quote:

Originally posted by airbubba:
it takes a special device to do tread check, i was at discount for pressure check this week...the tech didn't have the tread checker with him.

sometimes driving doesn't reset, each wheel needs to be reset manually.

discount sure as shit isn't going to put a 9 year old spare on the ground but belle was willing to put the spare on the ground!!

TPMS light resets itself within 2/10ths of a mile or so like today when I filled it. And the spare isn’t an issue, I just wanted them to dismount it and change the wheel, I could care less if they wouldn’t remount the spare tire, wouldn’t bother me a bit. The only reason that spare is there it is because the 285’s won’t clear the bumper as it originally came with 255’s and use of that spare would only be used like a temporary spare as many cars use.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
I bought two, one for $0.01 and another for $0.25...

A quarter can tell you if it's at least 4/32. A penny can tell you if it's at least 2/32.

LOL, it's true. I only bought one to keep track of how my tires were wearing when closer to new so I could make sure they were wearing evenly across the tread. The DuraTracs start out over 1/2".

The KO2’s start out at 15/32nds. Prior tires were Duratracs, only thing I disliked was the noise level inside the cabin.

I understand BFG is going to release an improved model later this year, the KO3 tire. I’ll have to look into those. Supposed to have better wet traction and less road noise but I never found the KO2’s to be objectionable.

"Bead Seal" the tire is dismounted, the wheel rim is wire brushed clean clean clean, wiped or blown off, cleaned and is clean. Beal Seal is applied. It's brushed on. Basically on some wheels there is sort of a gunk that can build up and let it leak air between the metal rim and the tire. I know this for a fact, I've had this happen before.

Possibly a new valve stem or just a loose valve stem core. The little tool to remove/reinstall/tighten up the valve stem core is cheap. Buy one.

You need to have the wheel removed and the water dunk test for bubbles.

Don't ask me how I know this <ahem> but often times the Spare Tire can go flat. The spare is out of sight, out of mind, and forgotten about. Have its tire pressure checked regularly. It really sucks when changing a flat and discovering the spare is flat <cough cough don't ask>.

Everyone wants to make more $$$ on commissions, some companies push this. "Sell Sell Sell" and make spiffs and commissions $$$.

I'm completely against that. People should receive bonus based on "customer satisfactions". That will stop and cure most all of this spiff/bonus/commission crap. And employers MUST be willing to pay. Happy Customers brag and boast, new customers are made, it goes on. Most employers have their heads up their collective behinds.

Good luck to you, Best wishes.
.

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
The KO2’s start out at 15/32nds. Prior tires were Duratracs, only thing I disliked was the noise level inside the cabin.

I understand BFG is going to release an improved model later this year, the KO3 tire. I’ll have to look into those. Supposed to have better wet traction and less road noise but I never found the KO2’s to be objectionable.

The other day, I was behind a Jeep with BFGoodrich All-Terrain Radial T/A tires. I mentioned to my daughter that they were the same tires I had on my CJ7 when I was her age. She said the guy should’t be driving on 40 year old tires.

The noise fit right in with the lack of a top, doors, and 304 V8 with an almost completely open exhaust. I only found traction lacking when the tires weren’t touching the ground and on ice.

I’m not kidding about the tires not touching the ground. I was driving on a non-maintained seasonal road. Really on the 3' of snow covering the road. The top layer was frozen ice and about a half mile in, tire broke through that ice. The whole rest of the Jeep sat there floating on top of the ice and snow underneath the body, frame, engine, and transmission. I had to walk home a mile and a half to get a snow shovel, walk back, and dig out the snow under the Jeep until the tires hit the ground. I then dug ramps on front of and behind the Jeep so I could go back and forth to build momentum and get somewhat of a running start to get back on top of the snow. I went faster than when I got stuck in the first place, stayed on top the rest of the way, and made it to clear, plowed road.

This is why whenever the question is asked about what to keep in the car in winter snow, my first suggestion is a snow shovel, the scoop kind with a D-handle.

I often just get the tires I want, ‘carry in’ the wheels for mounting. I have air at home & a portable in the truck.

Right now I’m also using up two mid-worn Blizzacks on the rear axel. These are on older wheels, so I have the TPM light on my dash.

I check the air, disregard the dash light, avoid the tire shop as much as I can.

quote:

This is why whenever the question is asked about what to keep in the car in winter snow, my first suggestion is a snow shovel, the scoop kind with a D-handle.

I was going to be with a group of off roaders with multiple vehicles, solo off roading is out of my comfort zone due to age and some health issues. I’ll let the other people in the group do the “hold my beer and watch this” and I’ll ride with them. Being my daily driver it has limits.

Myself at minimum I keep a folding shovel, a Snap-On impact, hammer, and a snatch strap together with a CB and GMRS radio in addition to my cell phone. I acquired a winch but haven’t changed it over yet from wire to synthetic so it’s not mounted at present.

