Tire Kingdom SUCKS!!!

[/6 Matt]

Get ready for the rant of a lifetime....:angryfir:

I have a set of 14" steelies I bought from barracudakid a coulple months ago that I've been searching for someone to sandblast. Well I finally found somebody so the only thing I needed to do was have the tires removed. I got finished with some work on the car today and figured well I'm not doing anything so I'll see if I can find a tire shop that's open on saturdays. I call around and find tire kingdom is open till 7 so I go there.

There was one car in a bay when I got there. One guy was working and 6 were standing around, smoking, eating pizza and walking around aimlessly. I understand lunch break, but not everybody goes at the same time dammit!

I sat for an hour waiting for them to do a a job that literally took them 5 minutes and I probably smoked a whole pack of cigs while waiting.

At some point, some guy pulls up while I was still waiting and he gets pulled right in and the put the car on the lift and next thing ya know, there's like 6 guys standing under the car looking at the underside of it!!! WTF MAN!!! :mumum: IT DOES NOT TAKE THAT MANY GUYS TO STARE AT THE UNDERSIDE OF A CAR LIKE A BUNCH OF CHICKENS WATCHING RAIN!!!!

So they finally get my $h%t done and then I'm standing inside waiting to pay (which took another 20 minutes of waiting) and this lady comes in and says something about how the new tires were put on the back of her car and her husband says since its FWD they should be on the front (I guess for mud snow and ice?) and the guy at the counter (who is in his 30's)says "well we do that because industry standard suggests we should because when you're braking the front of the car dips down and essentially the rear of the car lifts.



I couldn't take it......... I called BS.

I told them all that was the biggest load of BS I've heard all day and continued to state that the real reason is due to hydro plaining in corners. I laid it out like this: If two tires, one old with half tread and one new with full tread, hit the same patch of water, the old half tread tire is more out to hydro plane or skid. New tires in the rear means the front tires will hydroplane first causing and understeer condition in which the car wants to travel in a straight line which most drivers will have an easier time controlling. New tires in the front cause the back to hydroplane and cause oversteer or in laymans terms, drifting, which I personally would prefer anyways.

I continued to state that the only reason I could see his theory being true is that older tires tend to dry out and have a harder compound resulting in less traction. So in braking, when the rear of the car lifts the newer tire will have less chance of loosing traction than the newer tire BUT the industry standard is called the industry standard for a reason. Industry standard says not many people drive older vehicles without anti-lock brakes and therefore the industry standard states that most drivers have anti-lock brakes making his theory null and void! :finga:

I continued to tell that guy to go let all his buddies know he just got schooled by a 19 year old :finga: and to get his manager and let him know exactly why I was disspleased with my service (and buddy I let him know) and that I'd like to pay for my $h%t and get the hell out of there and get the F#$k on with my life!

OK, rant over. I feel better.

PS, yes my language was THAT colorful. And all of the other two customer in there got to hear the whole thing as I made an *** out of myself in public.

 

[74DartSwinger360]

LOl my dad used them 15 yrs ago to put a tire on his bug.
And they only finger tightened the 2 lugs they put back and left 2 off and long story short he got almost home and the whee4l came off and destroyed the wheel and tire.
He ended up gettin another Empi wheel, and a new set of tires. Ever since never used them ever.
At the time he was still livin at home and his mom went over there and raised all sorts of hell and the manager and half the crew ended up fired

 

[Frankie]

...PS, yes my language was THAT colorful. And all of the other two customer in there got to hear the whole thing as I made an *** out of myself in public.

Fecal matter occurs. You did well.. lol

How many of those guys do you think understood what you were telling them?

How many cared?

 

[/6 Matt]

LOl my dad used them 15 yrs ago to put a tire on his bug.
And they only finger tightened the 2 lugs they put back and left 2 off and long story short he got almost home and the whee4l came off and destroyed the wheel and tire.
He ended up gettin another Empi wheel, and a new set of tires. Ever since never used them ever.
At the time he was still livin at home and his mom went over there and raised all sorts of hell and the manager and half the crew ended up fired

Wow thats almost as bad as when alray tightened the spindle nut on my sister van with a half" impact lol. Yes it is a standard tapered bearing.

Fecal matter occurs. You did well.. lol

How many of those guys do you think understood what you were telling them?

