Re: Tahr Report

["Fred Munro" <munrof@isys.ca>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Woodward <cwoodward@earthlink.net>
To: dougq@iglou.com <dougq@iglou.com>; quattro@coimbra.ans.net
<quattro@coimbra.ans.net>
Date: Tuesday, June 09, 1998 10:49 PM
Subject: Re: Tahr Report


>
>
>> Sears had the D60A2s for $59.99. Went to NTB, they were $71.99. I told
them
>> about Sears. "That's not supposed to happen" was what I was told. "And?"
I
>> said. "We'll match their price." Ok. But I decided to go with Sears
anyway.
>
>Bad move.  Sears has scratched up 2 sets of rims for me in the past, and
I've seen
>other sears jobs that other people had done with similar results.  BTW, I'm
not
>just talking about a nick or 2, I'm talking grooves cut into the paint and
metal
>nearly all the way around a 4 rims.  OUCH.  Of course, Sears said they
didn't know
>anything about it, and since I was 17 at the time, I couldn't get much
done.
>
>So check your wheels!  And include that in you bitch session.  Maybe you'll
be
>riding on new rubber and alloy.
>
>Good luck,
>Chris
>'97 A4ta


    A lot of the older tire machines use the rim edge as a tool guide when
the tire is being removed and installed. This doesn't matter too much on the
North American standard issue black painted rusty steel rims, but it is bad
news on painted (or unpainted) alloys.
    The newer machines have post mounted tools which do not have to touch
the rim. The tool has to be set to the proper clearance though, allowing for
the deflection under load. Most shops don't bother to set the tool
clearance.
    I had new summer and winter tires mounted last year, so I have just been
through this with my shop. They scored the edges of my winter alloys years
ago when they installed the original tires using an old style machine. They
had a newer machine this time and the operator did a good job on setup
(under my eagle eye) and did not touch the paint. Still had three triple
pinpoints on the inside of the rim where the machine grabbed the wheel,
however.
    Take a good look at the tire machine the shop is using and insist that
they set it up so the rim edge is not touched!

HTH

Fred Munro
'91 200q  254k km