Harvey in FL

The car should be raised only at the illustrated jacking points as shown in your manual. I use a hockey puck or a small piece of 2x4 to fit the jacking points to make sure I don't let the jack stand touch the rocker panels.

Edgy01

The OEM weights are metric, and due to EU regulations, no longer made of lead. The US ones are, of course, different. What I do to sort of 'hide' the weights is put silver duct tape over all my weights and then they blend into the paintwork on the inside of the wheel. The original reason I did this was to reduce the chance of a weight flinging off the wheel if the foam double-stick tape fails.

helispud

I will NEVER take the Porsche in to the tire shop. I take the wheels off at home and take them in the back of the pickup for them to repair or replace the tires. I am also able to be in the shop as they work on my wheels/tires. Because of the local pickup/SUV owners propensity for putting 20-22" wheels on their vehicles the local shops do have excellent tire changing equipment.

Bob Rouleau

A good tire shop is likely to do a better job than the dealer.

KBS911

I've been very happy with tire changes at my dealer. With my PCA and dealer discount my tire prices are just a few bucks more than tire rack, the tire change and balance is comparable to the discount tire chains and more importantly the service technicians are top notch. They support our local PCA chapter, local community charities that I donate to, and frankly I'll pay an extra couple of bucks to support them. I trust them to take care of my car. They are a one stop shop for my Porsche's needs and know my car inside and out. That matters to me.

Macster

I've used indy tire shops and stopped. They are to my experience all terrible and treat any Porsche like a 5 year old Ford F-150 pickup.

One tire monkey wanted to jack up front of my Boxster using floor jack under the front "cross member". There isn't one.

Others have used floor jacks and with the jacking pad unprotected the metal to metal contact has marred the undercoat finish which if I drove in salty areas could see the car start to corrode.

While a Porsche dealer often charges more my experience is they're better at handling these cars. There are exceptions to be sure so you want to use a Porsche dealer that has a rep for doing good tire work.

Sincerely,

Macster.

atr911

I run a garage where a large portion of our work involves tires.

If we get a car with low profile rims it goes to one of our guys who is meticulous about his work. The guys put my 997 on the lift using four hockey pucks under the jack points (they've been shown how to locate these) and use plastic covered sockets to remove/install the lugnuts. The lugs are torqued using a manual torque wrench (no air guns or torque sticks near my baby).

Tire Changers: I'm in the middle of shopping for a new 'touchless' one and they really are idiot proof. Only way to damage a rim is to drop it while mounting it (some even have hydraulic systems to lift the wheel off the floor and line it up with the clamps!!). When my guy did my winter tires, he used and el cheepo mid range machine. He was careful and skillful and my rims are flawless.

Tire Balancers: Most mid to high range balancers will do equal jobs. The fancy ones will measure run out and tire imperfections with a laser and will count spokes so that the weights can be hidden behind spokes (really cool feature). Some will say road force (a bar that applies a weight to the tire to simulate driving on a road) will give a better balance but only because it takes into account slight changes in the surface and composition of the tire.

Bottom line is that any competent tire shop can do the job, it comes down to trust. I agree that either way you should go over any imperfections WITH the service advisor. If the rims are brand new, that should be pointed out as well and the advisor should sign off on that.

Ask about road hazard warranty too.

michaeldantep

I went to a America's tire b/c they gave me a good price on tires, but they scratched my rims. They are all about turnover in those places b/c they have low margins. They workers are all young guys where I've gone and they are very rough with the cars. I don't know where to take mine next time. I think I may just get the manager's attention before I even buy the tires and express my concerns. I would also take really good pics of each rim prior to the visit and show the manager that you have such pics.

Bob Rouleau

I use an independent (a really big one) that does race cars and many of the high end cars. No issues. I stick with my original post, a GOOD shop will know how to handle fancy wheels. I have had wheels scratched by a the Porsche dealer and never by the independent who has better equipment and a couple of techs who specialize in high end cars.