Is Discount Tire peeing on my leg and calling it rain?

[Monesq]

Been having some vibration problems (post in suspension forum) and can't find the cause. (idler arm may bit a smidge loose but not enough to cause this vibration). My mechanic pulled the tires and found 6.5 ounces tacked on to the passenger front tire, the area where all the vibration seems to be coming from. He fixed it (it was obviously out of balance), and although the vibration has subsided, it is not gone, so I will be installing a moog idler arm this Friday. I called Discount to give them grief and to see if the tire is defective They tell me that my mechanic does not know what he is talking about since my mechanic is using a Dynamic balancer. When I bring my car in, they will find it out of balance on their superior machines. When I asked why 6.5 ounces on my tire when I have never had more than maybe 2 ounces on it at most, same type of tires (Nitto Extremes) he had no answer.

Discount goes on to tell me that since they specialize in these things, their equipment is superior and since the tire is the front right tire, it needed a different machine to balance it.

Any thoughts?

 

[Zewerr]

Re: Is Discount Tire peeing on my leg and calling it rain?

Well, I used to work for Discount for 4 years. And probably about 1/8-1/3 of the people that work there actually know how to balance tires correctly, depending on the area. I just realized that you live in Glendale. I actually worked at both the stores at 43rd and Glendale. Which one are you going to exactly? I also worked at the one at 72nd Ave and Indian School (I believe). In AZ, they're hell of alot busier than say up here in Washington where I also worked, so they really don't care so much if it's done correctly, as long as it's done. With my experiences with stock SyTy wheels (are you using stockers?) For some reason, they're very easy to mount onto the balancer slightly crooked. So the wheel and tire have to be supported as the clamp is tightening down, otherwise it'll look like you have a bent rim when it's spinning on the machine, and hense a bogus balance. If your mechanic is using a dynamic balancer, that's the proper balancer. A static balance is garbage. I wish I still lived down there, I would just have you take it to me, and I would assure a proper balance. Something else you might want to try, most of the DTC's down there now have Road Force balancers. You might want to have them use one of those. Your tires may need to be match mounted to the wheels.

But the part about DTC saying they specialize in these things is actually kinda true. You'll probably have alot better chance getting someone that knows how to balance a tire correctly at DTC than you would at any other shop, because that's all they do is mount and balance wheels and tires. No suspension, no alignments, no brakes. I did the math, in the 4 years I worked for them, I probably changed around 150-200,000 tires.

I'm curious of the names of some of the people you've been talking to at DTC.

 

[sy2639]

Re: Is Discount Tire peeing on my leg and calling it rain?

Been having some vibration problems (post in suspension forum) and can't find the cause. (idler arm may bit a smidge loose but not enough to cause this vibration). My mechanic pulled the tires and found 6.5 ounces tacked on to the passenger front tire, the area where all the vibration seems to be coming from. He fixed it (it was obviously out of balance), and although the vibration has subsided, it is not gone, so I will be installing a moog idler arm this Friday. I called Discount to give them grief and to see if the tire is defective They tell me that my mechanic does not know what he is talking about since my mechanic is using a Dynamic balancer. When I bring my car in, they will find it out of balance on their superior machines. When I asked why 6.5 ounces on my tire when I have never had more than maybe 2 ounces on it at most, same type of tires (Nitto Extremes) he had no answer.

Discount goes on to tell me that since they specialize in these things, their equipment is superior and since the tire is the front right tire, it needed a different machine to balance it.

Any thoughts?

I have had problems with my local DT. They mounted my directional tires the wrong way even after I pointed out that the rims were marked front and rear. I paid extra for the roadforce balancing and they didn't do it until I questioned them about it. Then they told me that 2 of my rims were so far out of spec that they couldn't balance them. It ended up that they didn't setup the machine correctly for the different offset for the rear rims. It took them a while to figure that one out. I don't have much of confidence in them.

 

[dgoodhue]

Re: Is Discount Tire peeing on my leg and calling it rain?

It ended up that they didn't setup the machine correctly for the different offset for the rear rims. It took them a while to figure that one out. I don't have much of confidence in them.

The deep offset (and relatively narrow opening of the rear wheels gives a lot of shop problems, some don't have spacer to do it properly. It is crutical this is done properly for a good balance.

 

[SBNova]

Re: Is Discount Tire peeing on my leg and calling it rain?

