Ouch! Wheel shop bent me over...

[4C FED]

Re: Ouch! Wheel shop bent me over...

I remember when I couldnt get my Zr-1's balanced correctly by the place that put the tires on, I had to to the GM dealership. They had someone there that only worked on Corvette wheels and he used the Road-force balancing which corrected the problem. I believe it was about $90 for all 4.

I told them no weights on the outside & to use tapeweights on the inside. I wanted tehm balanced the same way it was done last time which is a weight on the inside and another on the hub centerline. It's written on the work order.

When I got home the only put clip weights on the inside. Maybe I'll take them back & make them do it over. That way I'll make sure they worked for that $84.

 

[Zewerr]

Re: Ouch! Wheel shop bent me over...

Yeah, that's the lazy ass method of balancing a tire, a static balance. Wheels today need to be balance dynamically, especially one that wide. It's like balancing only one end of a driveshaft, totally pointless. I used to work for America's/Discount Tire Co. I will never have tire work done anywhere else, unless it's done by me! Best prices, and it's a company that doesn't BS their employees or customers!

 

[leadfoot]

Re: Ouch! Wheel shop bent me over...

2x dismount/mount $17ea = $34
2x spin balance $17ea = $34
2x chrome valve stems $7.25 ea = $14.50
Sales Tax $1.12

Should have come with a complimentary BJ form the chick behind the counter !

 

[nastety92]

Re: Ouch! Wheel shop bent me over...

I've worked at a few dealerships and that price seems a little high to me. Right now I work for Nissan and we charge $30 each to mount and balance tires. My old work charged $15-20 each to mount and balance tires, all plus materials. I would say taht $84 was a little high.
Good luck,
Nick

 

[Syclone#892]

Re: Ouch! Wheel shop bent me over...

Yup that sounds expensive. But I can tell you that its only a little more than my part time job charges.
Anything 17" or over is a low profile to them and charges more, I want to say in the $120 range for all 4.
I have worked at this Firestone (corporate) for over 9 yrs and this started about a yr or so ago.

As far as balancing with out the lug centric I can't say for sure but I believe we can do that now also.
We have a Hunter road force balancer with there huge selection of centering cones. Old machines used 3 universal cones that were big and bulky and would not seat correctly on the syty rims. WIth this new cone setup there is probably 15 different cones which are double sided, this way they are only as big as they need to be.
My 17" wheels have the stud for the center cap sticking up so I wasnt able to balance them before but now that we have these new cones I can.

If I was having tires done I would find a place with the road force balancer and have them done that way it is soo much nicer and truer of a balance.

Sorry to hear about the error in the price at least they didnt do it then try to charge you the extra.

 

[the baPhoon]

Re: Ouch! Wheel shop bent me over...

Ouch, now im really not looking forward to having 315/30- 18's mounted and balanced...

Bummer dude. Maybe ill just buy the tires and go to my old shop and pull up some favors haha.

 

[Ty0279]

Re: Ouch! Wheel shop bent me over...

Yeah, that's a pretty high price.

Discount Tire > Les Schwab

 

[Zewerr]

Re: Ouch! Wheel shop bent me over...

How do you set up a stock SyTy wheel for dynamic balancing, if you do NOT have a "lug-centric" adapter?

Just curious as to others' ideas. I'll await your reply, then post how I do my rears. (I have a lug-centric adapter, but the 'fingers' are too short to do the rears, so I can only use it on my front SyTys, and my other GMs, including the Corvette). My rear SyTy set-up will also work for the fronts.

Two 'cones' are not the answer.

DP

Yeah, I remember running into that problem with a few different wheels with the fingers. But it really isn't necessary to use it, since the stock wheels are hub centric. I do remember using an adaptor plate that you bolt onto the wheel, and it slides onto the balancer shaft. It seemed to work fairly well for alot of the heavier 8x6.5 wheels, and they came in different bolt patterns. Balancing my wheels, I just back coned it with a cup on the front. I did notice stock SyTy wheels were easy to get slightly crooked, though when doing this, so you kinda have to support the wheel perfectly centered while your tightening the wingnut. You can usually tell when it was sitting true when the nut tightens up solidly, rather than gradually.

 

[Baythan]

Re: Ouch! Wheel shop bent me over...

When I got home the only put clip weights on the inside. Maybe I'll take them back & make them do it over. That way I'll make sure they worked for that $84.

Better yet, find out where the corporate office is and write a nice letter to them telling them that you feel you were charged too much. Show them prices from other places. Tell them you want to be a returning customer. Tell them you're in a car club and know a lot of potential customers. (first find out from the manager WHY you were charged so much...if he responds "that's our price" then write the letter!)

You'd be surprised how much you can get done with simple letters. I once got a $400 credit from Nitto because some very young tires on my Grand National began side-splitting. (I bought BFG's with the $400. :lol

 

[4C FED]

Re: Ouch! Wheel shop bent me over...

Better yet, find out where the corporate office is and write a nice letter to them telling them that you feel you were charged too much. Show them prices from other places. Tell them you want to be a returning customer. Tell them you're in a car club and know a lot of potential customers. (first find out from the manager WHY you were charged so much...if he responds "that's our price" then write the letter!)

You'd be surprised how much you can get done with simple letters. I once got a $400 credit from Nitto because some very young tires on my Grand National began side-splitting. (I bought BFG's with the $400. :lol

That sounds good.
I've been a regualr customer there since they opened. And I'd like to keep going since it's very convenient.
Their prices seemed OK on everything I've had done up until now.

 

[4C FED]

Re: Ouch! Wheel shop bent me over...

I called some other local shops for pricing to do the same work I had done Saturday.
Wheelworks = $40
Americas Tire Store = $50

 

[Baythan]

Re: Ouch! Wheel shop bent me over...

I called some other local shops for pricing to do the same work I had done Saturday.
Wheelworks = $40
Americas Tire Store = $50

Perfect...put that in the letter. I'm guessing you'll be getting a refund if you play your cards right.

 

[autoaddictions]

Re: Ouch! Wheel shop bent me over...

here a inside tip!! if a shop tells you its more because the wheels are aftermarket or chrome or to large. It because they have ****ed up a set like that in the past. Grab you shit and run!!