Hello all...

Thought I'll share this with you guys. It's quite funny (I think). Anyway, I got 4 new tires and will need them mount and balance...so I made two phone calls to two different shops

Shop #1
Me: Hi, I need to mount and balance 4 new tires and the sizes are 245/45/18
Shop: Is it on wheels already?
Me: Huh? No, I need to mount them
Shop: You mean, unmount current tires and mount/balance the new ones
Me: Yes
Shop: What car?
Me: Huh????? It's a...... Infiniti.....G35
Shop: Ok, 30 bucks then

Shop #2
Me: Hi, I need to mount and balance 4 new tires and the sizes are 245/45/18
Shop: Sorry, what size again
Me: 245/45/18
Shop: 20 bucks each
Me: Thanks

Is it just me or is it Shop #1? What's the purpose of asking car model? Whether it's a Porsche or Hyundai, it's just 4 or 5 or whatever lug nuts and remove? If I said I had a 1985 Toyota Camry would it have been $15 per tire?

 

shops charge more for tpms vs regular valve stems.. maybe they know that by the type of car..and figure regular people wouldnt know the answer if they just asked about tpms

 

^+1 They assume (and they should) that the customer has slim to no knowledge on car's requirements. Additionally, they ask for insurance purposes because if you tell them to put a 210/10/19s on your wheel and its pops off while you are driving, they will be responsible. So they do the added check. Now, what's really annoying is when Infiniti asks for your VIN#!

 

we ask car because of tpms and high end cars usually mean premium wheels.


i hate that!!!! even when i give them a part number. i called for a replacement nut and they asked for vin, im like its the same nut on 03-07 and its te same freaking nut ont 350z!!!

 

Thanks...for the tpms explanation and premium wheels.

But then again, do they really watch your wheels? I brought them almost brand spanking rims the last time I had the tire shop put in the wheels and they just bang them in with the torque wrench and of course they over torque it and left scratches in the lug nut holes.

I really doubt they would take care of the tpms nor will they watch your expensive wheels when they torque them. In any case, I could of own some cheap winter 18 beat up rims with no tpms but they would of said 30 bucks a tire anyway on the phone.

I don't mean to talk down on the shops and I am sure there are good shops out there.

 

Any 05 and 06 G's out there with the OEM 18 sport rims?

What is the factory PSI setting for the oem 18's? Thanks!

 

do they take better care of the rims? probably not at alot of shops

But.. the tpms sensor they are very easy on.. Alot of times they pull out the valve stems to take out the air, on a cheapy stem, they can just replace the whole stem if they screw it up.. On a tpms one, they cant just mangle them getting out the stem, if the stem wont unscrew, they need to just hold the stem down to let out the air which is slower, but obviously cheaper than a new tpms valve

 

Wouldn't taking out the valve core be a lot quicker if they can't take the stem out?

 

So I got the Eagle GT's mounted today. I like the thread pattern of the tires. But the rim protector lip is weird. It creates this extra gap by where the rim meets the lip of the tire. From certain angles it looks like the rim is too small and floating inside the tire. It creates this hollow spot.



The 245/45/18 fits 7.5 to 9 inch rims. Mines are 7.5 so I thought it may be my rims. Then when I look around on the web I see the gap as well on other rims. Here's an example.

 

I think it looks good, and the rim will thank you.

 

that is very normal.

the shop only charged you 30$ to dismount and then mount the new ones and a balance? that is a great deal. cheapest i hear of is about $10/tire but now a days it seems like $20 is about the norm.

 

Sorry, I should of said 30 per tire. So it would be $120 total.

I took it to shop #2 which is 20 per tire and 2 per disposal so total was $88.

 

^oh damn thats too much

 

The tires look good Bobby. That gap is that particular tire has an extra ridge on it where it meets the rim, it is called a rim protector.
I ran around 34psi on those rims when I had them.
I pay $20 each also for an install and balance and I have the shop owner do mine and he guarantees no scratches or marks for me.

 

How much does it cost in NJ? I looked through a bunch of installers through tirerack and 20 bucks per tire for 45 series is one of the cheapest in my area.