3.3TT Mount n' Balance - Where? (also... alignment?)

[WRXtoStingerGT]

So I'm coming to a realization (after speaking to multiple local small shops down here in south Florida) that mounting and balancing my new tires on my 19'inch staggered setup might be a bit of a problem. Some shops apparently are not able to do this.

Furthermore, I had a hilarious experience at a dealership I brought my car to for some service. Long story short they came back to me after about 30 minutes and say they are not going to be able to mount and balance my tires because of my staggered setup and that they have not seen Stinger GT's with these type of wheels and setups before. My goodness... at least they got the other work done lmfao!

So should I just stomach spending $150 as quoted by a custom shop? That's just for mounting and balancing my tires; alignment not included.

Should I get an alignment? I'm so all over the place with this car lmfao. My WRX was a simple $60 for a mounting and balancing and since all 4 wheels and tires were identical rotations were so straight forward lol.

Thanks all! I'm writing this while waiting for laundry to finish and babysitting the cat who is playing with my left hand.

 

[Blueangel]

I wouldn’t go to the dealership for anything but warranty work. I’m about to get new wheels put on but having this shop mount the oems since I have about 70% tread life left. I hope I don’t get any bs..
Are you near Pep boys? They mount tires and wheels shipped from tire rack if purchased on their site so maybe that shop is an option?

 

[StingertimeNC]

How can any shop that installs tires not be able to mount and balance your tires? Staggered shouldn't have anything to do with anything. They see cars, truck, etc. and every different size wheel and tire combos. If they can do any car it shouldn't be an issue. Nonsense I say.

 

[ChaneRZ]

Incompetent fools.

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

I wouldn’t go to the dealership for anything but warranty work. I’m about to get new wheels put on but having this shop mount the oems since I have about 70% tread life left. I hope I don’t get any bs..
Are you near Pep boys? They mount tires and wheels shipped from tire rack if purchased on their site so maybe that shop is an option?

There are two Pep Boys near me but both have pretty negative (recent) reviews.

Ugh I made a mistake then taking my car in to the dealership for my oil change then? They used 7 quarts of full synthetic and the special Kia filter.

Incompetent fools.

LOL

How can any shop that installs tires not be able to mount and balance your tires? Staggered shouldn't have anything to do with anything. They see cars, truck, etc. and every different size wheel and tire combos. If they can do any car it shouldn't be an issue. Nonsense I say.

The shop said if it was 18'inch or less then no problem. The other shop said they never heard of staggered and didn't understand why there would be different sizes of tires (lol?) on the vehicle. Granted, both places quoted super low... like one was $50 for mount/balance and the other said $80 but if I let them keep the two front tires (since they're only 60% worn) I can get the work done for $60 lol. The dealership quoted me $75+tax for mount and balance and disposal but realized they weren't confident in servicing a Stinger. Apparently not all Kia dealerships can service Stingers or even those that can feel uncomfortable doing certain work on them? They told me the only Stingers they ever saw had the 18'inch wheels.

 

[oddball]

What?
Either you've managed to find the most incompetent service techs in the nation, or you're saying something really strange to them.

Literally *any* tire shop can mount tires on our cars. Tire mounting does get hairy when the sidewall section gets below a 30, so there are guys that specialize in mounting those rubber band tires on 24"+ wheels. But the tires you're using on this car? No big deal.

$20/wheel is pretty normal for a mount and balance. Can range from $15 to $40, especially if they add damage or balance warranties. They'll also charge you a disposal fee for the old tires.


Where did you get the tires? Normally if you use TireRack or SimpleTire you can pick a nearby shop and add installation as part of buying the tire.

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

What?
Either you've managed to find the most incompetent service techs in the nation, or you're saying something really strange to them.

Literally *any* tire shop can mount tires on our cars. Tire mounting does get hairy when the sidewall section gets below a 30, so there are guys that specialize in mounting those rubber band tires on 24"+ wheels. But the tires you're using on this car? No big deal.

$20/wheel is pretty normal for a mount and balance. Can range from $15 to $40, especially if they add damage or balance warranties. They'll also charge you a disposal fee for the old tires.


Where did you get the tires? Normally if you use TireRack or SimpleTire you can pick a nearby shop and add installation as part of buying the tire.

I asked a local Midas (that has done oil changes for my old WRX and cars from my friends) and the service manager said they normally don't mount/balance tires on wheels that are 19'inch or higher. He came to my car and took a look. He did offer me an oil change but I didn't need one. The other shop in the past did a mount and balance on my WRX (17'inch) but it took them nearly two hours. They said they couldn't on my current car.

