bother sanding it to a mirror finish since the wheels themselves have texture.

Then I wiped down all four wheels with acetone and got to work priming. Duplicolor’s Sandable Primer looked like the primer of choice on some forums I read.

The primer went on nicely and dries lighter than in the last photo. I’ll wet sand them down with ~1000 grit paper next, then I’ll paint them with Grimmspeed’s OEM matched gold. The paint has been ordered but I haven’t received it yet. I’ll post up pics when that happens.

The rattle can method isn’t anywhere near as robust as a powder coat, but I have heard in places that depending on the amount of heat they use during that process it can actually weaken a forged wheel. I also like the fact that if I decide gold isn’t for me, I can change it up next year with a few cans of paint. It appears that a lot of folks online use their winter wheels as a way to play with color. Could be fun!

Now I need to start thinking tires. I guess another advantage of the dedicated snow tire is that I can now focus on performance street tires for the remaining months. Or at least not compromise on durability just to get a more well rounded all season tire.