Topic: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

Hi:
I have a set of Nitto 255/40R17s to mount. I normally pay Wheel Works <$20 per tire b/c of their pre-negotiated pricing for tirerack.com tires ($14.20 + $2 stems + $2.50 disposal) but these came from Discount Tire direct and America's tire doesn't cut any deals (last I checked it was >$30/tire).

Anyone else have a cheap independant shop that will just throw these tires on and (mostly) balance them? I used to go to Sleek Motoring ($15/tire) but that place was shut down years ago. I work in the Mtn View area and live in SF. Since I have to make 2 trips (because my Prius won't hold all 4 wheels + all 4 tires), I'd prefer a shop around there or up the Penninsula.

Thanks for any tips.
Regards,
-gunn

Myopic Motorsport's #888 Ceci n'est pas une Citron Thunderbird ("This is not a lemon" but a 1995 tbird w/ 93 V8 swap + shopping cart rear wing + engine mounted frito maker)
2017 Sears Pointless Organizer’s Choice
Frito Making Tbird from 2018 Sears Pointless Engine Heat BBQ - http://goo.gl/csaet4

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

We use this place, mostly because it's cheap and 2 mins from our storage shop: https://www.yelp.com/biz/nielsen-automotive-san-carlos

Usually costs $18.75 per tire. If you bring them the wheels they can usually do it within a few hours with no appointment on a Saturday. If you call them up mention that the wheels are off the car, otherwise they will try to give you an appointment.

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

Thanks for the tips. I did find another shop willing to do it for $20/wheel that's 15 min away but on a lark, i called America's Tire which is <5 min from my office to confirm their pricing.
It turns out, they will give you the same price they would charge to M&B loose tires if bought from Discount Tire Direct (an affiliated company) that they would charge if you had bought them retail. That was a pleasant surprise as I remember being quoted something like $30-35 for tires from tirerack.com

$19 mounted/balance/new stems + $2.5 tire disposal. Not bad.

Myopic Motorsport's #888 Ceci n'est pas une Citron Thunderbird ("This is not a lemon" but a 1995 tbird w/ 93 V8 swap + shopping cart rear wing + engine mounted frito maker)
2017 Sears Pointless Organizer’s Choice
Frito Making Tbird from 2018 Sears Pointless Engine Heat BBQ - http://goo.gl/csaet4

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

Anyone one use a manual tire changer?   Looks like they work with some effort, thinking maybe make one with hydraulic jack..   
My local place in the hood does tires for $10 each super fast while u wait, but it can be a hassle and they are not so close since I moved.
People have tire changers at the track?

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

I have the HF tire changer, It works fine for our current 225/50-16s It does however need a few things:

A better non-marring iron. Seriously the one it comes with needs to have the ends polished and even then it's weak tube so it ends up eventually getting a crease in it. A nice solid bar one with some kind of hard nylon ends is much better. Not just for the rim, it also will slide in and out of the bead better than the HF bar even polished.

The bead breaker needs some re-enforcement welded to the arms. They can move side to side too much which again causes bending. Either along the arms or a hardcore X along the bars.

OTOH even with the price of a good non-marring arm and the time to do some welding. it pays for itself in a couple sets of tires.

Also you don't need as many spare rims if you bolt it to your trailer. Once you get the moves down it's nothing to to a rubber swap.

Oh also invest in good tire snot. Dish soap and water works, but it dries too quick in the summer.

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

Guildenstern wrote:

I have the HF tire changer, It works fine for our current 225/50-16s It does however need a few things:

A better non-marring iron. Seriously the one it comes with needs to have the ends polished and even then it's weak tube so it ends up eventually getting a crease in it. A nice solid bar one with some kind of hard nylon ends is much better. Not just for the rim, it also will slide in and out of the bead better than the HF bar even polished.

The bead breaker needs some re-enforcement welded to the arms. They can move side to side too much which again causes bending. Either along the arms or a hardcore X along the bars.

OTOH even with the price of a good non-marring arm and the time to do some welding. it pays for itself in a couple sets of tires.

Also you don't need as many spare rims if you bolt it to your trailer. Once you get the moves down it's nothing to to a rubber swap.

Oh also invest in good tire snot. Dish soap and water works, but it dries too quick in the summer.

Q: Do you bother with balancing using this setup, do you throw some plastic BBs into the tire before mounting or do you have some other lemony technique I haven't heard about?

-g

Myopic Motorsport's #888 Ceci n'est pas une Citron Thunderbird ("This is not a lemon" but a 1995 tbird w/ 93 V8 swap + shopping cart rear wing + engine mounted frito maker)
2017 Sears Pointless Organizer’s Choice
Frito Making Tbird from 2018 Sears Pointless Engine Heat BBQ - http://goo.gl/csaet4

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

gunn wrote:

Q: Do you bother with balancing using this setup, do you throw some plastic BBs into the tire before mounting or do you have some other lemony technique I haven't heard about?

-g

Never bother balancing race tires.

I have a vintage Coats manual.  it can do 15" all days with an idiot behind the tools.  16" can be a challenge to get started solo...either breaking the bead or starting it but a skilled person could probably do it and two unskilled monkeys working in concert can.

They were never designed for 17" wheels and we found out they COULD do them but there is no way this is value added.  I suspect the cheaper new manual changers are no better.  A skilled individual with (long) tire irons could probably mount one faster.

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

gunn wrote:

Q: Do you bother with balancing using this setup, do you throw some plastic BBs into the tire before mounting or do you have some other lemony technique I haven't heard about?

