dark knight

changing tires soon, is there anyway to avoid wheel damage from those machines, can tires be put on by hand, I have had 3 wheels on my M5 scratched by 3 different places, I'm so desperate to avoid damage I'd even contemplate mailing one wheel at a time somewhere good
any ideas?

Mr. C4

Find a new tyreshop! This should not be a problem. I have good experience with shops using the Hunter machines.

Ciao,

J.

Blacksport350

Ditto on the good tire shop. Around here I have only 2 shops in a 40 mile radious that don't trash big wheels. The one that is the best specializes in mounting 20" plus wheels and tires so our small 18" wheels are not an issue for them. Oh, and tell them that you don't want ANY marks on your wheels and make it clear thatr there will be an issue if there are.

Good luck!

Boulder GT3

I hate to be a PITA about stuff but this is really good advice. I just had 4 rims refinished and then mounted at Discount Tire. 2 of the 4 came back sratched. ARGGGGG. It's worth the time to go back and ask the guy doing the mounting if he is up to the job. What a hassle.

It was an idiot move on my part not using one of the two guys that know me and do a good job.

Mr Michael B

Yup, its all about the tire tech. Tell them up front you want to be sure the wheels look just as good when you pick up as they did when you brought them in.

The issue is that most tire places have a $7 an hour tire buster. You need to go to a shop that has a regular tech or a tire specialist doing the job. They cost more, but its so very worth it.

Check on the Tire Rack web site for "recommended tire installers" in your area. They are all pretty safe bets.

CWay27

The machine that scratches the wheels, are the old ones where you fix the wheel on the turning table and there is only one manual "arm" that pushes on the sidewalls. The new machines have two hydraulic "arms". They can set the height and they have nylon rollers at the end of them to roll along the sidewalls while the wheel is turning.

Holger B

I only go to places with one of these:
http://www.eagleequip.com/page/EE/PROD/TC/ART-MASTER

Nothing ever touches the rim. Really cool to watch in action.

TAch Miami

Not all of them. My mechanic closed his shop and became a manager at one of Tire Rack's installers. He assured me that the 4 rims would come out with no problems. Well the first rim came out out with a 12 long scratch because his "experienced" guy didn't noticed the nylon guide piece was missing and a couple of gouges because the pry bar slipped a couple of times. Luckily they paid for the refinish.

I'd recommend going to some place that sells HREs or some other high end brands and ask who they use.

FixedWing

I too have had bad luck with the Tire Rack installer list. I'm not sure what it takes to get on that list but apparently it doesn't take much. What's more, when I complained to Tire Rack they ignored me.

The only local shop that can do this job properly is not on their list. But all of the local dealers know who it is and take their wheels there. The best equipment is so expensive that only a few shops are willing to invest in it.

So I agree with the other here -- it is all about the quality of the equipment and the skill of the operator. The very best equipment will mount and dismount the tyres without ever touching the wheels. Pretty amazing actually.

Stephen

Paul 996

Jumping on here. Any recommendations for the DC Metro area. Just had a set of mine gtet pretty trashed mounting track tires and then mounting snows.

dmc90025

Folks travel from far and wide to visit Wheel Balancing in Culver City (LA). Just had four put on my GT3, all good. Earlier this year my erstwhile M5 had four PS2s installed and I stood over Discount TIre with a tire iron, they still dented two of my rims, which of course they denied. You might say DT should heave their equipment, but that would be a bad pun.