On Fri, 6 Sep 2019 03:25:48 -0000 (UTC), Arlen G. Holder wrote:
> But even better than saving money, is all the knowledge gleefully gained,
> where we can purchase, ship, dismount, mount, and balance our tires such
> that we have no discernible vibration at speed, and, even more importantly,
> we get to enjoy working on our cars at our own pace & convenience, knowing
> that the job is done well (don't even get me started on how tire shops skip
> critical steps because all they care about is how much time it takes).
I should be careful not to malign all tire shops, where, it's only "some"
that cheat the customers.
For example, I've personally witnessed tire shops giving bad advice to
customers (e.g., one told a customer in front of me who had brakes done
that they "needed" new tires because the wear bars were within 2/32" of the
legal limit - which means they lied to that customer - whom I pulled aside
and advised that it's a lie that they told her).
In another case, I watched the tire shop inflate ALL tires on ALL vehicles
to the same PSI (they didn't even KNOW what it was when I asked).
And I've seen them pry off my BBS hubcaps they don't bother using the $5
tool. <
https://i.postimg.cc/sfqPNcVc/mount13.jpg>
I've seen them torque all lug nuts (mine are bolts) to the same torque,
which, again, they didn't even KNOW what it was - they just torque ALL
wheels to the same spec.
They didn't know the bimmer I had brought in has a specification that is
different for the fronts versus the rears on tire pressure (they just
pressurize all passenger car tires to the same psi).
They didn't even know how to match mount the tires by the dots, since they
simply use the Hunter wheel balancing machine - which - one could argue -
is OK given that it will take into account mismatches - but - where - at
least theoretically - they would use the least amount of weight if they
simply bothered to match mount.
I've seen them NOT remove the old wheel weights (particularly, again, on my
BBS wheels since they're stick-on weights attached to the inside), and
certainly they don't spend the time to clean up the rim as well as you
might, at home.
The fact is that people who don't know how to mount and balance tires don't
even NOTICE how many things tire shops do wrong, but I'm not going to say
ALL tire shops skip all these steps ... but certainly I've seen many that
do.
My photos were, I'm told, instrumental in getting Midas kicked out of the
Tire Rack list of recommended retailers, for example, when I documented
them breaking just about every rule there is for mounting tires
professionally.
Having said that, the main reason you mount and balance tires at home is
because you like home maintenance and repair, where it just FEELS GOOD to
have the power to mount and balance your own tires anytime you want to in
the convenience of your own garage, where, in the end, you KNOW the job is
done right every step of the way - and if FEELS GOOD to have done it
yourself.
What feels good is
o Knowing HOW to purchase great tires on the net
o At great prices, shipped to your home
o Then being able to dismount the old tires whenever you want to
o And being able to mount & balance the new tires at your convenience
o And, being able to properly patchplug a repair whenever you need to
While for some people (like trader_4, this is too much thinking), for me,
all this convenience, learning, and utility ... is just plain fun.
Hence, I thank you for helping me learn how to do the job even better!