I called up a couple of placed and getting some wild numbers. anywhere from 32 per tire to 45 per tire.

it's hard to consider used tires when costco sells tires for 100bucks mounted and balanced.

Anyone know a shop that charges reasonably for mounting and balancing tires?

 

I believe profunction (pinyo's shop) has a tire mounting machine and they are quite reasonably priced.

Otherwise, the Tire Rack has a list of approved installers and it shows the prices they charge. http://www.tirerack.com/installer/index.jsp

 

Believe it or not, you can somewhat get what you pay for when it comes to mounting and balancing. While any decent tuning shop should do a good job, if you just go to a cheap neighborhood mechanic, they might scratch up a small ring around the hub area on the face of the wheel. This happened to the wheels on my old car when my dad took it to a local mechanic to get the job done.

Also, you might want to look into nitrogen-filled tires. I don't know much of the performance aspects of it, but I know my dad loved putting the stuff into his truck's tires.

 

^nitrogen is supposed to be better for your tires for several reasons, i can't remember them all, but most def good stuff

 

Nitrogen is suppose to hold pressure for longer.. but when you live in mid west climate where you have to constantly check pressure (due to temperature changes) it's not worth it.

Costco for one uses nitrogen but you have to buy tires from them for them to mount/balance.

Ya Gfunk I know what you're saying. Been there. Thanks for the advice though.

I'll check out the tirerack's list.

 

Thanks for that tirerack link!!!..

I found several places in the Price Pledge list that charge under 20bucks for 50/55 series tires mounting and balancing. Thats much more reasonable.

 

Yeah, I believe nitrogen reacts less to temperature, so you maintain your psi longer. Not sure of what the span is, but this could be ideal if you say set your car to 32 psi and it only goes down to 30psi when extremely cold as opposed to air where it would go down more (numbers pulled out of ass, not really sure the drop/gain range).

Also, this could be good for racing where you set your psi and have it change less after a 20 min track session. The problem is, it's not readily available. If and when I do have to add air, I'll be using my awesome Honda air compressor, at which point I'm pumping air in there anyway.

BTW - the air compressor that comes with the CR really is awesome. It is the best portable air compressor I've ever used. Super fast and the gauge is decently accurate. If you don't run a spare tire, I recommend picking up the tire repair kit/trunk foam thingy.

 

hmm.. ya i got some crappy pump from target... works well for single tire.. but not good for doing multiple tires. SLOW AS HELL>

it better be a good pump.. i think the kit costs. 280 from majestic honda!..

Lol I just got a quote from Walmart. 6 bucks a tire for mounting and balancing............ 10.50 for lifetime balance...

how good can $6 mounting and balancing can it be?

 

how much do you care about your wheels? personally, I don't mind tiny scratches or scuffs, but I hate walmart.

 

I have my 15" rims done by Walmart ALL THE TIME.

They have done like 15 sets or more for me.

First question, what kind of tires are you putting on? If they are all seasons or summer tires on your OEM wheels, I say go for it.

Second question, what size are the rims?

I saw you put 50/55 sidewall, so that's definitely a tall sidewall unless you are putting on some 275+ wide tires.


Personally I wouldn't take them any nice wheel over 16".

The nicest thing I ever brought them was an OEM 15" Gunmetal ITR wheel and they put Khumo MX on it (very still sidewall) and they did a good job.

The size and type of tire is what makes people mess up the most. Stiff and Small sidewalls require run flat machines. Which only bigger chains usually have like Just Tires and Discount, and that's when 100/set doesn't seem like a bad price.

Cheapest I have found a run flat machine has been 70/set and that is way out in the country in Sycamore cause there isn't any huge chains out here that have one.