How many cared?

yes it does and thank you thank you **takes bow**. Honestly non of them probably got it through there numb skulls to care.

 

[/6 Matt]

Crap like this really irritates me because of the fact that many people in this industry does not realize that the work they do puts the owner's life in there hands.

What if your dad lost control of his beetle, 74 swinger, and hit a bus head on and died when his wheel fell off?

What if my sister had been doing 75MPH on the I and that wheel caught fire only a few inches away from the gas tank while her 6 and 7 year old daughter and son was in there?

What if the jackass at the store I was at had passed that information off and the woman decided to swap the tires (this was her daughters car who was going off to college this year btw) and she lost control in the rain tonight and hit a tree and died?

Some people in this industry are not responsible.

 

[Abodybomber]

Proud of you,Matt! Hate dealing,with hired idiots.......

 

[gunbunny]

Actually, you're wrong
Sorry man, read it and weep .
I had a tough time with it also, but I've been to school and I've seen the science.

 

[67cudafb]

I can tell most of the techs that work there are moroons. My brother inlaw took his ram truck to have two new tires on and the told him the front needed rebuilt. He told them to put the tires on and wanted to get my thoughts. They were so busy trying to sell ball joints and **** that they forgot to tighten the lug nuts. Made it about mile and front wheel come off. Lucky for him he had slowed to turn corner and truck just laid down on the frame with no real damage. He screwed up and didn't call rescue and make big deal and let them come out and bolt wheel back on and drove home. Lawyer told didn't have much of a case no police report and no hospital visit no case.

 

[mischiefdart]

I was working at my friends Goodyear shop and they were saying that the tires with more tread should go on the rear. I don't care about the science about their claim. So I guess when the front tires wear out you move the rears to the front and put new ones on the rear? What about rotating your tires to promote even wear? The main reason for this according the counter guy is a lawsuit from someone to stupid to drive who lost control of his car and blamed the tire store because his back tires were worn.

 

[YY1]

What did they charge you to dismount?

The last and only time I went there I asked them to mount and balance two tires I supplied, and they quoted me $48 plus tax, so I said "really", and left.

Got it done for $6 a piece at a mom and pop down the street, which is where I go now. Takes a few days to order what I need tire wise, , but I can deal with that.

 

[YY1]

...and I want more tread on the front regardless of RWD/FWD.

I would MUCH rather correct the rear end coming around than not be able to steer at all.

 

[jd340]

It's been my experience that any place that ends in kingdom,world, or mart pretty much blows!

 

[jd340]

...and I want more tread on the front regardless of RWD/FWD.

I would MUCH rather correct the rear end coming around than not be able to steer at all.

Agreed. However, most people don't know how to correct and hence one of the main reasons we have FWD.

 

[TrailBeast]

Actually, you're wrong
Sorry man, read it and weep .
I had a tough time with it also, but I've been to school and I've seen the science.

That's right, sorry /6
The way I am able to remember it is that the steerable tires are way easier to correct in a loss of traction situation than the non steerable tires.
This is how the Automotive industry sees it.

 

[TrailBeast]

Agreed. However, most people don't know how to correct and hence one of the main reasons we have FWD.

Hell, most people don't even know where thier tires are pointing when they come out of a turn.
Cracks me up when I see a driver make a corner then have to correct the crap out of it to straighten up in the lane.

 

[jd340]

^truth right there!

 

[lou3500]

We have two T.K.s near my home took my wheel n tire from my dually to get the tire patched took over an hour the price was different [i called in advance] plus they said oh your tires cupped/worn you need shocks,balljoints ect. i said thanks i'm a mechanic and those things are getting done this weekend never went back to that one [bunch of pricks] however i have gone to the other one and had flats fixed for nothing,bought tires several times. The only problem i had there was i once had an impala with cragars [i had bought new tires] and told them i would install the lugs/washers they refused i said they had to be careful or they could crossthread and break the lug studs well after breaking three [why the tech kept going after one broke IDK] they fixed it right then and cut me a break on the tires. I never ever leave my car/truck i stand and watch them by the door [even if it takes all day] i don't trust anyone!!!

