Snowtrac all the way ❄

TL;DR winter wheels, part IV, or so

Yay, this is the time of the year when Mariah Carey is gently thawing, soon ready to jingle all our day.

Anyway, starting next week-end, it's going to be 4°C or less in the morning. It seems like a good time to put the snow wheels back on the car.

For this third winter with the Caterham in only 18 months, I think I finally reach a proper clean look. It began with the immediate realization that the Avon ZT7 wouldn't cut it, followed by the stainless steel trims and 3D-printed caps before this stage of new additions.

On the menu today :

• new(er) pair of steelies for the back, that I got last year I think
• new pair of Vredestein Snowtrac5 mounted on those
• metallic adhesive 45mm centre badges for the hub caps
• new set of M12x1.5 lug nuts from Amazon (all about lug nuts here)

All four wheels are cleaned and brushed with dish soap, rinsed with the garden hose, let to dry under the afternoon sun. 

They're made shiny with a good layer or carnauba wax followed by a liberal application of WD40 as advised by Image Wheels on their spanking new website : "During winter or long-term storage, coat the wheels with Image Wheel Protector or WD-40 to protect against road salt corrosion."

"Aliexpress special" centre badges add a final finish to the center caps, the whole looks more cohesive. From what I understand they're an imitation of some JDM wheel brand.

A brand new set of lug nuts comes straight from Amazon, fresh from this morning. They're virtually identical to the ones provided by Image Wheels. They're a far better fit than the original Caterham ones from the Juno wheels. At this point I consider them as consumables, I think they're 12€ for a pack of 20 in a nice box.

For fitting on the car, I just raise the top-right corner high enough to do both sides on the front, then move to rear-left where again I lift the car high enough to be able to do both rear wheels at once. On a regular car you would be able to do one side at a time (left or right), not front then back.

I'm now ready for cold rain, maybe a bit of frost. Not sure I would venture in snow. I won't touch salted roads, that for sure.