It's not a problem. I got a quote for $80 plus tax (gonna be under $100) about 15 minutes down the street. Going there this afternoon.

I will say, on a side note, that when I had my E36 and I took it to Costco for a mount n' balance they damaged two of the tires. Their excuse was that I had aftermarket wheels on the car that didn't come from the factory. I asked them to explain, in writing, how that would be an issue and why two of my tires were damaged. The manager then came out, apologized, and followed to reimburse me. I don't know why, nor do I pretend to be an expert, but even a simple mount n' balance seems to be a problem at certain places.

We can close this thread now. I found a shop down the street that is giving me a great quote and they look fantastic.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[ChaneRZ]

Any Wheelworks or Big O Tires?

 

[jthrelf]

I wouldn't get an alignment. Are you noticing any issues? I've never gotten an alignment done on any recent vehicle, granted none have been very high mileage above 100k. The chances that a shop will give you worse alignment than what came from the factory is very high, in my opinion.

If I remember correctly the owner's manual just says to inspect alignment. To me, that means if it's driving fine, don't mess with it.

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

I just had the tires mounted and balanced yesterday. No alignment or anything else. Was $100 flat. Took them a solid hour and a half but no worries. The waiting room was comfortable and had free tea. Went to a shop that specializes in rims/tires/etc less than 15 minutes away.

Side note: I ordered General G-Max AS tires to replace my OEM Michelin Summer Performance tires. The G-Max tires definitely do not have the same level of performance grip (at least in the dry and hot pavement) as the Michelin tires. Granted, they are new and being broken in so I am taking it pretty carefully. But the G-Max are pretty good in snow/ice/wet and last significantly longer which is something I really like.

 

[jthrelf]

I just had the tires mounted and balanced yesterday. No alignment or anything else. Was $100 flat. Took them a solid hour and a half but no worries. The waiting room was comfortable and had free tea. Went to a shop that specializes in rims/tires/etc less than 15 minutes away.

Side note: I ordered General G-Max AS tires to replace my OEM Michelin Summer Performance tires. The G-Max tires definitely do not have the same level of performance grip (at least in the dry and hot pavement) as the Michelin tires. Granted, they are new and being broken in so I am taking it pretty carefully. But the G-Max are pretty good in snow/ice/wet and last significantly longer which is something I really like.

Good deal! Glad you're setup.

My most recent tires on my '15 WRX were General G-Maxes. They were recommended by the tire shop owner and the price was right. I didn't have anything bad to say and they were just as grippy at the stock Dunlop summer rubber. So they should do well for you on the Stinger!

 

[RogueIV]

I just had the tires mounted and balanced yesterday. No alignment or anything else. Was $100 flat. Took them a solid hour and a half but no worries. The waiting room was comfortable and had free tea. Went to a shop that specializes in rims/tires/etc less than 15 minutes away.

Side note: I ordered General G-Max AS tires to replace my OEM Michelin Summer Performance tires. The G-Max tires definitely do not have the same level of performance grip (at least in the dry and hot pavement) as the Michelin tires. Granted, they are new and being broken in so I am taking it pretty carefully. But the G-Max are pretty good in snow/ice/wet and last significantly longer which is something I really like.

All seasons will never have the same amount of grip as a summer tire. But sometimes that can make things more fun. As far as people not being able to mount tires on 19s are these people still using old machines from the 80s? I have a cheap tire machine in my garage and even I can change 19s without much issue, and I'm no pro.

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

Good deal! Glad you're setup.

My most recent tires on my '15 WRX were General G-Maxes. They were recommended by the tire shop owner and the price was right. I didn't have anything bad to say and they were just as grippy at the stock Dunlop summer rubber. So they should do well for you on the Stinger!

The General G's grip well but I must admit the Michelins had a superior grip... although the Michelins worse extremely fast and were almost completely useless in light snow... but hopefully the General G's last significantly longer!

All seasons will never have the same amount of grip as a summer tire. But sometimes that can make things more fun. As far as people not being able to mount tires on 19s are these people still using old machines from the 80s? I have a cheap tire machine in my garage and even I can change 19s without much issue, and I'm no pro.

Yeah it's very strange. Either way I found a fantastic local shop that took care of everything and for a sweet price! Will definitely go back to them for future work. All they do are wheels n' tires but they are run very well.