RiceMart idiots overtorqued my lugs again!!!!

The only place around here with a tire balancing machine is the local RiceMart. You may know them as PepBoys, AutoZone, Wal-Mart service center, Jiffy Lube, you know the type. Stupid me takes the car there to get the Star Specs put on because I figure why not get them balanced at the same time? I tell the guy with the air gun "be careful putting them back on, the lugs don't go on all the way so they're easy to overtorque." I've had to get lugs cut off before, it's not fun.

Came home, lugs are overtorqued. FML.

T_T

The tire repair guys working out of their hacked-together garage don't have a tire balancing machine or lifts or spiffy uniforms, but they don't do this E36 M3 and they're much cheaper. And you can watch pirated TV streams on the wooden bench while you wait.

Gonna have to get it looked at when it goes into the shop, nothing I can do, just wanted to vent.

Oh and I ruined another lug wrench trying to loosen them. Is chromoly the best material? Aluminum bends like butter, this one was some kind of steel. I have a chromoly one that's held up well.

I would think they would pay for that to be fixed.
but anyway, can you just put the car on jackstands and bring in the wheels to get balanced, so they dont even touch your car?

If I wasn't so optimistic I would have done that. I'd have to buy more jackstands, but it would be worth it.

corytate wrote: can you just put the car on jackstands and bring in the wheels to get balanced, so they dont even touch your car?

Last fall I bought the wife new tires and considered this concept. They kept calling me telling me my coolant was old (replaced 1 year prior) and my fuel injection needs to be cleaned. I thought you guys just sold tires and batteries nationally?

Every time I brought the Galant in it got berkeleyed up

I'd force them to fix it and compensate you by providing free balancing for the life of the tires.

Yeah but, they use torque sticks so they can't over torque the lugs. Can't understand how that could happen.

I went round and round with my Jep dealer on this.

Funny thing is I needed tires for the wife's S10 Blazer back in the mid-1990's and my friend told me how cool The Tire Rack was. (they torqued your tires on install)

So I drove 100 miles to South Bend and got a killer deal on some Dunlops and had them install them at their old building. This was all before NTB or Discount Tire was in the SW Chicago area. I get all anal at these places. Not sure why.....

I always specifically ask they use a torque wrench and not an air gun.

It's just carelessness. Today I use a torque wrench. Back in the day I didn't. I used my impact, but I'd set it on the lowest setting and go 'round the pattern twice to seat the wheel, then turn it up a 1/2 way and go by feel. I may have been over torquing them, but nothing like that. I at least was being conscientious.

Hey here's a fun fact I just discovered: They apparently tried to match the pressures of my previous tires, but they put the tires with the front pressure on the left and the tires with the rear pressure on the right

This is why I mount and balance my own tires.

GameboyRMH wrote: Hey here's a fun fact I just discovered: They apparently tried to match the pressures of my previous tires, but they put the tires with the front pressure on the left and the tires with the rear pressure on the right

they'd almost have it right if you were doing roundy rounds=]

Many moons ago I had my 300zx (I sold it in the 20th century.) aligned and the well-meaning asshat who did the deed informed me that he lowered my tire pressures to 32psi all around, explaining that it would ride much better that way.

Yeah, I bought the car for the ride quality...

I bought five new tires for the Samurai. Left the car with them on my lunch break, and decided to swing by at the 60 minute guarantee time.

They hadn't done anything at all to it because nobody there could drive stick. I pulled it into the shop for them, and they actually handled it well, but dang - I'd expect a group of eight people who find themselves driving strange cars all day at work to contain at least one person who can handle a manual.

I always just take the wheels off the car and bring them to the shop. I can fit 3 mini wheels/tires in the passenger seat of a miata, but only one in the trunk.

I can fit all 4 mini wheels/tires inside the mini no problem and have room for a cooler, a jack, and a toolbox. Funny because the car is so much smaller than the miata on the outside.

When I took a set of 15" BBS wheels off my old BMW to get new tires put on, I carried them to the tire place in my son's Fit. They guys at the shop were all worried when I came back to pick them up because the offset was way different than the Fit and they wanted me to know that if there were fitment problems it wouldn't be their fault.

The only one of my cars that I dropped off to get new tires installed in the last 8 years is our Van. I am not going to leave that beast on jackstands in the driveway and out of the 4 cars I have it is the only one without a second set of wheels/tires.

there is a place around here that is a Tirerack certified installer.. so far they have been really good.

One of the last time I had a fiat on the road.. I went to pepboys for tyres. I asked them NOT to airtorque the nuts on but to do it by hand.. I made it about a mile or so down the road before I got wobble and clunking noises.. all they did was handtighten them and send me on my way

well, they DID do exactly what you asked .... you gotta remember who you're dealing with and the IQ level required

sadly.. this is true