Ive called 3 well rated tire shops

[sdiver68]

In a major metro area...all on Tireracks list of recommended installers.

The only thing I ask is do you feel comfortable changing tires without scratching the rims. Explain I'm willing to pay extra for the extra care.

First place said outright no.

Second place claimed all kinds of expertise with Porsches, Corvettes, etc... but said most of them come in with small dings and couldn't guarantee anything. Sent me to a shop with a touchless mounting machine.

Called them, they said they didn't want the job. Seems they've scratched too many higher dollar rims and just not worth it to them.

WTH...how hard is it?

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[Weather Man]

Risk versus reward. I would go to the shop that does Corvettes and Porsche.

 

[DarkestHour]

That's why I'm selling my wheels when new tires are due.

 

[lisandra]

Some shops take the meaning of that question to far. Some shops feel youre asking if the barrel will be scratched at all and well the answer is yes almost always. But the outside? Meaning the parts the eyes see once mounted sgouldnt be a problem for any competent tire shop.

 

[NightmareMoon]

I can respect a place that is at least self aware of their own abilities.

Find a local place with a good reputation that services the track day crowd. They'll have plenty of experience with expensive wheels and will probably charge like $200 to mount and balance a set of tires. If you want quality AND affordability, you're going to have to take some chances finding a place.

I'm so glad I don't have those carbon fiber GT350R wheels. I don't think I could take the stress of mounting new tires on those expensive wheels.

 

[Kevin08]

I don't see how anyone could scratch a wheel face when mounting a tire?

 

[sdiver68]

I can respect a place that is at least self aware of their own abilities.

Find a local place with a good reputation that services the track day crowd. They'll have plenty of experience with expensive wheels and will probably charge like $200 to mount and balance a set of tires. If you want quality AND affordability, you're going to have to take some chances finding a place.

I had a place like that...then the manager turned over and they scratched the heck out of the inner barrel of my WedSports.

 

[sdiver68]

Some shops take the meaning of that question to far. Some shops feel youre asking if the barrel will be scratched at all and well the answer is yes almost always. But the outside? Meaning the parts the eyes see once mounted sgouldnt be a problem for any competent tire shop.

Good point might be...I dont care about small imperfections on the unseen part. I'm going to stop by a couple more places today.

 

[ElAviator72]

Your Ford dealer should do tires...

 

[jenksdrummer]

I kinda lucked out with a small chain tireshop...

My wife's Camry needed new tires. They beatntire rack's price so I got them from them, took the car there and everything went perfectly.

Phase 2, contacted them about aftermarket tires for the wheels I was sourcing from American Muscle. Mentioned my concerns, they said no problem. They again gave me a great price on the tires I was looking at...beating *Amazon*...

They mounted up the first one no prob, 2nd one as I walked up...they had a problem. The wheel had a wobble to it. They showed me, clearly not their issue, they checked the other remaining 2, and one had a hop to it. They removed the tire from the wobble, mounted on the last good one, and I paid for it all, while I did an RA on the bad wheels. 3 weeks later, they mount them up and no problems.

In all, they've been a bright spot in the whole process.


Recommendation, go to these tire shops and ask to watch and see how they do it. Also realize that tire rack might not be the best price. I know buying premounted tires from TR is a mistake at least where UPS is concerned....

 

[sdiver68]

Recommendation, go to these tire shops and ask to watch and see how they do it. Also realize that tire rack might not be the best price. I know buying premounted tires from TR is a mistake at least where UPS is concerned....

Agreed on cross-shopping TR. However, there is something to be said for buying wheels/tires/TPMS mounted od you can. Peace of mind. Unfortunately 6GR does not carry the tires I want.

Talked to another Mustang owner in the area yesterday. Scratched rim. Have an appt with a shop that specializes in high end. Save that I'll probably use the Roush certified dealership in the area.

 

[o-man]

Obviously none of you guys have worked in a tire shop. As tires get lower and lower profiles AND with rim protectors, it puts a fair amount of pressure on the rim lips, and the mounting arms, which sometimes can cause some minor damage to the wheel lip. I was mostly lucky that I only scratched one wheel in 15+ years, unfortunately it was a Fuchs wheel from a 911. If you are looking for no marks on the barrels, good luck. clamping a wheel from the outside doesn't appear to hold the wheel as well as clamping in the barrel does and sometimes the wheel will spin on the machine. Just an insight rom the "other" side.

 

[sdiver68]

Obviously none of you guys have worked in a tire shop. As tires get lower and lower profiles AND with rim protectors, it puts a fair amount of pressure on the rim lips, and the mounting arms, which sometimes can cause some minor damage to the wheel lip. I was mostly lucky that I only scratched one wheel in 15+ years, unfortunately it was a Fuchs wheel from a 911. If you are looking for no marks on the barrels, good luck. clamping a wheel from the outside doesn't appear to hold the wheel as well as clamping in the barrel does and sometimes the wheel will spin on the machine. Just an insight rom the "other" side.

You said it yourself, you scratched 1 wheel in 15 years. Just looking for the same level of professionalism!

 

[ahl395]

I think alot of places will be overly defensive when it comes to questions like that. Once you ask that they know you may inspect the wheel with a magnifying glass and try to sue them for any little scratch or ding that they may or may not have caused. So they would rather not go through that headache, even if they are skilled enough to handle the task.

I had my car towed out of my driveway one time. Of course being lowered this is always a fun task needing wood planks and all that. Unfortunetly my car has been towed a few times at this point but the guy this time used smaller pieces of wood and oriented them differently than anyone else ever had. He seemed to be having trouble hooking up to the car also. So I just mentioned a few times to please be careful because of the chin splitter, etc and the car was so low. He got pissed and unhooked everything and started leaving. He said he's been doing this for 30 years and blah blah he doesnt want to be responsible if im going to nitpick over things. I convinced him to try it and just tell me if he thought it would hit the bumper and then we would stop. Ended up being fine and he knew what he was doing. Sorry for the long story, but I suspect the same type of attitude is what your getting from the tire shops.

I just take my wheels in and if theres visible damage I would worry about disputing it with them then.

 

[Ruiner46]

Tire rack led me to an installer that has a Hunter Auto34 leverless tire mounting machine. The company I use has all Hunter machinery with no rimclamps and they claim to never damage wheels. I don't know enough about it really, but it sounded good to me and I haven't had any issues with them. Maybe check what equipment each place uses.

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