Discount Tire Rant

BeerOrGasoline

Me & Dead Owls Don't Give a Hoot.
Mar 15, 2009
3,985
1,082
New Lenox, IL
I rotate my monster truck tires every 5k which is every oil change. By the time I replaced them on my first Raptor they we're all IDENTICAL tread depth with no cupping or irregularities. And I drive like a fucking asshole.

:dunno:

Same, but Ford does it for me. $39.99 works alllllll fuckin' day.
 

boostedguy05

not well known
TCG Premium
Dec 18, 2010
34,180
25,511
years ago, i got a flat on my way home, well, picked something up on the way home, and the way it was when i parked, it went flat in under 10 minutes. its now 5:40, i call up stratford DT which closes at 6. (hanover park had not yet been built) tell them i need to throw on a spare and i can be there by 6:10. they say they are back logged with cars and would still be there and to come on it. tell them what tire to have ready. get there, ring up 1 tire as they already have the car up in the air taking the flat out of the trunk. wham bam thank you mam, out in 20 minutes. Someone had just finished up the last car as i got there, and they waited for me. they get my business first any time i am in need. although i go to different store now, they are both owned and managed by the same person.
 

boostedguy05

not well known
TCG Premium
Dec 18, 2010
34,180
25,511
also to note, Hanover Park store. standard procedure is to replace the pressure sensors at every tire change. no additional charge. not sure if other stores do this.

and when they had the e-bay sale. they installed them for free if i bought the warranty.

and if you buy a new car, If it is a tire they sell, you can just buy the road hazard warranty from them.

they will patch for free even if you didn't buy the tires from them, as long as tire still has "life"
 

Grabber

Oh Hai
Dec 11, 2007
4,363
860
Wheeling, IL
Never been to a discount tire where we were in and out. Over the years, I've probably gone to at least 3-5 different locations, maybe more and gone through probably close to a dozen wheels sets over the years too.

Always been a long wait at each location, and a few times, I've had issues of new wheels being chipped.

Last I checked, most people don't have several thousand dollar machines to do wheel balancing, so, props to all you TCG ballers that do.

I've heard this one spot in Arlington Heights is good from various threads on TCG, just cannot remember the name.

It's also pretty hard to get a truck or big SUV on all fours by yourself. Plus, you're just adding stress to the frame by jacking up one corner/side of the car at a time and moving on to the next.
 

PANDA

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Event Coordinator
May 24, 2007
38,011
8,519
Wisconsin Northwoods
The one near work I have regularly made next or even same day appointments online, been in and out in under an hour :dunno:

it’s location dependent.

you ever see the damn line for people getting their tire pressures checked once cold weather comes? 20+ cars lined up there every day.

When I drove over to the store yesterday because they don't pick up the phone. Legit two dozen cars in line waiting for the free air pressure check. People busting me out because I don't wanna go through the trouble of rotating my tires in my garage yet you have a line of cars with people that either don't know how to add air or don't want to get outside the car. Gas station right next store has a free air pump with gauge. Blows my mind knowing some employee probably spent the entire day filling air in tires. I get it some people who get the free air might come back to buy tires but fuck.
 

LikeABauce302

TCG Elite Member
Aug 27, 2013
5,873
16,314
South suburbs
Real Name
Matt
For any of you guys in the NW suburbs, look up "That Tire Guy" on Facebook. He has a website too. It's a friend of mine who has a mobile tire business. I've had him come out to my work twice in the last few months to replace tires on my Mustang and my Escape. Making an appointment to have the tire installer come to you is so much nicer than sitting in a tire shop waiting room for hours.
 

LikeABauce302

TCG Elite Member
Aug 27, 2013
5,873
16,314
South suburbs
Real Name
Matt
What's the price of convenience though?

Depends on how far he has to travel but from my experience he was only a few dollars more than what it costs to have tires installed at a shop. That and the business owner himself is installing the tires and actually cares about what he's doing. My wheels are gloss black on both of my cars. Not a scratch on any of them.
 
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The Broken Regal

BITE BITE, SIP SIP
TCG Premium
Jun 26, 2007
15,394
2,206
Wheaton
Yep, as mentioned location dependent. The DT on 38 in villa/lombard is always a shitshow, the one near me I've used in Bloomingdale is pretty consistent for wait times, but never a line out the door or don't answer the phone.