-g

We have the equally cheap HF static tire balancer and sticky weights.
I keep thinking about trying out Dynabeads like in the bike, but haven't gotten around to it.

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q9Nrfk8bcg&t=7s

Found this one using air ram.  I like how it does the bead break and the ram also clamps the wheel too.   clever.

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

If you're up for a work out you can use a tire hammer and two tire spoons.
Years ago I ran a fleet of bread trucks and this is what we did.
Breaking the bead with the hammer was the fun part.
Most of the new guys banged up 2-3 wheels before they got the hang of it.
Do 20-30 of those and it will flat wear you out!!!

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

NotURMailman wrote:

If you're up for a work out you can use a tire hammer and two tire spoons.
Years ago I ran a fleet of bread trucks and this is what we did.
Breaking the bead with the hammer was the fun part.
Most of the new guys banged up 2-3 wheels before they got the hang of it.
Do 20-30 of those and it will flat wear you out!!!

Do yourself a favor and pony up $50 for a dirt track bead breaker http://www.jegs.com/i/Allstar-Performan … gIqsfD_BwE

This, a rubber mallett and a couple of tire irons and you are good to go.

Apocalyptic Racing - Occupy Pit Lane racing
Racing the "Toylet" Toyota Celica powered by Chevrolet Ecotec.
24x Loser with the Celica. 16x loser in other fine machines
Overall winner Gingerman 2019

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

You'll find that a scrap piece of 1 and 3/4" @ 0.120" rollbar tubing will fit perfectly over the Harbor Freight Iron / bar.

I've mounted up hundreds of tires, many of them 255/40/R17, and never had an issue. Of course, there's a ~50% chance I'll scratch the surface of the wheel... but who cares on race wheels?

I've easily saved over a thousand dollars in tire mounting and balancing (I use the static bubble balance) with my manual setup. It's not for wimps though, and dish soap goes a LOOONG way in helping you get those tires on and off.

The Pentastar whisperer

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

nimblemotorsports wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q9Nrfk8bcg&t=7s

Found this one using air ram.  I like how it does the bead break and the ram also clamps the wheel too.   clever.

That really isn't doing much.

The bead breaking part of the manual changers works pretty well, and a twist on clamp works fine. The good part of a machine is the part that guy is still doing by hand.

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

Did you get your tires mounted in early Dec??   I have used Custom Alignment in Mountain view, because Tire Rack will ship there. But they are expensive and sometimes won't mount my tires on some of my crappy rims which have damage or centers hack drilled out. So I've been going to this place for mounting and dismounting. They are quick and do a good job, although the price varies (maybe by the quality of the wheel?). Rich's Tire Service, on the corner of Old Middlefield and Sierra Vista Ave.

Dudes Ex Machina: https://www.facebook.com/dudesexmachina

?Everyone who has ever built anywhere a 'new heaven' first found the power thereto in his own hell- Frederick Nietzsche

15 (edited by gunn 2018-01-23 11:44 AM)

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

My tires came from Discount Tire Direct via eBay. America's Tire (affiliated company to DT/DTD) at El Camino and Grant mounted them for the same price they would charge if I had bought the tires from them directly ($19/ea and I'm not sure they charged me for the old tire disposal)  vs their retail pricing of $30/tire. Sub $20 was good enough for me since my office was so close and I could bring the tires in pairs. They laughed when I brought my crappy rims painted rustoleum red and pointed out that I wouldn't hassle them if the paint got chipped -- I would just slap another coat on.

For Tire Rack tires, the cheapest local place I found was Wheel Works on Showers just E of El Camino.
I got my previous tires shipped there and they didn't give me any fuss.

Mounting & Balancing (per tire) by Sidewall Aspect Ratio
60 Series and higher $11.40
50-55 Series $11.40
40-45 Series$14.20
35 Series and lower $17.95
Additional Services (per tire)
Rubber Valve Stems$2.00
Disposal Fee$2.50

Maybe you have a friend deal but WW was MUCH CHEAPER than Custom Alignment. IMO, This pricing is sodomy without lube.
Mounting & Balancing (per tire)
By Sidewall Aspect Ratio series
60 and Higher $30.00
50-55 $30.00
40-45$35.00
35 and Lower $40.00
Rubber Valve Stems$3.00
Disposal Fee$3.00

https://www.tirerack.com/installer/Inst … Code=94040
PS. IIRC, Rich's wanted $25/tire.

Myopic Motorsport's #888 Ceci n'est pas une Citron Thunderbird ("This is not a lemon" but a 1995 tbird w/ 93 V8 swap + shopping cart rear wing + engine mounted frito maker)
2017 Sears Pointless Organizer’s Choice
Frito Making Tbird from 2018 Sears Pointless Engine Heat BBQ - http://goo.gl/csaet4

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

I live in SF and use Faxon Garage at Faxon and Ocean which is quite close to my house. Good people that do good work, Tire Rack installer. $22.50 a tire all in, mounting/balancing/stems/disposal.

25X Loser - Delinquent Racing - '86 Rust-Tite Merkur - 9 years (when do I get to stop?).

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

I live in SF and use Faxon Garage at Faxon and Ocean which is quite close to my house. Good people that do good work, Tire Rack installer. $22.50 a tire all in, mounting/balancing/stems/disposal.

25X Loser - Delinquent Racing - '86 Rust-Tite Merkur - 9 years (when do I get to stop?).

Re: Q: Looking for cheap for tire mounting shop in the Bay Area (Mtn View)

I've heard of teams that got tired of going to getting tires mounted so they got their own stuff.  But they are bad people that do bad work.