I'm probably going to break the Bank and pick up some 22's this summer.
Tbryne had a sale and I'm going to pick up the Eradispeed front and rear kit.
Those will be installed this summer as well. This of course will not allow me to run my stock 17's anymore.

Does anyone have any recommendations for some type of robust wheel coating or cheap 18" plus configuration that I can use when the snow hits in Nov?

 

I think it is wise to run the larger brakes with the 22's, but agree that you will want to remove the wheels (chrome I suppose) for the winter, as salt tears 'em up. I've seen some cheap 18's on Ebay, and would think you could get some decent money for your 17's...which will ofset the cost of the 18's. I sold my stock 16's (wheels only) on Ebay for $250, charged the guy $50 for shipping and shipped them from work. Then I bought a set of Escalade wheels (new) from Ebay for $236 with $60 shipping, so I broke about even. I needed tires anyway, so it worked out good. I run them in the winter and my 20" Centerlines in the summer.

 

Actually Black & Chrome. I'll probably end up getting these...

Demoda Authority in Black

There is nothing that frustrates me more than seeing some one driving a Navigator or Escalade with Chrome 24's and there is 10 inches of snow on the ground. I even saw someone over in Detroit rollin' on Davin's in Jan. Just Stupid!!! Sorry to vent.

What is pushing this issue is that I slit a tire last month and I can't get a price below $200 - For one tire!!! So I figure why not spend 10 times as much and buy some summer meats.

It's cheaper than a supercharger. Even with my employee discount.

I've seen Silverado SS wheels cheap but most of them have been in Gray.