How to protect wheels durring winter storage?

Well the time has come again for the snow to fly here in Ohio. With the snow comes alot of salt and other chemicals to clear the roads. I have chosen to remove my custom wheels and put my stocks back on. With that being said, My question is:

What is the best way to store and protect my aluminum rims?

-Obviously i have washed them to remove all the road grime.

- the tires are still mounted. do I leave the air in the tires?

- What should i put on the rims themself for protection?
i have been told silicone spray, wd40 or wax but leave it on.

- What about the lug nuts, i have heard of coating in oil?


Thank you for any input and feel free to add any othe info that others may use upon finding this thread in a search.

 

Ben,

Thanks, yes i do plan to stack them, and they will be in my shed. Not on concrete but a wood floor.

What about the air? To keep the tires from dry rotting would it help to let out the air?

 

Thanks again Ben. I appreciate your input.

 

Bump- for any other tips, tricks or advice. Also any advice on steel rim storage if its any different than aluminum. ( just for other members browsing for awnsers)

 

I had a nice set of spring/summer and winter wheels for my Legacy. I'd honestly just clean them real well, but a tire dressing on and stack them in my garage. Nary a problem or blemish for several years that way.

 

Keep about 20 lbs of pressure in them to prevent the sidewalls from taking on a goofy shape.

 

Cool. Thanks guys.

 

No! Don't stack them! Moisture will build up in between the tires, potentially rotting the rubber, and rusting or corroding the rims. Been there, done that. Since then, I've ALWAYS stored my off-season wheels with maximum air pressure and standing up on their ends in the back shed. Never had a problem since and I've been doing this for years with three vehicles...

 

Thanks Brian. Has any one else ever had this problem?

 

I live in Colorado where it is very arid, unlike Vermont

Plus each tire/wheel is wrapped in its own plastic bag (forgot to mention that)

 

I didn't think about bags. I could just go to my local tire shop and ask for a few tire bags. What type of bags do you use?

 

The ones discount tire provides. They're just large plastic bags.

 

Hell I've stacked mine on the concrete and no dry rot or anything. Stack em up and leave em alone

 

Eh, the bags tend to trap moisture and not let it out. Let 'em stay in the open air...

 

Ya that's a good point. The bags would hold moisture. I wouldn't worry about them. Keep them dry like previously stated and you should b ok. I've stacked both my rims on top of each other and I haven't had any problems. But if your worried stack them next to each other standing up