ssdeuce

I'm wondering how most people change out their rcomp tires? I have my first set coming today and have been looking around tire shops and they all want $80-$90 to install 4 tires 17x9.5 stock Z06 wheels. Do most people pay this or do I need to man up and wrestle these on the wheels myself?

thehammer69

If you get lucky, you might get Walmart tire center to do it for $5 a tire, but they tend to be picky about what they install. Most shops who do it on the books are gonna do it for around $20 a tire, give or take, depending how greedy they are. I have a place that does it for $10 a tire backroom deal. This is all without balancing.

KILR-RYD

I got my semi R comps(Toyo R888s) installed about a week and half ago and a big warehouse tire shop installed them for 66 with balancing. Usually discount tire comes to about 80-90. so you are in the ball park, but depending on how hard you are on your tires, they could last you long. I am hoping atleast 10-12 days worth of track time with these on my GT-R. which is not bad, plus I got a really good deal on them from the same warehouse shop.

ZR1 MK

The cost where I live is far more than you mention and I got my sets back damaged or with balance problems. For those reasons, I switched to doing it myself and for many years now. I do them by hand using a bead breaker, a jig to hold the tire, a few flat bars and a bubble balancer. Its reasonable with the correct technique, but using professional machines would be easier. But, it would be expensive and your cant bring them to the track like my stuff.

Ive changed a flat spotted tire at a track event once so far.

95jersey

that is expensive. but you need to find a place that can handle 18-19" rims (which may not be easy). The r comps mount no different than ANY other tire and don't let someone tell you any different. They are actually easier than OEM as they are non-runflat. Most places charge $80 because the books all say Corvette's come with run flats and that's how they are going to charge.

I am lucky and got a local mom and pop that charges $25 for all 4 (mount and balance). If you can't find a place, specify that they are NON-run flat.

RusherRacing

Well I have walmart or if I can wait a friend do mine. I found with wally world bring the rims and tires to them not the car. They ask less questions. Now that I know the fine folks behind the counter at the local wally world they ask far fewer questions. Can't beat the $5 dollars a tire they charge here.

c4cruiser

What you really should think about is getting an extra set of wheels. That way they are mounted and balanced one time until they are worn out or corded. Then just swap wheels for events.

But it's not a good idea to drive with true race tires on the street. Some people do, but the manufacturers of competition tires state that they are for "competition use only" and should not be used for street driving even though they may be marked as DOT approved.

Part of the reason is that there is nowhere near the thickness of tread (and rubber) that you find on street tires. Slicks with little or no tread do not like water so even driving thru a puddle can cause hydroplaning.

If you aren't going a long distance, ask a buddy with a pickup to help haul the tires and a floor jack in exchange for a ride.

JimbeauZ06

I have found that if you have a shop you do business with regularly they tend to "help you out" on swapping tires. I have a local shop that I take my cars to for stuff I can't do and to buy street tires and they charge me $29 to mount a set of track tires.

vettehardt

I know Tire Rack charges $15 a tire for mount and balance.

lbs90ZR

I use Harbor Freight's portable tire changer. Some welding was required to modify it to hold the wheels and with some leather between the tool and wheel, no scratches. Smashed my thumb in the learning curve though, but down to 20 minutes a wheel if everything goes smooth.

UstaB-GS549

Walmart mounts my carry-in scrubs for $5. I tell them to not touch my valve stems.

ssdeuce

You guys are great! Thanks so much. I found a local place that said they would for $50 so that's better. $90 was just a little hard to swallow when you have the equipment to do all the work. I will also check Walmart.

Rob31

Just a box of tape weights costs 38 bucks . Some of that rubber aint easy .
wheels that cost upwards of 250 a pop easy to scratch
90 bucks is fair . I wish I had never sold my tire machine

66IISS

There's a local place around us that will do it for free if you order the tires from them. They give us the same prices as Tire Rack and we don't have to pay shipping on them. The only down side is that we do have to pay tax so it ends up being a wash. They still mount, balance, and dispose for free though.

beerkat

I paid $15 a tire for unmounting, mounting and balancing. But I bring them the wheels and tires so they do not have to take them off the car. Also I do not have to hang out waiting for them.

froggy47

If you are going to rcomps and you are doing a lot of events you WILL get to know your tire guy VERY well.

They don't last long.

Buy your tires through him, ask him to match prices & ask for a discount on the mounting & balance.

If you are not doing many events and they last a while, it doesn't really matter that much.

1991Z07

Invest in a rim-clamp machine and a balancer...

I have 50 tires on the ground at any one time. Between the RV, 4 trailers, 2 Corvettes (with 2 sets each of race tires) and 5 other trucks/cars I started looking for something "reasonable" years ago.

Eagle Equipment makes some that don't cost a fortune...they are certainly NOT Hunter quality, but will get the job done. They have combo deals from $2,300 - $5,000.



If you are planning to race a lot...it's your best option. No more worries about the rims getting damaged by some 17 yr. old who doesn't care and has no training. Plus, it's there whenever YOU need it.

If you get the racing bug hard...you'll eat through the purchase fee of the equipment pretty fast...besides that you can "sell" your services to your friends for a nominal fee and change their tires as well. It wouldn't take too many $40 tire set changes ($10/tire) to pay it off.

I checked Ebay for used stuff, but in the end decided I wanted new so I know what condition it was in.

Another place to look is with your local Hunter rep...he might have information on who is upgrading equipment and needing to sell their used stuff...mine was pretty helpful.

worldsaway

I bring a big bottle of Crown Royale to the guy who runs the shop for 4 tires mounted. I think he goes home happy

Rob31

I just used one like that , more than a few years old pita!
Getting the bottom bead up on my 17/9.5s was abitch

Bill Dearborn

One of the local stores does it for me for $45 for a set of 4 wheels and tires. Sometimes they do them for free and tell me to tip the tire guy. One of the local Chevy dealers will dismount/mount and balance runflats for $25 per tire and non run flats for $15 per tire.

Bill