Would you let a major chain change your tires?

Bought new tires today on my non-Porsche DD at Discount Tires. It was a slow day there, so I was talking to one of the managers, and asked if they ever had any exotica purchase tires there. He said they've had Ferrari and Lambos, and one day they had 4 Porsches. (This store is near a high-income area.) So, I got to thinking - does anyone here on the list use a chain store like Firestone or Discount Tire to install your new tires? At the least, I was thinking that I'd just pull 2 tires off at a time (would help stagger the cost, too...) and let them just mount the tires, then I'd re-install the wheels. Our local Porsche indy wants $35-40 each tire as a Tire Rack installer, so I was thinking that the chains probably have the same machines, so why not.

I _only_ use Discount Tire - the store near me has performed flawlessly, has never boogered one of my wheels, has repaired tires I didn't even buy from them, and has been able to balance wheels that another shop repeatedly failed to get right. If the equipment is working right, I don't feel that it matters whether it's installed at a Discount store or at an independent Porsche mechanic. I do request that they are hand-torqued and provide the spec; I don't know if it's necessary, but they've always been cool about it.

Yes, but I learned my lesson the hard way. Now, I hover around while they do it, being a total PITA.

I always use Discount Tire as well. Never had a problem and always great service and prices.

Best to find out from others. I have had an Audi dealership crunch all four wheels and a tire "specialist" do the same.

We've got a good discount tire shop near my house too. They once boogered a TPMS sensor on my M3 but owned it, ordered the replacement, and quickly swapped it out two days later. But that's one out of 20 trips there. I will say though, on non-performance cars, it annoys the hell out of me that the major chains won't patch sidewalk leaks. They claim it's because they won't last but I always take it to the local guy tire shop down the road, pay my $5, and never have any issues. I believe it's a scam to sell more tires.

I've used the Discount Tire near where I live, too. Like Schnell, I insist that they be hand torqued, etc. I watched the shop manager make them remove and re-torque when he caught them not doing by hand, but otherwise they did fine. Plus, I got the best deal on super sports that I've ever gotten. ....however, the next time I had the chance, I popped them off and correctly seated the center caps

+1 for Discount Tire

Depends totally on the actual tech and machine they use. I use Discount tire too. They have the regular tire changing machine and a touch-free machine they use on high-end wheels. Even the so called touch-free machine, you need a careful operator. They can chip your rims in no time if the tech is not careful. The Discount I go to they use a 4" extension between the gun and the socket. That extension is a torsional bar that limits the torque the impact gun can put on the lug bolts. However, they should ALWAYs do the final torquing by hand using a torque wrench. This is SOP regardless of what cars they work on. In the Costco I go to, they are even better. They hand torque the wheels 3 times. Once when they put the wheel on, second time when they choke the wheel when the wheel is still off the ground, and last time when all 4 wheels are on the ground with the car's full weight on them. However, they don't have that fancy touch-free machine.

Here in greater Seattle, there is a chain called Les Schwab. I've used them on both my recent 911s (a 993 and a 996). I've also used Discount Tire for both my 993 and our other cars. Never had so much as a scratch on a rim. It really depends upon how good the actual mechanic is. The equipment, if used properly, works fine. In all cases, they have used a torque wrench to do the final tightening of the lug nuts.

Do these places let you drive the car onto the lift or into the bay or does the mechanic/technician request to do it?

If, if, if...you drive your P-car in a spirited manner frequently, and especially in prep. for PCA DE events, buy a decent torque wrench and check the tightness following the mounting of new tires. Like Ronald Reagan said, "Trust, but verify." relinuca

He's paraphrasing... Trust Allah but tie up your camel :-)

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Most tire shops will drive your car into position for you, I can't think of a tire shop that will let you drive your car into the bay. Quick-change oil shops with a scissor-lift or similar drive over type will have you pull in, and onto the lift yourself. The discount tire here is generally pretty good, but depends on who you get and what kind of day you're having. It doesn't cost anything to express your concerns to them or watch the process.

He's paraphrasing, trust Allah but I have your camel :-)

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+996 I would actually say it is the operator and his technique that is the key. I have a friend that does it for me at Pep Boys. Yes you heard right but he's really meticulous and has all the right techniques to mount tires on any machines. He also happens to be a financial advisor as his FT job and drives a Porsche too but he likes to keep busy with misc side jobs, lol. A so so person can always operate a touchless but only a skilled person can mount 25 series sidewall tires on a 22" rim on a regular machine.

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Brilliant!

