New tires: time to balance and rotate, but....

Sveta

Sveta

New member
Simplistic question, but being forwarded I might avoid a problem.



I have my concerns about how careful tire shop employees will be with new, perfect wheels as they rebalance them. I'll be removing them with my new HIGH DOLLAR:scared Protech lug socket and will detail the wheels before I remount them. Just want them rebalanced.



What is your experience and approach to letting tire shops balance your wheels/tires without dinging them up, etc.? Also, what about when its time to get new tires put on? I'd appreciate any advice.
 
It is really no different than taking your car in for any kind of service. You need to let the shop know what you expect and make sure you look over the wheels with someone from the shop before and after the work so that if you discover any damage they can't claim it was already there.
 
Find a shop with a high end client base. I was looking for a place of an alignment and found one that specializes in high performance street vehicles (I think when I was there something like 15-20 porsches were in the lot and another handful of other top cars). This helps a little. Also, sometimes if you have the time you can talk them into hanging out while they do the work "to learn." But definitely do a "look over" for damage before you leave and have them sign it too.
 
Yeah, this is a nightmare. The chances for damage are way too high. DO try to find a shop that handles only really fine autos. Perhaps you could contact a local Porsche or MBz, etc. dealership for some guidance.



Earlier this week, a friend got a wheel/tire pkg from Tire Rack and one of the tape weights was knocked off. He took them to the local shop recommended by TR and they managed to permanently damage 3 of the 4 new wheels and no one wants to know anything about it. Friend is pissed, to say the least.



:down
 
The shop I go to for any service I can't do myself, is a little independent shop around here. The guys there always compliment the appearance of my paint and engine bay. They know I detail cars, and keep my car is as good of condition as possible.

They let me watch them when they put my wheels back on, and even let me torque the wheels myself right away.
 
You've got to take precautions & be selective. Be specific and point out how perfect & clean the car is and ask that extra care be taken with the new wheels.



I went to a new shop for mounting & balancing tires I bought on the web because they have a Hunter GSP9700, which is claimed to be the best balancer around, and they succeeded in totally fritzing-up the key for my Honda locks.



They used the wrong size socket & the lock got stuck on the socket and they used vice grips to remove the key, leaving many burrs on it. The key was given back to me & they wouldn't file and wire wheel the key so I had to do that myself.



When I got home I checked the lug nut torque (should be 80 ft/lbs) and found a few over, most under, and 2 that were just finger tight. Also found 1 tire with over 50 psi, don't know how much over 'cause my gauge quits at 50psi but it was WA-A-A-Y over 32psi.



In the future, I'll revisit the Hunter website and locate another shop with a Hunter balancer 'cause I wouldn't go back to ask these jerks "what time is it?" 'cause they can just barely fog a mirror.
 
I'm lucky I have a friend in the tire business and he knows what kind of freak I am.



One thing I would do and I do it for service etc is outright ask the Service manager if he can guarantee his work and point out your rims are in perfect condition and if not mark any existing flaws with a felt marker ( this will come off with RA ) then ask him if they will replace any wheel they damage.



One of 2 things will happen ..



A) He will say yes and then convey the special care needed to the tech doing the job .



B) He will say no .. and you will move on to another shop.



When I leave my car in anyones care I have a check list and I do a walkaround with the service manager and I point out the scratch free swirl free car .. no dents .. I point out the added options like antennas etc so if anything happens no one is going to say it was done before or wasnt there etc. And I point out NOT to wash it and I leave a post-it note on the steering wheel to this effect.



A good shop will gladly do this because is in both parties best interest.
 
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