Lots of tire talk lately, and I think I need to pull the trigger in the next month or so...
Where do you guys typically go for tires? pcar dealer? local chain tire store? online and then take them to your favorite mechanic?

 

Good question, especially for those with a GTS and center locks.

 

http://www.motorweek.org/features/go...orce_balancing here: http://www.aransascountymotorsports.com/

 

I have them put on my wheels.

 

Check in with your local PCA chapter - they'll know.

 

Wheel Enhancement, if you are near LA.

 

Recently ordered tires from Tirerack, had them shipped to dealer who installed. Both do a very nice job.

 

I go to my dealer. They match Tirerack prices, and I don't have to pay for shipping. I also trust them to not screw up my wheels, and if they do, I would rather deal with them as a good customer then a local tire shop. I have CL wheels on my GTS, so that's another reason, but still used my dealer when I had 911's with regular 5 lug wheels.

 

I drive the +180 miles round trip and have done at Tire Rack in South Bend. They do excellent work. Road force balanced. Proper sticky weights. Not a mark on the wheels. And they charge $15 per tire balancing.

 

This is good to know that they match prices and your other points are well taken. When the time comes, I will ask my dealer.

 

Ask whomever you select if they have the proper tire machine and will guarantee they won't mark your wheels. You will be surprised at how many do not have the right equipment. Any high line car dealer is going to have the right tire machine (Porsche, Audi, BMW, Aston Martin, Ferrari) and a few independent shops do as well. In Northern VA, I go see my pal Chris Coulter, especially since I have HRE wheels on my car. They've never put a mark on 'em. Chris also has a state-of-the-art hyper-expensive wheel alignment unit in his shop. He's a gearhead, 993 owner, fellow instructor and all-around good guy. Here's his track rat car...

http://cohoauto.com/

 

You can also check Tirerack's rec for an installer in your area. This is what I'll do if the dealer is out of the ballpark on price.

http://www.tirerack.com/content/tire...tallation.html

 

I almost always buy from the Tire Rack. Have tried several mounting options. The only one where I can trust everything will be done not just correctly but perfectly is Omni in Totem Lake. (For you Seattle area guys, highly recommended.) The shop doesn't look like much and you may wonder taking a 911 in there but they actually do a lot of them because word gets around among people who care. Have Tire Rack drop ship, unless you want to scrub and detail before mounting.

Any place else and I insist on standing right there and watch the whole thing. Anyone who thinks tire shops know what they're doing would get a real wake up call doing this just once. Pretty much all of them think the correct way is to over tighten and then maybe (maybe) hit it with a torque wrench to hear that click, even though it means nothing because they've over tightened and have no idea what correct torque is anyway. Anyone still wants to have blind faith please read my post about the car that rolled at 120+ when the tire deflated because the tire shop damaged the valve stem.

 

I never had a problem with discount tire regardless of what car I was driving.

 

Road Force locations: http://www.gsp9700.com/search/findgsp9700.cfm For ref, I pay $ 200 for four wheels at AC Motorsports. They have several cars that go 200+ here: https://www.texasmile.net/ T