drlew

What was I thinking... I picked something up with my rear left tire a few days ago, and it was flat last night. I filled it and this morning it was flat again. So I stopped at the BIG-O on my way to work, for a patch job. They patched the tire, and AFTER I paid them, they drive the car around and the dude hands me my keys... and a lug nut.

"This lug nut is stripped and wouldn't go on." he said. I was disappointed, but I let it go. When I got to work though, I got a better look at my wheel and the ***** ate away 2 moon-shaped parts of the metal around the hole.

2 words - FREAKIN' IMPACT WRENCH! I know he used one because I heard it.

But my tire's fixed.

SHADY280

dude thats 3 words, but they should kinda try a little harder then that with your car, id go back and tear them a new one.

drlew

yeah, they were slobbering all over it when I pulled up. I was a bit surprised they didn't take more care. I've taken those wheels off and on many times this year with no problems.

I generally try to avoid drama. Thats why I left without incedent. The damage is minor i guess, and I do have a replacement nut. People just suck sometimes.

Fast240Z

which big-o did you go to? Hopefully not the one off of calvine right next to the freeway. I have had nothing but bad experience with them, and they tend to be dicks about everything as well. I took my truck down to have the suspension looked at, and their responce was "something is wrong with it", nothing else.

nismo619

next time ask them to use a 4 way lug wrench :" no impact " sockets...

drlew

I really don't think theres gonna be a next time... Its amazing how much bad $h1t happens to my car every time someone else touches it.

SpeciallySpiked

I hear that!

bjhines

You are bound to run into problems at the "big box" type auto stores...

everyone is just an employee... there is no incentive for pride in their work...

if you let the worst paid, bottom of the barrel mechanics work on your car... you will have problems...

You can assume that anyone working at a big, discount auto store is going to be the worst of the worst in their field.... the really good mechanics own their own shop or are partners with another independant shop owner...

moral of that story... NEVER buy tires and have them installed by a big retailer... Tire rack is a great alternative.. they will drop ship to a reputable indy shop.... they have many shops in your area on their website with customer reviews of their performance... you local Z club... or Porsche... or Alfa Romeo.. or BMW... or Triumph.. etc clubs will have the best shops on their websites as sponsors...

mikeyman

in other words.... it's good to buy the tires from large companys... but dont let em touch what you drive

bjhines

"Tire Rack" is a mail order company... they will drop ship tires to your favorite installer... that way you get a good deal on hard to find tires... and you get professional installation...

btw... look for "Hunter" brand equipment if you want the latest and best installation equipment... there are other good brands... Hunter is more common.
also... good equipment should look clean and well cared for... the equipment tends to wear out relatively quickly in a popular shop and they purchase new every 5 years or so... If your guy has old crusty equipment... then he is skimping on tool costs at YOUR expense...

don't be surprised if installation costs $100-$120 or more.... larger sizes/ lower profiles can have extra costs added...

I have several sets of wheels for track and some street use... although I tend to use old track tires on the street and currently I have 3 sets of wheels with various track compounds on them... I take only the wheels to the the shop... I get a considerable discount on installation(no lift required)... I also have installed my own steel valve stems and I request they leave them alone.. they only change the valve core... I always apply aluminum tape over the weights when I get home...

DON'T FORGET TO CLEAN YOUR WHEELS WELL.... the stick on weights will fall off if the surface is not relatively clean....
I use my wheels on track and they get tons of rusty track compound brake dust and hundreds of little bits of race rubber stuck inside them...
I would never take them to a shop in a dirty condition... remember... other people treat your equipment in a large part the same way you do... If you wan't the mechanic to be careful then always make sure your wheels are clean and well cared for when he sees them.... this is basic human behavior...

bjhines

The impact wrench is the best tool to deal with lug nuts... off and back on...

The proper method of reinstalling a lug nut is to...
1. hang the wheel on the hub...
2. thread each lug nut by hand TWO FULL TURNS...
3. snug up each nut in the pattern with the impact wrench set on low.. <50ft-lbs...
4. torque each lug nut to 90ft-lbs (or manufacturer spec.) with Torque Wrench NOT IMPACT TOOL
5. retorque each lug nut a second time following the pattern again... (this step is important)... you will often find that one nut was still too loose on the second pass.

Trust me... you don't want those guys beating the hell out of your fenders with a 4 way wrench... let em use the impact for initial snugging up the nuts..

YOUR problem comes from the fact that you have SHOULDERED NUTS... they are a pain in the *** to thread by hand in comparison to most tapered seat nuts... face it... a challenging situation presented to an idiot will always come out failure... tell that to the moron who buggered up your lugs... he is an idiot... or he is still wet behind the ears...