Whats weird is I notice that at DT they will stop an in person convo to answer the phone, so thats really weird you didn't get anyone to answer for that long.

Its everywhere with good prices and free perks. Just got some A/S 18s for the TT through costco, went there monday morning during the snow storm thinking it would be fine, nah, 8:50 am people waiting outside the door

I called them the previous week on friday and was on hold for 40 minutes when they opened, called back after lunch and basically was told don't even bother coming in this weekend because its just THAT busy...
 

CMNTMXR57

GM, Holden & Chrysler Mini-Van nut swinger
Sep 12, 2008
26,156
31,278
Elgin
Depends on how far he has to travel but from my experience he was only a few dollars more than what it costs to have tires installed at a shop. That and the business owner himself is installing the tires and actually cares about what he's doing. My wheels are gloss black on both of my cars. Not a scratch on any of them.

This is what I was going to do. Get a smaller box van, tire machine and balancer in it, with portable lifts and voila...
 

b4black

before black
Jun 6, 2008
1,331
542
Oswego
Last I checked, most people don't have several thousand dollar machines to do wheel balancing, so, props to all you TCG ballers that do.

I always rotate my own tires. Never balance them - NEVER had an issue.


I don't think the average person rotates their tires ever. Nearly every FWD car I look at has nearly bald tires on the front, and near new on the back. Swap them around and there are good to go.
 

Grabber

Oh Hai
Dec 11, 2007
4,363
860
Wheeling, IL
I always rotate my own tires. Never balance them - NEVER had an issue.


I don't think the average person rotates their tires ever. Nearly every FWD car I look at has nearly bald tires on the front, and near new on the back. Swap them around and there are good to go.

FWD and RWD are the exceptions. AWD is a different animal.

Do you also install new tires on your wheels when they are due to be replaced?

It's good you've never had an issue. Simply taking the wheels and moving them around from axle to axle is simple enough (I've down it countless times over the years) but, once you start taking tires off of the wheels and getting further into it, a balancer is required unless you don't mind driving a car that doesn't steer right and feels like a constant earthquake in the steering wheel.
 

Grabber

Oh Hai
Dec 11, 2007
4,363
860
Wheeling, IL
For any of you guys in the NW suburbs, look up "That Tire Guy" on Facebook. He has a website too. It's a friend of mine who has a mobile tire business. I've had him come out to my work twice in the last few months to replace tires on my Mustang and my Escape. Making an appointment to have the tire installer come to you is so much nicer than sitting in a tire shop waiting room for hours.

Sounds like something I'd be interested in.

Does he have a portable lift to get the car up on all fours?

Most likely getting new tires on the Durango next year. After 26K miles on these Ecopias, I cannot stand it anymore.
 

LikeABauce302

TCG Elite Member
Aug 27, 2013
5,873
16,314
South suburbs
Real Name
Matt
Jelly...

How long has it taken for him to develop a customer base?

He's been at it since early spring this year. He's still getting his name out there but word of mouth is now starting to spread.

Sounds like something I'd be interested in.

Does he have a portable lift to get the car up on all fours?

Most likely getting new tires on the Durango next year. After 26K miles on these Ecopias, I cannot stand it anymore.
Last time I saw him a couple months ago, he was using floor jacks, but said he was looking at portable lifts and other tool upgrades. He's responsive and easy to talk to. He'll answer any questions you have if you reach out to him for a quote when you're ready. I ordered my tires through him both times and he was really close in price to all of the big tire retailers.
 
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b4black

before black
Jun 6, 2008
1,331
542
Oswego
FWD and RWD are the exceptions. AWD is a different animal.

Do you also install new tires on your wheels when they are due to be replaced?

It's good you've never had an issue. Simply taking the wheels and moving them around from axle to axle is simple enough (I've down it countless times over the years) but, once you start taking tires off of the wheels and getting further into it, a balancer is required unless you don't mind driving a car that doesn't steer right and feels like a constant earthquake in the steering wheel.

Wait a second. Are you actually rotating just the tires? Is that why you need to re balance them everytime? I'm pretty the rest of us are rotating the 'wheels' when we says tires. Its much easier that way. ;)
 
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