New C5 Tires

On 31-Mar-2006, Rufio > wrote:

> THX.
> Think I'll just remember. Then I'll get them swapped back, next tire
> change. I normally get through rears in about 12-18 months.

Lucky you. I was told by a Goodyear rep that South Florida roads are the
hardest on tires because a lot of the roads are made from crushed up sea
shells and beach sand. I took a close look and sure enough you can see
little shell chips imbedded in the pavement.

--
All the best,

Steve

On Wed, 29 Mar 2006 09:55:10 -0700, Spud > wrote:

>
> Bottom line, you've saved a few hundred bucks, got your nice wheels
> screwed
> up, and now have to deal with the anxiety of repeated trips and calls to
> the
> tire shop and taking time off to go to small claims court. What did you
> save?
>
> Ed
>

While we're telling tire shop horror stories, here's an "ohmigod moment"
for you.

I was careful to the point of obsession about my 93 roadster. Not only
were my original wheels never curbed, they were literally unscratched, at
seven years old and 8,000 miles. I would blow the brake-dust away with
Dust-off before washing the wheels, and used two different wash mitts for
the tires and the wheels.

When my GSC's finally started to get that "not-so-sticky feeling," I
bought F1's from Tire Rack and entrusted the mounting to an Oregon outfit,
Les Schwab, which has an excellent rep. i made two mistakes: not all
franchises in a chain are equal, and I too failed to stay and observe the
work.

The bozo who mounted my "tars" not only scratched up one rim, he
completely destroyed the sensor (no new replacements available) and hid it
in his locker instead of telling the boss.

This fiasco ended up costing the shop almost $700 in parts alone, and I
had to locate a (salvage) LTPWS sensor online for them.

All because I didn't stay and hover over the "tech" all through the
process. It's not easy finding people who you can trust to work on your
Vette. When you do, you have to remember them at Christmas, birthdays, and
anything else you can think of.

--
Angelo

Spud wrote:
>> I recently bought tires from TireRack.com.
>
>
> Why not buy your
> high tech tire from a shop that maybe has been trained on how to properly
> mount them?
>
> Bottom line, you've saved a few hundred bucks, got your nice wheels screwed
> up, and now have to deal with the anxiety of repeated trips and calls to the
> tire shop and taking time off to go to small claims court. What did you
> save?
>
> Ed
>
>
Same suggestion. Find a local tire shop that's good, knows Corvettes and
has honest prices. For me, factory stores and chain discounters were
sometimes good and other times not. Average SoCal tire jockey leaves
after 4 months or is promoted to commissioned sales.

I switched to a local tire store, 27 years in town. Owner writes all
the jobs, makes sound recommendations with no sales pitch, orders any
make/model of tire I want with no quibble, usually beats Discount Tire
by a couple of bucks, and the tires are never 'blems.' Road hazard
insurance is available but not pushed. Has steady employees, foreman
knows Corvettes, has a well maintained alignment rig w/knowledgeable
operator. ($ 62 bucks for 4-wheel align on the C5). Makes good bucks
from swap-outs for several new car dealers. Shop foreman watches the
jobs. His Mom answers the phone and keeps the books. Fresh coffee in
the showroom a couple of times a day. No hand prints on the car when
they are finished. Doesn't fix flats for free.

Few guys like to be "hawked" by an anal customer. Find a shop where you
don't need to watch the job and then don't offend them by doing so.
--
…PJ
’89 HookerCar, ’02 E-blu 6-spd Coupe

I bought a set of Falcons on E-Bay and they were shipped right to my
condo on the 8th floor....UPS LOVED me for that one and I had a friend
who can build and has built racecars put them on for me which isn't
easy w/the sensors and all. I bought the polished chrome wheels on
e-bay as well....check out the recent prices....they've come down.
I have a "99 Pewter with the Targa top and Love this baby.....looks
brand new and I drive it most every day....major head turner....I wash
her by hand and am so happy it's not a bigger car to wash by hand!!!
My oil sensor just froze on me and I hear they're wicked to get to to
change...any Ideas?
Why do you call yours a Hooker Car?

