Just saw when washing the car that the tire company has scratched every single spoke on all four rims when mounting the winter tires. About a half-inch in from the edge of the rim, so i guess they adjusted the machine a bit to tight, so it scratched the spoke when passing by. I'll go back Monday and see what they will do about it...

Anyone know of matching paint? I could leave the winter tires on these rims and buy something else for the summer tires.

 

Same thing happened to me with my previous car a 1998 Prelude SH at the Honda dealer.

For the s2k i said no sir and went to a specialist shop that cost me double yet they baby the mags like it was made of glass.

 

I've had mine removed multiple times for brake pad replacement, no problems. I go to a quality shop that works on a lot of classics.

If that happend to me, they'd be buying me a new set of wheels.

[This message has been edited by Mikey (edited December 09, 2000).]

 

Same thing happened to me today when I put on the snows. Lots of micro scratches and there is one that is really deep. Damn sore about it. I did not think the shop will do anything even if I did complain. fortunately I am using this for winter only and will get a new set of rims in summer. It suck big time Bassman, I know exactly how you feel.

How do you know that whether the shop has any special tools that can install the tires without scracthing the rims? What does the tool look like or what is it call?

Thanks

 

back in the days of working at discount tire - a few other employees would get ahold of cars and scratch up their rims - we were liable, and thus replaced each rim that we screwed up. I'm not sure if it was a legal move or just an ethical one that my boss made at the times when it happened.

There was only myself and a friend from high school that were trusted when working with expensive wheels. Neither one of us scratched a single rim. Of course, it takes extra time and care when working with 17"+ wheels. So, hang out, watch over who does your work, and after inspecting their work, give em a tip. Its good karma if nothing else - and the best tips that I remember were drinks - gatorade mainly. On a hot day working in those bays, nothing beat that stuff.

 

Any shop with modern equipment (which this was) should be able to handle this, it's not as if aluminum wheels are the exception anymore. The machine they use is adjusted so the tool that mounts or dismounts the tire rides some distance above the rim, thus never touching it. I actually used to work part-time at a tire shop when i was younger so i could do the job myself and know exactly what went wrong. They were simply not careful enough and failed to notice that the spoke is actually a bit higher than the rim. I think they adjusted the height for the rim edge and when the spoke came around...screech...

 

After rereading the posts and replys, I think I was not clear in my answer. My scratches are at the edges of the rim, none at the spokes. I think it happened when the guy was trying to pry the tire away from the rim using a metal bar as a leverage to pop open one section and then the machine rotated to continue "pry" open the other section.

From what I can see that was the only way to do it and they look like they have a modern machine. That was why I asked what type of machine is necessary to ensure a clean installation. I don't want that to happen on my new rims.

Bassman, keep us updated on the rim saga, I am especially very interested to know what happens if you decide to pursue this matter.

regards

 

A little update; i talked to the tire guy this morning and he admitted to causing all the scratches. At first he wasn't too happy about doing anything about it though, saying it's taking a risk each time you switch tires on the rims, but finally agreed that it can't be acceptable to damage all four and not be liable. I suggested two possible ways to compensate me - either repair or replace the current rims, or let me buy a second set for the summer tires at a big discount. He chose to split the cost for a new second set of stock rims, they cost about 1k US here. He will come back tonight or tomorrow with an offer on what the split will be, if it's 50-50 or close i will accept. That will give me a reasonable price on the current rims, albeit a little scratched, and i can keep using them for the winter tires.

 

Answer me one question ---

How do the manufacturers get the tires on without a single scratch? --- that has to be the fastest process going!!!!

 

Any careful tire shop should also be able to do that, they probably have much the same equipment as the manufacturers. The difference is most likely that Honda doesn't have to redjust the machines for each set of wheels, they can leave them at the same proved settings for long series of work. Your average tire shop will have to readjust the machine and is thus open to mistakes each time. The manufacturer also works with new clean rims and tires which makes them less sensitive to scratching from dirt and such. And finally, i am sure they do scratch the odd wheel, it just gets detected in their quality control and you don't get to see it...