We've been doing business with Discount Tire for the past 8 years, since the new store was built 1/2 mile from our house. All of our experiences have been very good.

After a couple sets of tires, dozens of rotations (spin re-balance every time), and a warranty claim the staff knows me. I'm the guy who always says "thanks" to everyone, the guy who slips the crew a few bucks at each rotation, the guy who buys cold drinks for everyone on a hot summer day.

They take good care of our needs.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
I've had nothing but excellent service at Discount Tire over the years. Very helpful, with no upselling, and they're often cheaper OTD than sourcing the tires online and then having them installed. Only downside is that they're very busy so it can sometimes be challenging to get in for an appointment.

Same experience as you, over several locations (whichever one has an appt slot that suits me). Bought many tires from them. Just had a nail leak repaired when I thought they'd say they can't get to it. I also shuttle tires from store to store for them. Last week it was pouring rain, midday, and one store in a busy area was empty - no cars in the bays and no one in the waiting area. If I didn't have more deliveries I would've got tires right then, cause gonna need then in a month or 2.

I like them. To me, they’re generally more trustworthy than many in the auto business. I wish they offered alignments, though.

They're a franchise. Each location is only as good as the owner/operator who runs it.

quote:

Originally posted by Paten:

They're a franchise. Each location is only as good as the owner/operator who runs it.

Are you sure about that (franchise)? Per google, "The Discount Tire franchise does not exist. It is a privately held company doing $5.17 billion in sales, making it the leading independent tire retailer."

I do know that the company was started by Bruce Halle, who was still the Big Kahuna, Top Dog, until his death a few years ago.

Seven years ago, I had a legitimate complaint about the store in Apopka FL. I wrote a calm letter, stating the facts, to Mr. Halle and heard nothing about it for several weeks. I then received a personal visit from the company's southeastern region Vice President. He had a copy of my letter in hand and he told me that he had verified the facts and he wanted to apologize to me in person and told me that the situation had been corrected. He said that he would have gotten to me sooner, but he had been at a company meeting at the Arizona headquarters where, coincidentally, the situation that I had complained about was already on the agenda.

He looked at the used car that I had just bought a few days earlier and told me to stop at the store and they would install a new set of Michelin tires at no cost to me. I thanked him and told him that was not necessary, it was sufficient that the aggravating situation at the store had been corrected.

He insisted, stating that he had looked up my record and found that I had been a customer for more than twenty years, and he wanted to acknowledge that, and in fact, he doubled down and offered another new set of Michelins for my wife's car, again at no cost.

Needless to say, they have earned my business for the future, as well as my extended family's business.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
shovelhead, while what the 2nd guy was telling you was not what you wanted to hear, it sounds like that's what you needed to hear.

^^^ I would tend to agree.

Not sure I would abandon a company either just because I don't want their opinion to be real.

Look objectively at the facts you most likely would agree.

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
I bought two, one for $0.01 and another for $0.25...

A quarter can tell you if it's at least 4/32. A penny can tell you if it's at least 2/32.

LOL, it's true. I only bought one to keep track of how my tires were wearing when closer to new so I could make sure they were wearing evenly across the tread. The DuraTracs start out over 1/2".

The KO2’s start out at 15/32nds. Prior tires were Duratracs, only thing I disliked was the noise level inside the cabin.

I understand BFG is going to release an improved model later this year, the KO3 tire. I’ll have to look into those. Supposed to have better wet traction and less road noise but I never found the KO2’s to be objectionable.

There's also a new Duratrac out now. Looks beefier, has stronger sidewalls, it's supposed to be quieter, and it's supposed to have better traction in most conditions. We'll see how it plays out, but it sounds like a promising tire.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Paten:

They're a franchise. Each location is only as good as the owner/operator who runs it.

Are you sure about that (franchise)? Per google, "The Discount Tire franchise does not exist. It is a privately held company doing $5.17 billion in sales, making it the leading independent tire retailer."

I do know that the company was started by Bruce Halle, who was still the Big Kahuna, Top Dog, until his death a few years ago.

Seven years ago, I had a legitimate complaint about the store in Apopka FL. I wrote a calm letter, stating the facts, to Mr. Halle and heard nothing about it for several weeks. I then received a personal visit from the company's southeastern region Vice President. He had a copy of my letter in hand and he told me that he had verified the facts and he wanted to apologize to me in person and told me that the situation had been corrected. He said that he would have gotten to me sooner, but he had been at a company meeting at the Arizona headquarters where, coincidentally, the situation that I had complained about was already on the agenda.

He looked at the used car that I had just bought a few days earlier and told me to stop at the store and they would install a new set of Michelin tires at no cost to me. I thanked him and told him that was not necessary, it was sufficient that the aggravating situation at the store had been corrected.

