hey y'all-

did a little searching to no avail.

i'm looking for a tire/wheel shop in oakland that will be able to unmount/mount my wheels without messin' em up. i mean, i don't want so much as a scratch on the lug nuts. i'm beyond **** about this.

any recommendations? what should i look for so that my lug nuts (flat black Rays) don't get chewed up?

thanx

 

Take the wheels of yourself. Borrow a friend's truck or minivan if necessary. I am **** about this also.

Find a shop that does internet sales of wheels and go to them. They have invested the big dollars in the machine that protects the wheels appropriately. It's also always a good idea to point out the perfection of your wheels when you BRING them in. I never bring the car in for them to remove ANYthing.

Don't let them rip you off. Most of the shops don't have rates posted, which means they start high and allow you to negotiate. I used to pay $24 for dismount/remount/balance versus where they started at $40+/wheel. Are you buying the tires there? Tire shops are quick to say they can match Tire Rack's prices, but that's not where the cheapest tires come from. Search around online, bring them in a printed sheet of your proposed order, and have them match that. You'll swap tax for shipping.

 

thanx for the reply. i guess my next question is how do *I* get my lug nuts off w/out any scratches? everything i've tried on wheels in the past = no-worky. electrical tape inside socket, etc.

do you have a trick? these flat black lugs look like they wanna scratch real easily...

 

I have the flat black Volk lugs also. I take my wheels on/off very often, so some scuffing has happened even with the gentlest of approaches. The most effective seems to be no power tools, and slow, gentle movements with the breaker bar. Take 'em out by hand from there.

 

I recently had a good experience with Motorsport Techniques in Hayward, which is about 15 minutes away from Oakland. They mounted and balanced my 18" wheels and tires for $20 a piece. TPMS is an extra $5 per wheel. Price might be a bit more if you have very low profile tires as they are, supposedly, harder to mount/unmount without messing up.