No. My luck using indy/chain tire stores has been lousy, with one exception. My first experience with using a Firestone tire store to replace tires on my Boxster proved to be a nightmare as the lift it wanted to use wasn't the right kind and the car wouldn't fit. I had to wait hours until the right lift opened up. The shop had no clue the Boxster wouldn't fit on the other lift. So much for the assurance it had plenty of experience with "exotic" cars. Another place the owner/manager assured me his guys were very experienced with Porsches. I then watched as the very "experienced" tech tried to lift my car with the jack under the front trunk tub. I had to run out and stop him. I had to settle for him lifting the car using a floor jack at the car's lift pads without any protection from the jack pad and the lift point. Another time, at another store, I had my 2006 GTO in to have the alignment checked. This after hitting rock and busting a tire's sidewall. Afterwards the front tires wore unevenly on the inside edges. The alignment was crap. So I never use -- with one exception -- indy tire shops for anything for my Porsches. The one exception is a local tire store that has shown it does know how to perform tire service on my cars. But I still take the wheels off and run them over and drop them off to have new tires mounted and balanced. I then install the wheels here and torque the lugs myself with my torque wrench.

I've never had anyone BUT a tire chain install tires on my car. No issues yet... Think about it, most SUVs now have 20" and even some up to 26" rims. Our little 18" are nothing these days. For the past 3 years I've been using a local Firestone as I've got a good working relationship with the shop manager there. But before then I've used Discount Tire, Tire Kingdom, and Goodyear before.

Agree on Discount Tire. The shop I use is next door to their corporate office. You could eat off their floor. Of course, you have to make sure to tell them to point the Porsche crests at the valve stems. Once they hear that, they KNOW you are going to be a PITA. So you can just relax and enjoy their coffee...

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Ditto - for all the reasons you listed. I deliver the wheels to the local Discount Tire. I've asked for their most experienced tech and then watch him work. Hunter Road Force balancing done correctly and lots of care while mounting the tires. I must not be the only one who asks for this type of service since they never asked any questions or demurred at my requests.

Thanks for all the responses thus far. In a way, given some other threads here, I'm surprised that so many regularly use the national chains.

I regularly use various Firestone's in the San Diego area. I even have a Lifetime Alignment with Firestone, which works out great for the auto-x and track people. I have never had an issue. I do have some small curb rash on one of my wheels, and they always point it out to me before removing the tire just so I do not blame them - which is smart on their part. Plus, they give me a great deal on my favorite tire - Bridgestone RE-11's. As an added note for peace of mind - the major chains (Firestone, Discount Tire, etc) have very, very deep pockets. If they were to screw something up, you could be certain they will correct it - at no additional cost to you. This is not always a guarantee at the smaller mom n' pop shops.

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I'm not sure what threads you're referring to - but mechanical repair is a whole different playing field then simply swapping tires and performing an alignment.

Oh, let's just say some good-natured ribbing about buying Mobil 1 at WalMart..... Concur with your comment about mechanical issues / different.

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There is going to be a vast array of opinions here. My three useful data points: * Discount has been awesome * Tirerack's preferred installer was awful * At of San Diego's biggest BMW dealerships, the tech blatantly lied on the paperwork, claiming he had done work that hadn't been done. What I came away with: Just because you're in a high-dollar dealership where everyone has neato corporate coveralls doesn't necessarily mean the guy working on your car cares about what he's doing. Find a shop you're comfortable with and stick with them unless something happens to undermine your trust. As Rel pointed out, torquing your own bolts again later - especially before any kind of event - is common sense. If you read the fine print on the back of your paperwork from most places, you are SUPPOSED to re-torque after some amount of driving. If I needed a suspension tune-up, I'd take the car to Black Forest. For simply mounting tires, it's cheaper for me to use Discount, and I'm pretty sure the techs at Black Forest would rather be doing something more interesting than mounting tires anyway.

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I buy Mobil 1 @ WalMart

Up here in Seattle we have a large major chain tire company called Les Schwab - They are the best shop for anything related to tire purchase & install. Friendly service, the warranty for a year and have free flat repair. I've only been using them for 30 years

I have a Big-O right around the corner that I have used for years. The owner is a friend of mine and a motorcycle rider to boot. They have at least one VERY good tech that I always insist upon using. Good prices, lifetime flay repair and rotations when needed. He has even done brakes on my ex BMW and knows what is going on. I would suppose any chain is as good as the people working there.

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Anyone that works in a tire shop should know to never "fix" a hole in the sidewall of a tire!

I use nearby tire shops to mount and balance. They warranty their work, are pleasant to deal with, and have pricing that is reasonable given the convenience, service and warranty. I enjoy having nearby shops that are excited to work on my car & talk about the driving experience. They tend to give my car some extra TLC as they know it's a high-performance car that will be driven accordingly. I'll be heading in for new rears in the next few months ahead of the fall season - looking forward to it. I prefer Big-O tires out this way, but Les Schwab is reputable as well. They're great about offering same day service on my Element, while the 911 requires at least a few hours lead time to get the tires in. There's another shop I used at one point that's local and, again, fantastic service. They know 996 tires aren't cheap and they are appreciative of the business.