 

[Slappy]

My two cents: First of all not everyone who works at tire kingdom are idiots. I worked there for a couple of years. Im no idot. Im a master ase cert tech and have been for years. There are no excuses for shoddy work. Most of the tire techs are younger and not paid much by industry standards. Still need to do the job right. Most are not trained and if they are they are trained its by someone whom doesn't do it right already. Training is the key. Chewing someone out is going to make your stay longer. You need to ask whats up. Sometimes its out of the techs control. If I was working the counter and you were a dush bag you bet you will get yours one way or another. The people at the shops need to take better care of the customers for sure but I have met my share of idot know it all customers too. If you were going to camp outside my bay door to make sure you are watching the techs every move I would say take it somewhere else. I don't need the money that bad. I wont stand for it. Ill shut the door down. Just tired of everyone blaming shops for everything. Accidents happen and can be avoided with proper training. Sometimes things take longer. For instance on a Chevrolet the tire monitors all need to be reset if a tire repair is done. If they are jambing a plug into the tire I can do that outside. But its the wrong way to repair it. Should be patched from the inside. At any rate things take time. Make an apt, drop it off or we even carry people home. Rant over

 

[TrailBeast]

So,,,,if we want to see how our car is being handled you would tell us to take it somewhere else?
Consider that a done deal before we ever had to get that far.
"IF" I ever took my car somewhere to have something done to it there isn't a chance in hell I'd leave it all up to some guy's judgment that I have no idea what he knows or does'nt know.
AND it does'nt make me more comfortable that someone hired them either.
Seen WAY to much "tech" induced carnage to risk my car on them.

I don't even trust someone to mount and balance my tires but since I don't have a tire machine or a balancer, I have to have someone do it.
The very first thing they did was jack up one side to where it buried my right front wheel up inside the fender and I had to readjust the torsion bars again to get it straightened up.
Now they know to raise it from the K member or pumpkin on the rear, but if I hadn't seen them do it my car would be all messed up in the suspension every time I got tires done.

 

[Slappy]

So,,,,if we want to see how our car is being handled you would tell us to take it somewhere else?
Consider that a done deal before we ever had to get that far.
"IF" I ever took my car somewhere to have something done to it there isn't a chance in hell I'd leave it all up to some guy's judgment that I have no idea what he knows or does'nt know.
AND it does'nt make me more comfortable that someone hired them either.
Seen WAY to much "tech" induced carnage to risk my car on them.

I don't even trust someone to mount and balance my tires but since I don't have a tire machine or a balancer, I have to have someone do it.
The very first thing they did was jack up one side to where it buried my right front wheel up inside the fender and I had to readjust the torsion bars again to get it straightened up.
Now they know to raise it from the K member or pumpkin on the rear, but if I hadn't seen them do it my car would be all messed up in the suspension every time I got tires done.

Ok let me put this in perspective. When you go out to eat somewhere do you sit in the kitchen and watch them make your food? Its the same thing. Maybe telling you to go somewhere else is harsh. I would shut the door in a heartbeat. If you had a problem with it you can be assigned another tech. How would you like me to come to your place of business and stand over you while you work? If you have such an issue with somebody working on the car you need to figure out how to do it yourself. Problem solved. Is there a lot of bad techs out there? Im sure there are a few. I am the shop foreman in our shop. When I see something different come in such as a muscle car or show car im all over it. I see it through to the end. We work on a lot of them. Not all shops are that way but you need to find one that you trust or do it yourself.

 

[TrailBeast]

Ok let me put this in perspective. When you go out to eat somewhere do you sit in the kitchen and watch them make your food? Its the same thing. Maybe telling you to go somewhere else is harsh. I would shut the door in a heartbeat. If you had a problem with it you can be assigned another tech. How would you like me to come to your place of business and stand over you while you work? If you have such an issue with somebody working on the car you need to figure out how to do it yourself. Problem solved. Is there a lot of bad techs out there? Im sure there are a few. I am the shop foreman in our shop. When I see something different come in such as a muscle car or show car im all over it. I see it through to the end. We work on a lot of them. Not all shops are that way but you need to find one that you trust or do it yourself.

I do computer work onsite, so everyone stands over me and watches me work.

