Having just had one of my front wheels badly scored and another scratched during a tyre replacement I thought I'd see if this happened a lot in the USA/Canada.

It is a minor miracle if a UK forum member gets a set of tyres changed without their rims being damaged but I've not read of this on the main board..... I know Triple H and I have speculated in the past that the different rim design might be to blame - anyone here had rims damaged (especially scored spokes) by a tyre fitter?

Thanks for any feedback,

Tif

 

its usually between the machine and the installer unable to work with the proper equipment which causes wheels to be scraped. when it happens, a reputable tire & wheel shop will do what they can to fix or replace that wheel they damaged.

 

I had two wheels replaced because they laid the wheels down on the spokes and scratched them.

 

I hear what you are saying but it seems an overly common occurrence over here, even with tyre shops who we have used with good results in the past....

The company who I fell foul of today have agreed to a replacement wheel that is being fitted tomorrow but that doesn't excuse their poor workmanship especially as I had taken pains to explain my concerns to the manager beforehand and pointed out the protruding spokes At the end of the day I'm still inconvenienced in having to return tomorrow for the wheel replacement.

Incredibly it is often Honda dealerships who are the worst offenders... in one case after destroying the original set of wheels they duplicated their mistake on the replacement set!

I guess the USA either has more professional tyre outlets or the wheel design is less prone to incident.

Tif

 

I want to know how a manufacturer can install thousands upon thousands of tires on aluminum wheels and not scratch them while almost every secondary tire installer scratches the wheels in some way every time???

Here are my best guesses:

1) The rim is scratched mainly when the old tire is being taken off. Since a wheel mfr. does not have to remove an old tire, this step allows a mfr. to install the new tire without any damage. (I believe that Automakers are supplied the tires already mounted on the wheel from the sub-contractor. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.)

2) The new rim/wheel sides are covered in plastic and the new tire is installed over the plastic to prevent damage.

3) Equipment is different between a tire shop and the large mfr. I've heard that there are machines that "push" the tire straight on the wheel instead of "prying" the bead over the edge of the wheel. Not sure how true this is.

4) Not all shops are as bad as I think they are and if a good tech has good standard equipment the tire can be taken on and off the wheel without damaging the finish.

Other comments...

 

I have never seen a wheel get scratched by taking the tire off the wheel. its always when the tire is put on the wheel: the wheel is mounted upon a machine, the tire is put on half way around and worked around until the inner bead is around the wheel and then the other bead is put on which takes some work for some tight fitting tires.. at this point, that's when its scraped up.