I've been a customer of Discount Tire since I got my first car. I helped write the software TBC (Tire Kingdom, Merchant's, NTB, BigO, Midas, etc.) uses in their stores, but I've been so happy with Discount Tire that I keep going back there anyway. My question is whether or not other Model S owners trust these "ordinary" tire stores to do their rotations a few times a year or do you take your car to "nicer" places?
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I have the pre-paid service plan and receive tire rotations every 6,000 miles at Tesla service.
Just rotating, or changing tires? I can answer this in a way I know few others can: I most definitely WOULD NOT use MY OWN tire changing machine, as fine a beast as it is. The specific reason is that its jaws are the standard steel ones that break and re-seat the bead. Fine for my pickup, my plow truck, the Land Cruiser, the Subaru, the VW, the trailers' tires, tourists' rental cars...but NOT the Model S!
The machines that Tesla Service Centers possess have jaws made of a hard plastic - far gentler on the expensive rims.
Now, you mentioned rotations. If that's all you're doing, and don't want to do it yourself, then yes, if you've been satisfied with the personnel at Discount then I'd let them have a go at it, as long as you can demonstrate to them where the vehicle's lifting points are.
The machines that Tesla Service Centers possess have jaws made of a hard plastic - far gentler on the expensive rims.
Now, you mentioned rotations. If that's all you're doing, and don't want to do it yourself, then yes, if you've been satisfied with the personnel at Discount then I'd let them have a go at it, as long as you can demonstrate to them where the vehicle's lifting points are.
AudubonB, what is unique about Tesla rims? It seems that alloy rims, and large alloy rims, are common now. Wouldn't any larger tire place have the equipment to deal with alloy rims properly?
My plan is to never formally rotate my tires, just keep track of what corner each tire goes on when the tires are remounted/mounted after changing from snow/summer tires.
My plan is to never formally rotate my tires, just keep track of what corner each tire goes on when the tires are remounted/mounted after changing from snow/summer tires.
Gizmotoy
Active Member
I've always simply asked the shop if they have the tools necessary to work on painted wheels. Those require all the plastic tooling noted. If they can work on painted wheels, they can easily handle the Tesla's alloys/painted (grey) alloys.
In my experience, shops that have plastic tooling use it for everything, so you probably won't even have to ask for them to take extra care. To answer your question, though, there's nothing special about the Model S wheels.
jcaspar
Member
Yes. I would trust them but prefer to do it myself. Doing it myself I know it is done absolutely right with the best of care.
I think that's excellent advice, Gizmo.
Evbwcaer - it may be just me. Both the F-350 and F-250 have alloy rims...big, honking Alcoa jobbies....and I've no problem flipping them. But the Model S shoes - they just look so delicate!!!!
roblab
Active Member
At my neighborhood "any old tire shop", the problem is that the S is wider than a lot of cars these days. They only have one lift that can spread 'em far enough to get under the lift points. I'm on my third set just recently. And several rotations (54,000 miles) and I'm the one that grinds the paint off the rims. And the aluminum. Oh, well. I guess I'm out of the Car Show Circuit by now anyway.
I just purchased 4 new tires from Discount Tire and had them installed yesterday. I've been going to this same shop for a few years now, and trust their service. When I arrived I asked if they had worked on a Tesla before - they were honest, and said no. I had printed out pages from the owners manual pertaining to "Jacking and Lifting" and "Wheel Specifications", and they looked up their shop documents for the Model S and confirmed the information matched (I was especially concerned about Road Wheel Nut Torque). They assured me that their impact wrenches as set for the lowest setting (30 lb.ft.) and final torque is performed by hand! They invited me to show them the "Jack" setting on the center display after the car was in the service bay, to be sure they had it right. They used 4 separate floor jacks to raise the vehicle (perhaps due to spread limitations of their lifts - as mentioned by roblab in previous posting).
Overall a great experience, and I will not hesitate to take my precious Model S (and future Model X) back to Discount Tire.
Overall a great experience, and I will not hesitate to take my precious Model S (and future Model X) back to Discount Tire.
The Tesla wheels are any different than any other car. They didn't reinvent the wheel. There is no reason a good tire shop wouldn't be able to do what they have been doing for millions of other cars. The question isn't about can a tire shop do a good job on Tesla wheels. The question is, does the shop do a good job at all. There are a lot of small shops I wouldn't trust at all.
Discount Tire/America's Tire is one of very few national chains that does a great job consistently. I'm sold on that company and had no problems taking my Tesla there for a tire repair. I also bought replacement certificates on my OEM tires there.
Got my new set of tires at discount tires... They warped all of the Lugnuts... Took it to the Tesla Service Center... Said it was from machine torque on the Lugnuts... A friend of mine had the same experience the following week even after telling them to only use hand tools
Just to clarify, in California, Discount Tire Center is NOT the same as "Discount Tire" everywhere else. In California, they are known as "America's Tire." I too have had terrible experiences with California's Discount Tire Center.
steve841
Active Member
Don't bet on it....
My SC changed all 4 of my tires. Each rim was left with a black thin ring which took forever to scrub off and one wheel with about a 5/16" chip on the edge. I pointed it out to sevice guy who stared for 15 seconds and then chimed "that was there before?!?!" I corrected that tire kingdom response but he had nothing to offer. Finally tested out the touch up paint I bought and made it passable after 30 coats or so.
