Tires All this talk of filled tires got me wanting to do

chucko · Oct 13, 2004

Dealer says I can just use water. Will that rust my rims?

inseeme · Oct 13, 2004

depends on where you live, and how cold it gets, i would not just use water.

Jim_Becker · Oct 13, 2004

You're in Florida, so I don't think you have any reason to worry about freezing. Therefore, water is the least expensive option...fresh water, however!

Henro · Oct 13, 2004

<font color="blue">fresh water, however!
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Actually salt water would be a little heavier. I doubt it would be any worse than Calcium cloride solution what is common in tractor tires. Don't know for sure though... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

For the little bit of difference in weight, I too would go the plain water route... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

One nice thing about plain water...if you put it in and decide you don't want it in there any more, you can water the grass with it... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

aardvark · Oct 13, 2004

I work in the marine industry, and the marine electronics industry specifically (radar, sonar, etc). You don't want salt water near anything. We do 28 day salt spray test on our products, and I can tell you, after a few days in a 5% salt solution at 35 deg C, steel will be significantly corroded. So will uncoated aluminum, so will most adhesives, so will most any plating you can put on steel. There are some coatings that work, but they are the ultra high end military grade coatings that cost $1000's per gallon. Run an electrical current through that metal while it's in salt spray, and the corrosion time is decreased drastically. An electrical current through gold plated, stainless steel, battery contacts will corrode the contact away to practically nothing, in less than a couple days.

I'd just use water and some biodegradeable antifreeze. The antifreeze will help minimize corrosion on the steel, for a small price premium. Figure a couple gallons of antifreeze is alot less than a new pair of rims.