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So, it appears I have a leak in my rear driver tire.
I shoot over to my local Belle Tire (because I can walk home and they've always been fair to me) and drop it off, hoping they can plug it.
They call me when I'm halfway home and tell me they can't remove the tire on a C8 vette because it takes special machinery they don't have, but another Belle Tire 10 miles away does have it.
So I call Discount Tire and they guy says "sure, we can take it off - I don't know anything about special machinery to take off the tire" - which leads me to believe that one of the 2 doesn't know what they're talking about but i tend to believe Belle Tire.
Anybody have any knowledge of this? I can take it to the dealer but I don't think I've ever walked out of dealership (except BMW) without feeling bent over the coals.
it’s true, some tire machines are not able to handle a run flat and or a large diameter rim or tire…
however I will add, if a shop doesn’t have equipment that can handle run flat or a larger diameter tire, they aren’t really worth much as a tire business…..
Discount Tire has always done a great job for me. They just swapped my tires onto my new wheels. Unless you have some exotic wheel I do not see the problem.
I just had tires put on last week. It was a guy in a sprinter van that came to my house. Installed TPMS sensors, mounted, balanced and installed all in my driveway. If a guy in a van can do it I think you may need to find a new tire shop.
Just go to Discount Tire and don't screw around. One of few businesses that still knows what service means. They typically won't charge for the repair even.
A while back I was at a GM dealer waiting for a tire repair- They had the send the wheel out to another shop- I was there for hours
FWIW if you have tapeworks buy an extra set you will need it to replace sections that get destroyed in the tire change process
Originally Posted by randyfl
Discount Tire has always done a great job for me. They just swapped my tires onto my new wheels. Unless you have some exotic wheel I do not see the problem.
Yep, unless the Tech does a lot of tire replacement/repair they won't have the needed skills to do wide, low profile run flats. The large Chevy/BMW/Mercedes dealer in town sends all wide run flats (especially low profile) to Firestone (or did as that is who I used myself in my 7 Vettes thru my 2 C7s.)
I now use Discount Tire who came to town about when I got my C8. They have skilled folks and perhaps not the most expensive touchless tire machines but what they have, especially to get the tire back on, works great. AND that is what their trained Techs do all day! I recall the 12 service bay Firestone dealer had ~20 techs and ONLY two were assigned to low profile wide tires!
Here are some pics of my E-Ray, 345/25/21 rear tire on 13 inch wide rim being replaced:
Needed new rear tire with ~1000 miles. I bought tire insurance when the car was 1 week old so $650 Tire FREE TO ME!
Not easy dealing with 13 inch rims. But that is what Discount Tire does! Not Chevy Dealer's skill!
Getting the tire off is not the issue as much as getting that wide, low profile run flat tire back on the rim. They have several methods. One they used in addition to putting high flow in thru the Valve Stem that is this air blast used on the bottom gap. On my front tire needing a Plug/Patched they removed the whole valve stem assembly with a device that has a thin wire to pull it back thru the rim hole. Then they inserted air hose having a high volume rubber tip in the large rim hole.
I made what I call a "Tire Slide" to remove the wheels (espeically the rear 13 rims) without risking breaking a CCB ceramic rotor. I used the foam rotor pads that came with the E-Ray . You'll note 8 inch long wheel stud extenders. The car is jacked just high enough to have ~1/4 inch clearance to the "Tire Slide." When the wheel is pulled off the lug extenders it safely drops on to the "Tire Slide."
To put the tire/wheel back just tilt it slightly with a small wood block. That allows the top rim hole to slip on the extender. When you push the wheel on, the bottom two lug extenders are then in place to push on!
Built the "Tire Slide" from some scrap 1/4 inch thick wood and $10 for 4 casters!
I roll the wheel/tire up onto one of my floor jacks, get the holes aligned at the proper level and slide the jack in. I have the lug extenders, 3 work fine on the OEM wheels but I can only use 1 on my 20/21" Forgelines that take a 19mm lug.
This is the Hunter Revolution Walk Away that my local tire shop has. They used it on my KIA EV6 GT wheels when I needed some road force balance work done and the tires needed flipping and rotation to resolve some 100MPH balance issues.
I was up there to get the car inspected for Texas registration and asked if they could do the ERAY 14 inch wide tire and they indicated it was the limit on the machine size use.
Go with Discount Tires - they have never let me down. If your local shop doesn't have a machine that will handle your run-flats then you don't want them touching your C8 anyway.
Discount Tire has always done a great job for me. They just swapped my tires onto my new wheels. Unless you have some exotic wheel I do not see the problem.
Discount Tire can safely change run flats or any low-profile tire that can be put on a car
On a different subject about Discount Tire. Several months back I had them replace the front tires ( that I supplied ) on my riding lawnmower mower. They did excellent work, even texting me when the job was completed. The store is probably a year old, but all they use is floor jacks? Is this typical at all their locations? I have never seen a tire store with out a car lift.
On a different subject about Discount Tire. Several months back I had them replace the front tires ( that I supplied ) on my riding lawnmower mower. They did excellent work, even texting me when the job was completed. The store is probably a year old, but all they use is floor jacks? Is this typical at all their locations? I have never seen a tire store with out a car lift.
Discount Tire Store appear be set up differently. Unlike many tire stores that use post rather than drive on lifts (so all wheel/tires can be removed) our local store uses a low height powered chassis type lift. They have their own jack pads that fit the lift. (They did just add an alignment drive on lift system.) However rather than trust that the C8 is lifted properly I remove a tire with flat etc and bring it there. I buy their tire insurance so repairs and tire replacement (when nail is near the outer edge) is free to me.
To assure no wheel dings I "offer up front" a $20 tip IF no wheel dings. Have had a flat and new tire needed on my 2020 C8 AND two flats and one new tire needed on my 8-month-old E-Ray! That rear summer performance tire would have cost ~$650. Free to me! No wheel dings!
The use of floor jack assures no C8 tipping. Like I do at the Chevy dealer etc, I bring removable 1-inch-high jack pads and ask they use them! That is what I use at home. Pic is how I removed the 13" wide E-Ray wheel
SIDEBAR
Just checked ownership: They are a private company (no public stock or franchise.) This is a short summary: They are the nation's largest independent tire and wheel retailer, operating more than 1,100 stores in 38 states. Bruce Thomas Halle (May 27, 1930 – January 4, 2018) the American founder and former chairman of Discount Tire started with one store in Mischigan in1960. He moved the operation to Arizona and was the wealthiest person in the State. He had an estimated net worth of $5.2 billion at the time of his death, which is about their current annual revenue. They have 21,792 employees in 2023.
How I removed the 13-inch-wide, 21-inch rear E-Ray wheel:
Pic shows my home made "Tire Slide" (made from scrap 1/4-inch wood with 4 casters) so no lifting to remove or install wheel/tire! Note also use 8-inch lug extensions and the foam ceramic protective rotor pads supplied with E-Ray CCB brakes. Avoids of heavy 13-inch-wide rim hitting brittle ceramic rotors that can crack!
Repair tire a complex process?
Discount Tire can safely change run flats or any low-profile tire that can be put on a car