I've always had good luck at Discount Tire and have used them across three states on pretty much all of my vehicles over time. Good customer service, they let me pull the car in the bay and hang out if I want while they swap the tires out, have price matched online, etc.

I use the Discount Tire just down the road from the house. They have always done well for all of our vehicles. 3 weeks ago was the first time I had taken the P-car there. I had had them special order four Ventus EVO2's which took only 2 days to come in. Made an appt online, stopped in to get fixed up. I brought my own non-marring lug socket with me and when doing the walk around with the tech, requested that they use it when working on my car. The tech said sure and I handed him the keys. I walked to Starbucks and immediately got a call from him. He said "I looked at the wheels very closely and you are aware that you have a couple of marks on the passenger side rear?". I said "of course those were already there, don't worry about them." He said, "Just wanted to make sure before we started working". This tells me A) They knew I required special attention paid to being careful with the wheels/car and that I was going to notice deficiencies. B) That had already started applying that special attention before they even got it on the lift. I ambled back up a few minutes later, coffee in hand and the car was already on the lift. I watched as they used my personal lug socket mounting and dismounting the wheels from the car. Everything else went off well and I was done in less than an hour total. The tech that backed it off the lift was ecstatic that he got to "drive" a Porsche. He handed me the wiped clean socket and I was on my way. The only complaint I would have is that one of the valve stem caps came off while driving a few days later. It happens, I was going to switch to black caps anyway. I am very pleased with all the pomp and circumstance and great service for my $20k car. D.

I recently bought new tires from Tire Rack and went through their "preferred installers". There was a local Indy Shop that I have had work done at in the past, but it showed they couldn't do my tire sizes (standard MY'99 18" tire sizes/profiles - they don't like the 35's...) so, I went with the local Firestone Tire dealer (because it showed they could do them- they're a tire shop for ***** sake!). Anyway, I got an email saying that they had received the tires, and would call to schedule installation. When I got the call, it was to say that they weren't comfortable mounting tires on Porsche wheels, and recommended another shop that "did all the tire work for the local Porsche dealers". I called them, and they seemed somewhat uncomfortable as well...In addition, they said they couldn't get me in until the following week? Really - a tire shop that's uncomfortable mounting tires? Whatever! Long story short, I called and spoke to the original guy I wanted to use, and he was fine with mounting the tires - he wasn't sure why Tire Rack said he "couldn't do them" (maybe his machinery is listed as not being able to do certain profiles?). I had also just had all my wheels refinished to the tune of $800 so I was a little apprehensive. He did explain that sometimes depending on the wheels, they can have problems with some low profile tires. Bottom line was - he did the work and they came out perfect and he gave me a nice little discount for paying cash!

Discount tire seems to have their act together. I never hand over the keys though; I swap different wheels onto the car (just one advantage of having multiple sets) and take just the wheels in. That way, worst case, they mess up the wheels and not the whole car.

I have used 2 local Firestone stores several times and have been very happy They match price, even from Costco and Tire Rack and if you use a Firestone CC, you get an additional 5% off the tires. When Bridgestone has rebates, it is 50% to 100% more when you use the Firestone CC

I know they are special to us, but a 996 is hardly an exotic or unusual car to change tires on. It's just a used car that's worth less than a base Hyundai. So yes, a regular chain store is fine for changing tires. If I was driving something truly special where it matters (read Ferrari where not having it done at the dealer will actually drive down the value of the car) then bring it to a dealer, otherwise, it's just a car.

"I know they are special to us, but a 996 is hardly an exotic or unusual car to change tires on. It's just a used car that's worth less than a base Hyundai." While ^this^ may be true in a factual sense, mechanics/shops don't look at them like this. Regardless of re-sale value, they are "high dollar" cars when it comes to parts, labor and potential lawsuits... If you haven't noticed, you can also buy certain used Ferrari's for $20k... Does that make them "hardly exotic or unusual"?

We aren't talking about buying parts and labor specific to the car. We are talking about tires and mounting them on wheels. Neither of which are unusual or more costly on a 996 vs anything else with low profile tires on 18" wheels, and the value of my 996 isn't going to go down if I have a receipt showing tires from Town Fair Tire vs Porsche of Stratham as opposed to a Ferrari 360 where that will negatively impact the used value of the car. I wouldn't have Midas do any work on the mechanics of my car, that is for me or my Indy, but Tires are a few lugs and a mounting/balancing machine. There is nothing special about the tires and wheels on a 996. As far as that 20k Ferrari, yes, that is vastly more exotic and unusual than a 996 based on Porsche producing over 100k 996s vs Ferrari's output of around 8500 for their most produced car (the 360).

