RootDKJ
New member
Easier to switch from regular tires to snows by having a 2nd set of rims with the snow tires already mounted (and balanced) on them.
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My new car
- Thread starter hammer
- Start date
x2. 30 minute job in your driveway. Even faster if you have air tools.
GrilledSteezeSandwich
New member
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2007
- Messages
- 17,569
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Wow..I'm impressed...I don't ever see myself doing that..I let the experts change my tires..
Vortex
Member
Nice house, to hell with the car. I must have been sleeping on this. We have had pm's. I bought a S-40 from lovering.... Red. 2 wheel drive. So far so good. My wife wanted a safe car for our soon to be driving son to learn and be safe in.
hammer
Active member
So far so good here as well...main problem I'm having is keeping the speed down, the car seems to be quite comfortable doing 75-80...:wink:
Vortex
Member
I do feel a change post 70mph. It seems to hug the road more. Not a bs story. You can feel the suspension change and handling change.
The problem I've run across...they aren't always "experts". Taking the car back to get it done right is a PITA.
WJenness
Active member
This is true...
I'm starting to do more and more jobs on my own for this reason, as well as the fact that it saves some cash... but I enjoy doing it as well. A friend and I help each other out with Car work, so it works out nicely.
-w
I've had some crappy experiences with Town Fair tire so I tend to avoid them. I actually bought A/T tires for the Jeep through the private dealer where we bought our A6..and they only deal with German cars. The tech there managed to ballance the wheels correctly and hid the tap-a-weights nicely behind the spokes of the wheels. The last time I went to Town Fair, it took three trips to the alighment right. Fawk that.
WJenness
Active member
This.
I had Town Fair tell me that my two rear rims were 'severely bent' and as such they couldn't rotate my tires... I went to a wheel shop who looked at my rims and said 'your wheels are perfect'... they then rebalanced my tires and my car drove 10x better.
I went to town fair to buy a set of tires recently as I had gotten a gift certificate for there, but that will be the last time I shop there.
-w
Hmm, never had a problem with them through 3 sets of tires. I'll be sure to pay attention to whats going on if I go back again.
WJenness
Active member
I'm sure it's highly dependent on the individual tech...
The tech I had an issue with was up in Nashua...
I went to Billerica for my new set of tires, and they seemed to do an acceptable job... But then my friend went there (Billerica) a couple of weeks later and had some issues...
Luck of the draw I suppose.
-w
Warp Daddy
Active member
Nice wheels --Nicer Crib !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Vortex
Member
I just bought 4 all season Radials for my explorer from town fair tire in Nashua a week ago. I needed them to pass inspection. They did not have what I wanted. They discounted the upper model to get me to buy what they had. About an hour of negotiating and I saved 150 bucks I hope it will wok out. I had a coupon in my hand from BJ's. I think that helped me a bit. I hate buying car stuff. I just don't know jack shi- about it.
Geoff
Well-known member
The Town Fair Tire in Salem, NH refused to swap stock VW alloy wheels with summer tires on them with stock VW steel wheels with Nokians on them. That is the last time I ever set foot in a Town Fair Tire store. It's not like I showed up with $4K worth of BBS wheels.
Geoff
Well-known member
I have a floor jack and a torque wrench. I've swapped snows off & on several times. My time is worth more than the $20.00 to have somebody put the cars up on a lift.
WJenness
Active member
Yeah, they seem to be very odd about what they will / won't do.
My buddy went there with his 2000 S4. When he bought it last year, there were aftermarket wheels on it (same size and general style as stock), he hit a pothole and wrecked the inner bead on the wheel... He went to them to get some new tires / straighten the wheel, at first they said they could do the wheel, so he paid them and they started to work, then they said the wheel was too bad and he had to take it somewhere else to get straightened... then come back and they'd mount it for him.
He went to the other place, and the wheel cracked while being straightened (it happens sometimes, no big deal)... and it turned out that the particular wheels he had were discontinued... So he had to pick new wheels. He had wanted to upgrade to 18" wheels eventually anyway, and wanted the RS4 replicas from a particular manufacturer. He went back to Town Fair to inform him of the cracked wheel and his plans. They said 'no problem, you have 30 days to exchange the tires, we can order the wheels for you if you want, but it'll probably be more expensive.'
He went home, ordered them, and when they came in he brought them down to Town Fair for them to mount the new rubber, balance, and install on the car. This is when he started running into issues.
First it was "We don't mount new wheels, we don't want to damage them." Then it was "Well, we'll mount new wheels, but only if you buy them from us." After convincing them that he did exactly as he was told they relented, then they came back and said "You don't have the right wheel bolts for these wheels, go to autozone and buy the right ones, we don't have any here." He tried to convince them that the wheels were designed to be used with the OEM bolts, but he had to call the wheel manufacturer and get them to tell Town Fair that it was designed to be used with OEM bolts.
They eventually caved and did the work (and it came out pretty nice), but it was a frustrating experience and I don't think my friend will be going back there.
-w
I took my VW to a local guy back when I had it. He had a buddy who worked for TownFair. The guys work on comission; so that why two people going in a week apart with the same vehicle end up with different tires. It's whatever they're "pushing" that week.
The ballancing problem happens a lot there. I guess they're not overly timely in calibrating their machines. Those guys do a huge volume of tires...and that's all they do..tires. So those machines probably need to be calibrated more often.
The ballancing problem happens a lot there. I guess they're not overly timely in calibrating their machines. Those guys do a huge volume of tires...and that's all they do..tires. So those machines probably need to be calibrated more often.
hammer
Active member
4000 mile update...mixed. :???:
- The car has been real nice to drive...each time I drive it I enjoy it more. The engine has a nice broad torque band and I usually don't notice any turbo lag. Far more comfortable at 70-80 MPH than any car I've previously owned. Handles nice on the twisties...not as tight as other sportier cars but well balanced for me. :smile:
- Road noise with the OEM tires is a bit high...don't know if I'd go with those when they need to be replaced.
- The thick B pillar (which I'm guessing is for side impact protection) makes for blind spots, so if you aren't the type to turn your head when changing lanes this isn't the car for you.
- Fully integrated iPod/USB connection and Bluetooth (which I know is available in a lot of new cars) is real sweet.
- There are a few "what were the Swedes thinking" design issues:
- The key fob is huge and the car doesn't have a push button start
- There is no way to get an audible indication when you enable the locks/alarm - Now for the big downer...had the car in for a 4000 mile oil change with my local independent mechanic and he found a leak in the angle gear (which I think is Volvo's name for a transfer case). I didn't notice it before then because there's a big shield under the engine which catches minor leaks. Should be no big deal to fix, but a failure on a new car is a bit disconcerting, and the dealer has had the car for 4 days and counting. :angry:
SKIQUATTRO
New member
Congrats on the new car....
always amuzes me about car sterotypes and the reputations they get...I've had 3 audi's and never ever had any issues as people say they have. I got the wife a new volvo xc70 this past xmas and this thing has spent more time back at the dealer than in my driveway (drivetrain went at 8K miles, various suspension issues, wiper motors shot etc) I have 2 friends that have Toyota Sequoia's..1 have over 100K and loves it, the other as 40K miles and its been a sore in his side since he bought it....
always amuzes me about car sterotypes and the reputations they get...I've had 3 audi's and never ever had any issues as people say they have. I got the wife a new volvo xc70 this past xmas and this thing has spent more time back at the dealer than in my driveway (drivetrain went at 8K miles, various suspension issues, wiper motors shot etc) I have 2 friends that have Toyota Sequoia's..1 have over 100K and loves it, the other as 40K miles and its been a sore in his side since he bought it....
