Why is finding a good tire shop so hard?

[Quattro Pete]

Spoke to the shop - will have to drive by there so that they can take a look at it.

In the meantime, I am getting some conflicting info from other boards... the area where the damage is is actually a slight bump (feels elevated when you run a finger through it). Some people say that it's because it was hit from the other side (while the tire was off). Others say that this is just caused by oxidation of the aluminum below the clearcoat and is normal with older rims - kind of like getting a rock chip on your hood and not repairing it - will eventually cause a bulge.

Still, that last argument doesn't sit with me well as this crack appeared all of a sudden.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Final update: the shop's story is the same as I mentioned above: natural oxidation of the aluminum below the clearcoat that causes the cracking. I am still curious whether it really happened all on its own or it got some help from someone/something. I don't have any proof in order to dispute it. Then again, the rims are 6 years old... I guess I can't expect them to keep looking like new forever.

 

[gonesurfing]

I've had the worst luck with tire shops. I have to chime in on this topic!

1) Local chain put 3 tires on my Cherokee, only to realize that they didn't have a 4th in stock after I had been waiting for 3 hours.
2) Same local chain (different location) put wrong tires on my wife's car (expensive touring tire instead of the standard model she specifically requested), overcharged her for said tires, AND left the lugnuts loose. Wife called on the way home and jokingly said "it sounds like the wheel is about to fall off". Well, it really was!
3) Just 2 weeks ago, a national chain put on 4 new tires on my Tacoma, and left the jam nut loose on my outer tie rod end. I had them redo the alignment, but they never corrected cross camber between the front wheels. I was too frustrated to care at that point. And is it normal to have to use 3 wheel weights in the same location to balance a tire? One tire has three weights, one has two weights, and two have no weights. At some point, it probably makes sense to take the weights off and remount the tire 180degrees off. I have 32" BFG's on my jeep with less weight.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: gonesurfing
And is it normal to have to use 3 wheel weights in the same location to balance a tire?

Yeah. The number of weights depends on how much is needed to balance the wheel. For example, if a single weight is 5 grams and you need 15 grams for proper balance, then you'll get 3 weights.

To reduce the total amount of balancing weight needed, some shops will attempt to optimize the rim/tire combo first by matching the heaviest part of the rim with the lightest part of the tire. Alas, this involves more work, so most shops either don't do it or charge you extra for it.

 

[ChiTDI]

QP -look for a PM.