I worked in tire shops for three years while in college. And I have a critical eye. I have found Costco to be very good, with one drawback. I believe that they still insist on mounting the exact-sized tires that were fitted to your car at the time of manufacture. I went to get a set of tires on a '91 BMW 318is (fitted with whopping 195/65-14 tires), which nearly no one manufacturers anymore. I wanted to go with 205/65-14, but they refused, saying that they could only do the unavailable size. Other than this, their work is done well, you can have them serviced anywhere in the US, and their warranty and customer service are top-notch. I go to a local independent for the 996, and I am sure to be there when the tech pulls it into the service bay. As the wheels are coming off, I let him know it's my car, and he can ask questions if something comes up, and I tip him $20 at the outset. As a kid, I can remember accompanying my father on what seemed to be annual trips to get the bias-ply tires on the family car replaced. The first radials changed tire purchases to a 30-month cycle, and today, most people who buy a new car trade it in with the original tires still in place. I would bet there's a lot of 30-somethings who have never set foot in a shop looking for tires. Nor would they care to. For most people, tires are a commodity. Black and round will suffice.

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The width - or the width-to-radius - seems to be the problem more than the diameter. A Firestone near me ultimately admitted that my rear tires are wider than the spec for their spin balancer. They only wasted a day of my life before admitting this.

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It's a used car the price of a base Hyundai that does 150MPH at redline in 5th gear, with another gear to go. THAT is why you make sure your tire installer is competent. It's about the value you place on your own life, not the value you place on the vehicle... Heh. I remember that, AND I remember hearing the old man carping about "4 tires cost a hundred bucks?!? *grumble* *grumble*." I have resisted the urge to give him crap for that response - he's got a Bentley, an S600, and a Merc hardtop convertible for his wife now (to go with her new jugs). He left the land of $25 tires a long time ago when he sold his VW Thing daily driver...

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So it's a question of the top speed of the vehicle? My neighbor with the Firebird shouldn't go to a tire chain? How about if I never take my car over 80mph, is it now safe to go to Walmart for tire mounting? Working at a tire chain doesn't make an installer incompetent any more than your local indy is competent because he doesn't. You said yourself, Discount Tire treats you right.

You can make it all about chain vs. not chain, though, even though I offered no allusion to any such thing. If you're confident in your Discount Tire, use Discount Tire. If not, use whatever damn shop you like. The comment to which I was replying was written to suggest that since a base Hyundai and a 996 are worth the same amount of money, they are somehow similar in all other ways. The personal evidence I have to offer is that my local Firestone near me could NOT mount 996 rear tires due to their width; the same shop should have no issues with a 6" wide Hyundai tire. I'm sure you want to disagree, though, so please feel free to continue berating me.

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I did not say that a 911 and a Hyundai have the same tire needs. I answered the original question of the thread and you tried to make it an entirely different question.

Read the whole thread and then tell me what I said. Until then, I'll feel free to ignore you, since you are patently incorrect.

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Well, there was this... But there was also this: It's entirely true that my reading comprehension is not the best in the country, but damn it if it doesn't SEEM to say right up there (^) that a regular chain store is fine for changing 996 tires. I offered an actual example of a chain store that is NOT suitable for changing my tires. I also offered an ALTERNATE chain store that CAN change my tires, and I have a review thread here in the 996 forum of that chain in which I sing their praises. I might even have offered a "hosanna" or two after they fixed what the other shop couldn't. I recognize that in your reality, I am an elitist that only shops at high-end tire shops. That's fine - sounds like more fun than MY reality where I walk over to Discount to pick up my car when they're done with it... Next time, I will try to guess what you mean rather than actually accepting what you write as being representative of your thoughts.

I thought you were ignoring me? The statement does not say that the 2 cars have the same tire requirements. It specifically says it has less value than the Hyundai and is not an unusual vehicle to change tires on. That's it. Nothing more or less. Read what is written, stop manufacturing rage.

Yeah, I'm getting to that part now. I thought you were ignoring me?

enough cat fighting. grow up

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It depends on equipment. My local Indy shop has the best tire machines money can buy. It's not rare to have a chain store pull in with a set of wheels their equipment cannot un-mount / mount tires on. More and more are upgrading to the better stuff, but if a tire tech tries a bit too hard to remove a very stiff sidewall low profile tires with a machine not up to the job, they can easily damage the wheel. Some of the biggest issue these days are the 22+ inch wheels on SUV's with very stiff, low profile sidewalls. These are very difficult to un-mount. Race tires? Fuhgeddaboudit.....