blue bmw wrote in news:ks64ii$a7s$ snipped-for-privacy@news.albasani.net:
Possibly by some irrational definition of "improperly" that includes failing to align some meaningless set of dots...
Q: What's the difference between a porcupine and a BMW?
A: The porcupine has the prick on the *outside*.
Probably to see if you had any idea...
Which is pretty reasonable, really.
So? That doesn't mean anything at all.
Seems to me you have two choices: (a) quit telling the installers how to do their jobs, and install your own damn tires instead, or (b) quit complaining.
When any shop encounters someone who needs special attention or equipment or procedures above or beyond their "normal", they need to just say, "sorry, can't do it, have a nice day".
do you think the shop got the $250.00 they were owed for the 2.5 hours his car was on the lift? They lost their ass on "labor time vs rent" by just pulling the car in that day.
there is a third way - quote them a grossly unreasonably high price. it effectively says "f*ck off" but gets most of them to focus on the red herring, the number. it's a beautiful thing - they flounce off thinking they're slapping you in the face with rejection when in fact it's the other way about. if they figure it out later, they're already off the premises and unlikely to return. if they are stoopid enough to pay, well, i can suck up some abuse if i'm being paid enough. but even then, if they're paying a premium, most of them think they're getting extra special service!
jim beam wrote: "- show quoted text - i love it when amateurs tell pro's how to do their job! not only do you have no sense of reality, you have no sense of irony either! "
Most so-called pros in tire shops or garages are nowadays in it solely for a paycheck - not for their passion about cars or about getting it right.
It's all about volume now - selling volume, # of cars in/out of garage per hour, etc. And either the techs don't know, aren't trained, or don't have time to observe the recommended PSI on a B-post sticker or in an owners manual.
All they can do is apply cookie-cutter solutions to mounting & pressure, and like I said prior, get tire-wheel balance at least in the same ballpark.
Every time I go to Town Fair I specify what PSI I want in my tires, and they come pretty close without much objection.
So no, I don't see where the "offending the pros" charge applies here.
Yeah! when one of my friend showed interest in buying top end M5 they really treated him like a royalty. He bought one after he went to Germany to BMW plant, had a tour, picked his car, test drove on their track. After he flew back home the car followed. When he needed a bolt, it was priced at 100.00. Oil change at dealer shop costs like 250.00. Windshield costs couple thousands. Unbelievable!!!! Of course his trip cost was included in the price of the car I am sure.
At the dealership, customer lounge is like one at air port VIP lounge. They serve meals, snacks, all kinda fresh beverage like sitting in a first class airliner. I always think car is necessary evil. As an ordinary man I just drive ordinary car. Doing some work myself on it.
I always have fun when I take out kid's car, looking at it, it is plain stock Subaru WRX STi but inside/underneath is totally redone. Always some driver comes along and wanna race. Young kids can't figure out why my Subaru is so fast. When old guy comes along and got pissed off, I can see his face turning red, Poor old soul. Didn't he notice what kinda tire on my car?
Eh, if you buy used so you're not paying their inflated prices, they're really nice cars. Traditionally they'd last forever with proper maintenance too, not sure if that is true today of any car though.
Some owners are shallow, and mainly care about looks. Others are more concrete who deeply care about performance handling. Absolutely none are expecting reliability nor quality of components.
Both types exist; neither of which buys the vehicle for reliability, so, your point doesn't even make sense because it shows you are using "your" mentality on a vehicle which you would never buy.
Think about being in someone else's shoes, and you'll be edified.
For reliability, both BMW & non-BMW owners agree:
- Buy a Honda or Toyota.
All this is OT since the topic is proper tire mounting.
For example, they make the DISA flap valve out of plastic. Do you know what happens what that plastic wears, and the metal pin falls out, and gets ingested by the intake manifold?
Another example is that they make the headlight adjusters out of PBT plastic. Do you realize what happens to every plastic headlight adjuster after just a few years of that plastic baking in the $1,000 Hella headlamp housing?
Another example are the o-rings inside the VANOS assembly. Do you know what happens to every buna-N rubber o-ring exposed to hot oil day in and day out?
Another example is the CCV valve. And the Bosch 5.7 ABS control module. And the recycled plastic of the windshield cover molding. And the Kuster window regulators. And the lack of adhesive on the door vapor barriers. And the rubber-filled thrust arm bushings.
The worst quality issue of all are the Behr/Nissens/Hella expansion tanks and radiators. I don't know how Toyota can build a plastic radiator that lasts for years, while the Germans can't build one to last two years - but the proof is simply that there probably isn't a single BMW E38, E39, or E46 that hasn't had the entire cooling system replaced at least once, and most are twice.
If you still think the Germans care about quality, you'll have to convince me you understand what I wrote above - and then you'll have to explain how those (all extremely well known issues that happen to almost all BMW E39s, E38s, and E46's) aren't quality issues.
Point is, the Germans care about performance; not about quality.
I'm going to have to put you in the killfile simply because you argue like a fifteen year old.
And, you know the rule. Don't argue with a ... because they will bring you to ... and in the end ... they'll win ... due to their experience.
Point is, I have read the articles. You clearly have not. Some clearly say how to match mount; others are less clear; and others conclude it only matters for OEM.
All say that if you want to match mount, you mount the red dot to the match-mounting mark on steel wheels and to the valve stem on aluminum wheels.
The part you fail to understand is that the tire shops are the ones who don't install the tires correctly. They're the ones who need to read this literature. Not us. (I've already read all the articles that are known to this newsgroup and posted on this thread.)
You do realize that was posted in the original list of references that were sent to me via email by Ken Tener of Tire Rack (and posted here as one of the 7 Internet references on how to perform proper tire wheel match mounting).
I told you already, you need to tell us where you live.
Chain shops are just as hit and miss as everyone else, the sign over the door is no guarantee that the guy *at that location* is in any way competent. You need someone with local knowledge to tell you where the good guy works. Getting tapped in to your local (presumably in your case BMW) car club/group is probably the best way, or ask on some enthusiast forums if nobody here is in your area.
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