Tire mounting
 

I am getting new Chrome ZO6 rims and Michelin All Season tires to put on my 2014 Z51 and was wondering what kind of installer/equipment I should look for to mount and balance these with out any problems! I am in west Alabama and not a big selection of dealers to choose from. Once I get these put on I will be listing the Z51 chrome rims and Michelin summer tires for sale. Thanks for any advice/ideas! CJ

I took mine to Discount Tire and they did a very good job. Very careful in not marring the rim. Most shops in smaller towns don't have the new Hunter tire machine that guarantees no damage. The Chevrolet dealer in my home town would not even attempt to deal with the tires on my 2019 Z06. The dealer in a nearby town with a much larger dealership also was not interested in trying to do the tire work. I would think that GM would require a dealership to be able to handle tire work on its flag ship model but it is not the case. Again, Discount tire did a very good job although they did not have a Hunter machine.

I assume you are getting Z06 style wheels and not actual Z06 wheels as they will not fit your car.

I try to look for a shop that has a Hunter Roadforce balancer machine. As far as a mounting machine, try and find one that is a touchless style so that your wheels will be protected.

Our local Goodyear dealer has one and does an excellent job.

If you can find a tire shop that deals with trucks, off road especially, they are used to mounting big wheels and tires, and I've found those folks have no trouble dealing with corvette tires/wheels.

One time I had wheels changed by a wheel shop, they work with custom wheels all day.

I second the Discount Tire recommendation if you have one local, or close by. Mine local DT has all of the up to date fancy tire changing equipment, and they take great care with all of my cars.

unfortunately nearest DT is 5 hours away. Went by local GM dealer and they said not interested wouldn't touch them. But big truck dealer said he had a guy that was very familiar with expensive rims and he could do the job. We shall see. Yes these are reproduction ZO6 rims.... fingers crossed! originally was going with non run flats but after some thinking I changed the order to run flats. Last month wife in new Honda ran over something and put a 3 in gash in middle of tire.... thank goodness a young guy came along and helped with the tire change. I am way out in the country.... nearest movie theater one hour plus away....lol, cj

Bridgestone/Firestone stores were one of the first to handle runflats so their stores usually have the latest equipment.

Not all Discount Tire stores have the Hunter touchless system. I had to drive 20 miles to get a touchless system and there are literally 10 DTs between here and there!

Bingo. It has more to do with people who know what they’re doing and it helps if they have the right machine. There’s no general rule that all Discount tire stores can do it. Unfortunately these tires are very tricky to mount. I got bounced all over town trying to get places to do it. It’s good that were honest because it would have caused me a lot of grief with torn beads and damaged rims.

While the other posts are saying machinery and store names, and they ARE correct for the most part, the above post really hits it on the head. The "touchless machine" is not much different from an icon McDonalds cash register. It's for those who can't---can't read, can't do numbers, can't mount or dismount tires easily, etc. In that respect, the touchless does a pretty good job.

What Zjoe is saying above, however, is that IF an individual knows what they're doing with these stiff, short-sidewall tires and delicate wheels (which is all our wheels on any car), they can mount them, and mount them easily without damaging either the wheel or the tire.

The keys to doing this job are knowledge, "knack", experience and patience. I've read of tire changes taking two, four and six hours+ to mount all four tires, and I've read and seen under a 1 hour for all four. Can you imagine what's happening in the shops that have the longer times?

Note: I like the suggestions and info above from rrepp, The rabbi and randall !

New Tire not seating at all
 

Good evening all,
Only have 4221 miles on my new ZR-1 ZTK ZLZ "The Tigerrr Vette" when tire pressure sensor reports low air. Checked tire and sure enough there is a nail in the right rear P335 /25 ZR 20 Michelin Super Sport Cup 2 tire. Ordered a new one (same size/make) and it was delivered to my local Chevy dealership's service department. The Corvette tech there tried, unsuccessfully for 3 hours to mount the tire to the rim. Him and other service techs tried everything to no avail. Have any of you come across this issue? if so what was the answer/cure to get the tire to seat/seal properly? Thanks in advance.
Rich W Sykesville, MD

Find a shop that has a Hunter Revolution Tire Changer.

Find a specialty rim and tire shop with a touchless machine that do these types of tires every day. I found one and the lady that helped me at the counter didn’t flinch when I showed her the rear rim and new 335 PSS. She was like that’ll will cost $60 and come back and pick it up tomorrow same time. It looked perfect. Not a scratch.

Thanks Wrecker3, I believe the service department did just this, they took the tire/rim to a place with one of those machines...charged me $140 bones! Next time I'll take it to that shop myself.

Rich W

Thanks Zjoe6, the dealership service department did just that...took it to a specialty tire place, fixed it right up but charged me $140

Rich W

Another vote for Discount Tire. They just did a great job mounting my AS3s👍🏻

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