VetteLova

cyndy wrote:
> I bought a set of Falcons on E-Bay and they were shipped right to my
> condo on the 8th floor....UPS LOVED me for that one and I had a friend
> who can build and has built racecars put them on for me which isn't
> easy w/the sensors and all. I bought the polished chrome wheels on
> e-bay as well....check out the recent prices....they've come down.
> I have a "99 Pewter with the Targa top and Love this baby.....looks
> brand new and I drive it most every day....major head turner....I wash
> her by hand and am so happy it's not a bigger car to wash by hand!!!
> My oil sensor just froze on me and I hear they're wicked to get to to
> change...any Ideas?
> Why do you call yours a Hooker Car?
>
> VetteLova
>
Welcome to the group Cyndy,

Why is it that I think that UPS person didn't make the whole delivery in
the specified 90 seconds from arrival to departure?

A "Hooker Car" is a C4 Base Coupe that's Wedding White on the outside
and Bordello Red on the inside. First heard the term in the mid-'90s
right after I bought it. I'll share that here but not with my grandkids.
Maybe someone else here knows more about the origination of the term.

Hey, the Pewter is a great color on the C5--light and shadow falls
across that color nicely. Hope you get the OP sensor fixed. Enjoy and
don't forget to wave.

--
…PJ
’89 HookerCar, ’02 E-blu 6-spd Coupe

Umm, the white T-bird in American Graffiti?

PJ wrote:
> cyndy wrote:
>
>> I bought a set of Falcons on E-Bay and they were shipped right to my
>> condo on the 8th floor....UPS LOVED me for that one and I had a friend
>> who can build and has built racecars put them on for me which isn't
>> easy w/the sensors and all. I bought the polished chrome wheels on
>> e-bay as well....check out the recent prices....they've come down.
>> I have a "99 Pewter with the Targa top and Love this baby.....looks
>> brand new and I drive it most every day....major head turner....I wash
>> her by hand and am so happy it's not a bigger car to wash by hand!!!
>> My oil sensor just froze on me and I hear they're wicked to get to to
>> change...any Ideas?
>> Why do you call yours a Hooker Car?
>>
>> VetteLova
>>
> Welcome to the group Cyndy,
>
> Why is it that I think that UPS person didn't make the whole delivery in
> the specified 90 seconds from arrival to departure?
>
> A "Hooker Car" is a C4 Base Coupe that's Wedding White on the outside
> and Bordello Red on the inside. First heard the term in the mid-'90s
> right after I bought it. I'll share that here but not with my grandkids.
> Maybe someone else here knows more about the origination of the term.
>
> Hey, the Pewter is a great color on the C5--light and shadow falls
> across that color nicely. Hope you get the OP sensor fixed. Enjoy and
> don't forget to wave.
>

In article >, PJ > wrote:

> A "Hooker Car" is a C4 Base Coupe that's Wedding White on the outside
> and Bordello Red on the inside.

Hmmmm. That sounds vaguely similar to the original 300.

Here's waving to ya - \||||

Owen
___

'67BB & '72BB

-- not affiliated with JLA forum in any way -- alt.autos.corvette is
original posting --
___

"To know the world intimately is the beginning of caring."
-- Ann Hayman Zwinger

FYI, I purchased a new set of Goodyear run flats from Discount tire and
they tried to balance the wheels using inside weights. They finally
gave up and told me the rims were bent and recommended I have them
replaced by GM. Went to my local Chey dealer and they used the special
Corvette weights on both the inside and outside. The tires balanced
fine and the weights don't look that bad.

Do not even try to use the junkie stick on weights. They look bad and
did not work on mine.

aRKay
2001 BK/bk/6-SPD Coupe

Well,
I'm just about done with the fiasco surrounding my new tires.

As you may remember, I got the tires from Tirerack.com, had them mounted and
balanced at Firestone. I found that to balance them, they had used several
lead weights hammered on the outside, ruining the clearcoat and scratching
up the wheels. I took the lead weights off myself to assess the damage and
then had a knowledgeable technician at the same Firestone store balance the
wheels again. He used the stick on lead weights on the inside of the rim.
Excellent job, totally out of sight, and not on the clearcoat. unfortunately
the damage was very noticeable and permanent.

A few emails and phone calls later, a gracious Firestone District Manager
has ordered four new wheels, to be put on Monday!

It all turned out ok.
Pappy

>
> A few emails and phone calls later, a gracious Firestone District Manager
> has ordered four new wheels, to be put on Monday!
>
> It all turned out ok.
> Pappy
>
>

Pappy,

Glad to hear it ended up positive. Someone's got some 'splain to do down at
the Firestone to the DM!

Ed