No more lead wheel weights in WA state and Maine

I guess we get to ring in the new year without lead on our wheels. The crazy part is the reasoning behind it. I find it hard to believe my lead wheel weight could fall off and kill a fish.

 

The dealer I went to re-balance my winter tires charged me almost $15 for the wheel weights. Since they are already overcharging for the weights, I doubt the switch to zinc weights will affect the prices that much.

For the shooters here that cast your own lead bullets, I wonder if this can be turned into an opportunity? Go around the various tire shops and collect the now-illegal lead weights for cheap, then melt them down at home.

 

Its a good enough reason. I think

 

nope. If you've ever used them the new steel weights suck. They are much more difficult to install, more difficult to remove, yet they don't stay on as well. They also damage your rims 5x as much as the old lead ones. Ask anyone who has ever used them, they are terrible.

 

Can you switch over to sticky weights? I know they can pop off too, but...

 

unless the finish is completely ruined on the inside of the wheel (very common on trucks with old aftermarket rims), then yes. But unless the wheel is very new/clean, it takes a lot longer and a lot more effort to install than traditional hammer on lead weights.

i could understand banning lead from sticky weights because of how likely they are to fall off. But traditional hammer on lead weights are so easy to get on very nice and snug it's extremely unlikely they would fall off.