I'm about to move to a state where there's snow during the winter. Do all of you keep the stock 20" wheels on during this weather, or will they be ruined by salt, etc.?

Thanks.

 

The size doesn't matter. Salt can ruin any size. Aren't the 20's just plastic covers (chrome-clad) like the 18s? If so, they are quite easy to care for. Just clean them and seal them (any sealant) before winter. It's the tires you may need to worry about.

 

I have the faux-chrome 20"s with stock tires and 45K on them. They do just fine in the winter, provided you know how to drive in the snow. The salt is fine, just make sure you clean them once a week to keep them from pitting (your real enemy with any wheels). Stop at one of those self wash with the high-pressure sprays and spray them off (and wash), with also giving the underbody a nice spray.

Gotta knock that salt and road grime off the underbody to prevent rust. Even doing that, be prepared to wire wheel and por-15 the underbody. Once you use POR-15, you won't have to do it again. I just did the entire underbody of my 07 after cleaning up the very small rust spots with a wire wheel and the actual POR-15 coating took about 10 hrs.

 

Like the previous posters, I have no issues with corrosion of the 20 in chrome clad wheels on my 08 Aspen. Put a good coat of wax (I use a product called ReJex) on them before winter and keep them hosed off. So far so good.

 

I think the plastic is much easier to maintain vs. real chrome.

 

I have a 2007 Aspen with 20" tires. I live in Canada so I am used to snow. It handles great in the snow, but be sure to clean out the snow that can build up in the rims after a storm. At highway speeds, the tires shake as if they're not balanced. I've had to pull off the highway before to clean it out. Much easier to do in your own driveway.

 

If you plan on driving the Aspen in the winter snow, then you will definitely need a pair of decent winter tires. I have tried both the Hankook iPike and Bridgestone Blizzaks and both faired well for accelerating. Stopping this beast is another story. A friend of mine used some all-season Falkens with similar results.

As for the chrome-clad wheels, mine have started flaking off the "chrome like" finish towards the inside of the spokes. They have been through 3 winters, but probably not the cause of it. I used a hard-plastic bristle brush to clean the caked-on brake dust to clean that area.

Why are these plastic caps so darned expensive to replace? I would expect some sort of cheap knockoffs to be available.

 

I ended up going through the winter on a good set of all season tires. The AWD kept me out of trouble - no issues at all.