He insisted, stating that he had looked up my record and found that I had been a customer for more than twenty years, and he wanted to acknowledge that, and in fact, he doubled down and offered another new set of Michelins for my wife's car, again at no cost.

Needless to say, they have earned my business for the future, as well as my extended family's business.

back in the early '90's i was flying both tv/helicopter charters out of sdl.

bruce/wife + another couple wanted to fly/see several of their stores in the phx metro area.

at one in peoria, az, on grand ave. bruce asked if we could land behind the store.
i said yes if they owned said property.

we landed, they went to a mcdonalds next door, brought me breakfast, went into the store.

you're right, a real nice guy!!

I recall from other threads that the two most recommended places for tires are Costco and Discount Tire.

We've always gone to Costco because it's five minutes away and the nearest Discount Tire is almost 30 minutes. However, the last couple of visits to Costco have't gone so well. (For example, I brought my car in for a tire rotation and the tech told me my tires were "cupping". I brought my car to my local mechanic. He looked at all four tires and the suspension, and said he saw no evidence of cupping on any of the tires or any problems with the suspension. It cost me $50 to find out the tech didn't know what he was talking about. )

I had decided that it might be worth going to Discount Tire next time. But, now I'm having second thoughts.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
shovelhead, while what the 2nd guy was telling you was not what you wanted to hear, it sounds like that's what you needed to hear.

^^^ I would tend to agree.

Not sure I would abandon a company either just because I don't want their opinion to be real.

Look objectively at the facts you most likely would agree.

Ok, not trying to argue but that Tuesday the tire went down, took five days. Repaired. No problem mentioned with wheel nor the tire tread depth.

Move forward to Saturday, now two days to leak down enough to set the TPMS, by that day I’ve hav to air that tire up twice not to mention when I got it back on Tuesday the TPMS light was on, tech said “drive it, it’ll reset” which it didn’t until I checked all four tires, both left side were 35psi, both right front (repaired) and right rear (not touched except to check pressure by them) were in the mid 20psi range. So, right there the right rear tire was under inflated, it was filled before I went in the shop on that day to the correct pressure.

So add that to the Saturday now suddenly the wheels are corroding and I need a set of tires because they are getting “close” so he says. And they do nothing, can’t find anything but maybe corrosion. And I inflated the tires before I got there, the right rear that was at 25-6psi was still at the 37psi I set them all to earlier in the week. I offered to pay to have them to dismount the spare and dispose of it (over age)dismount the right front change the wheel and put the possible corroded one (never shown the corrosion either) back on the spare carrier which he declined to do.

So reluctant to believe anything they say there. I used to buy tires there but quit after a couple episodes, one involving tires on y daughters car and twice on two of our cars involving full sets of TPMS when only one was bad.

I spent close to fifty years in new car dealership fixed operations (parts and service departments) so it’s not my first go around. I speak out about unnecessary service procedures aka third party flushes and I seem to get 150k or more out of my vehicles regularly.

I’ll report here truthfully what the competing tire store finds Wednesday, I really suspect that the way they repaired the puncture as it was explained to me on that Tuesday that they first plugged the tire (I suspect externally) than patched it internally.

Until Wednesday…..

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Paten:

They're a franchise. Each location is only as good as the owner/operator who runs it.

Are you sure about that (franchise)? Per google, "The Discount Tire franchise does not exist. It is a privately held company doing $5.17 billion in sales, making it the leading independent tire retailer."

I made an assumption, so turned out to be wrong again. I use a family owned store in Tampa for my new tires, Olin Mott, and just assumed anything bigger was franchised.

just wanted to note that Tire Rack is now owned by Discount Tire.


years before that I bought a winter setup from tire rack. the tpms refused to set. i stopped at discount tire and they figured out one of the sensors were bad. tire rack said get it fixed locally and send them the bill. discount tire just replaced it no charge and sent me on my way.
i had recently gotten tires for my daughter's car there and the manager was like please think of us when you're ready to replace your summer tires.

Update. Went to Belle Tire this time. Explained what transpired and what I was told previously. I was informed that if the tread was too warn they would not attempt any repair which I agreed with. Offered the spare wheel if necessary if the wheel was too corroded to use and to dispose of the tire as it was aged out.

Diagnosis: Rim leak. Tire dismounted, cleaned, sealed. Leak tested. In their opinion the wheel corrosion was not that severe to require replacement. Tread was within safe range.

Undercar inspection only revealed that the rear shocks were starting to leak and they recommend replacing in addition the front pair due to mileage. I was aware of one of the rears just starting to leak and have been looking at some options so that was a legitimate suggestion.

I asked for the availability of the KO3’s and his time frame is early May, the same as the distributor that I go through. Also got a price on another set of KO2’s, out the door price, within seventy dollars of the distributor’s quote.

So based on this and past experiences I give up at least on this particular Discount store.

What did Belle say the tread depth was?