I am surprised you had 6.5oz on a wheel. My friend used to work for Tire Kingdom, and he knew how to balance tires. He even won the TireKingdom quickest tire changer race thing they have, state wide. Anyway, he always said if you have more than 2 or 3 oz of weight you need to dismount the tire, spin it 180 degrees and remount it. That usually reduces the amount of weight needed substantially.

 

[jamnut]

Re: Is Discount Tire peeing on my leg and calling it rain?

A few years ago I purchased some wheels from DTD to be shipped to me. Every single one of them was out of balance when I got them. The fronts were so out of balance that the steering wheel would shake pretty good at speeds above 45. Once I got the fronts re-balanced & the front end straightened out, I noticed a pretty good shake in the rear of the car & had to have the rears re-done. I don't trust them anymore.

 

[Luke]

Re: Is Discount Tire peeing on my leg and calling it rain?

imo, I would try to find a GOOD gm dealer with a road force balancer. try to talk to some of the techs and see if any of the older guys are familar with sy/tys. wheel and balancer setup IS crucial. can be quite the pita to get all the wheel and tire combos matched up,but its worth it. its also possible you got a bad new tire, seen it many times before. in that case demand a free replacement! just my :2cents: good luck.

 

[gmcturbo]

Re: Is Discount Tire peeing on my leg and calling it rain?

it seems like all the tire/oil changers at my work can care less about your vehicle. take it to someone you trust and forget about DT.

 

[Monesq]

Re: Is Discount Tire peeing on my leg and calling it rain?

Thank you for your responses and ideas. I did take it back to Discount and had them test it under road force. They corrected the problem for the most part. The vibration is minimal. The right tire had a .012 road force ?? Initially it was at over .05 which is why they had added so much weight on it initially. The tech (it took him over 40 minutes this time to balance both front tires) though young, knew what he was doing. I could tell that he had to install a different sleeve from what they normally use to make it stay on the balancer correctly. They also had to do a 180 on the right tire otherwise, it would not balance correctly.

The guy told me that the front right rim might be slighlty out of whack, but not enough to be of much concern. I am nevertheless going to install a new moog indler arm and take it to a specialist for a 4 wheel allignment. Apparently there is only one guy in Phoenix that my mechanic would trust.

As for the location of the DCT it was in the Arrowhead area of North Glendale.

BTW no one had ever heard of or seen a Ty before. All the workers there kept on walking by the truck asking what the heck it is. My response, as always is it is the most PITA vehicle you will ever love and never want to get rid of and there is not much out there that will beat a well tuned one in the 1/4 mile.

I have been using DTC ever since I owned my vehicle,. this is the first time I have had a problem with balancing. I think the guy who did the initial balance really had no idea what he was doing.

Again, thanks for the input. I really trust my mechanic and it was good to see that his using a Dynamic balancer was a good thing even though DTC said it wasn't. BTW, when they balanced the tires, they used exactly the same amount of weight my mechanic did with his inferior machine! lol.

 

[gkrcr882]

Re: Is Discount Tire peeing on my leg and calling it rain?

Balancing tires isn't brain surgery, it's all in how you set up the machine and how you mount the wheel on the cone. 6.5 oz is a ton of weight, the most I've ever had to use is 3.5 on an old minivan rim. The rule I go by is that if you can't get everything balanced by the 3rd or 4th attempt, re-mount the tire. Glad everything sort of worked out for you!:tup:

 

[Zewerr]

Re: Is Discount Tire peeing on my leg and calling it rain?

Balancing tires isn't brain surgery, it's all in how you set up the machine and how you mount the wheel on the cone. 6.5 oz is a ton of weight, the most I've ever had to use is 3.5 on an old minivan rim. The rule I go by is that if you can't get everything balanced by the 3rd or 4th attempt, re-mount the tire. Glad everything sort of worked out for you!:tup:

Clearly you've never had to balance a set of Swampers!!!

 

[gkrcr882]

Re: Is Discount Tire peeing on my leg and calling it rain?

Not yet! Must be fun getting those on the balancer!!:rotf: :rotf:

 

[Zewerr]

Re: Is Discount Tire peeing on my leg and calling it rain?

Many time you have to take the splash cover off to get the damn things to fit!

 

[Monesq]

Re: Is Discount Tire peeing on my leg and calling it rain?

Update: The new idler arm (moog) is working great! very slight vibration which should go away after I get a good balance on the wheels. My mechanic tightened u my steering box though and I guess I had gotten use to a loose wheel. Seems really tight now.

Thanks for all your suggestions.