 

[ramenth]

My two cents: First of all not everyone who works at tire kingdom are idiots. I worked there for a couple of years. Im no idot. Im a master ase cert tech and have been for years. There are no excuses for shoddy work. Most of the tire techs are younger and not paid much by industry standards. Still need to do the job right. Most are not trained and if they are they are trained its by someone whom doesn't do it right already. Training is the key. Chewing someone out is going to make your stay longer. You need to ask whats up. Sometimes its out of the techs control. If I was working the counter and you were a dush bag you bet you will get yours one way or another. The people at the shops need to take better care of the customers for sure but I have met my share of idot know it all customers too. If you were going to camp outside my bay door to make sure you are watching the techs every move I would say take it somewhere else. I don't need the money that bad. I wont stand for it. Ill shut the door down. Just tired of everyone blaming shops for everything. Accidents happen and can be avoided with proper training. Sometimes things take longer. For instance on a Chevrolet the tire monitors all need to be reset if a tire repair is done. If they are jambing a plug into the tire I can do that outside. But its the wrong way to repair it. Should be patched from the inside. At any rate things take time. Make an apt, drop it off or we even carry people home. Rant over

Personally, I see it as a teaching moment. Having been an owner/operator for the past couple of years I've had customers stand right beside me as I've worked, not just stand at the bay door.

Most are full of questions about the function of certain parts, most are asking questions about the system the part is in. My customers have gained knowledge and helped them be better customers, as they now realize the work it takes to do the job and what the associated costs are. It's helped me become a better tech as I've learned to break the function down to layman-speak, be patient with folks who might not understand, and a better owner as I've built a rapport with my customers.

It's also a trust building moment between my customers and I as they can stand there and watch me compare the worn part to the new one.

In three years I've only had one customer call me a crook because I replaced the t-stat when I did her coolant flush (a practice of mine... new coolant, new t-stat) saying her "mechanic" brother never did that, even I was dumping coolant out of the system that looked like 40 weight.

As far as the OP, I have a challenge for you: drive a front wheel drive car on new pavement in the rain with worn tires on the *** and decent tires on the front.

Sarah and I were coming back from MN a few years ago when we hit a rainstorm coming out of Erie towards Jamestown. Interstate 86 had just seen about 30 miles of new pavement. The *** end hit a massive puddle and came around on me at 72mph. Not a fun moment. At all.

The rest of the trip in the rain was me tip-toeing through every puddle.

There's weight for traction on the nose. Even with half-worn tires on the front the nose cut through the rain. No weight on the ***, 3/32 worth of tread left, and the *** would hydroplane.

Yes, I knew better than to do this, but my intent was to get through a sorely needed vacation and then replace the tires when I got home.
It's not just about ABS. It's also about maintaining control at speed.

By the way, when I got home, the budget allowed for two tires at a time, within two weeks apart. The first two new ones went on the ***. Never another problem with hydoplaning, even with bigger puddles at highway speed. The new tread allowed the *** to cut through the water, not float on top.

 

[/6 Matt]

Understand at this point, I'm switching to intelectual disscussion mode. I'm not argueing with anybody.

Proud of you,Matt! Hate dealing,with hired idiots.......

Thank you I do appreciate it.

Actually, you're wrong
Sorry man, read it and weep .
I had a tough time with it also, but I've been to school and I've seen the science.

The only part I see to that which proves his point or disagrees with anything I've said is where it talks about the the fact that FWD tires wear more quickly due to the fact that the braking, power transmission and steering all occur primarily on those wheels.

My response to that is, why then, do RWD vehicles tires wear quicker in the front as well?

Everything I said to that guy still stands and still agrees with your article.

I was working at my friends Goodyear shop and they were saying that the tires with more tread should go on the rear. I don't care about the science about their claim. So I guess when the front tires wear out you move the rears to the front and put new ones on the rear? What about rotating your tires to promote even wear?

The Goodyear shop is correct. And you are correct, old tires to the front and new ones in the back. I personally don't rotate tires because I can never afford to replace four at a times. So when the front get on the verge of bald, the rear gets new tires and the old rears get moved to the front. Also too, I don't do burnouts.

What did they charge you to dismount?

The last and only time I went there I asked them to mount and balance two tires I supplied, and they quoted me $48 plus tax, so I said "really", and left.

Got it done for $6 a piece at a mom and pop down the street, which is where I go now. Takes a few days to order what I need tire wise, , but I can deal with that.

$18 and some change.

...and I want more tread on the front regardless of RWD/FWD.

I would MUCH rather correct the rear end coming around than not be able to steer at all.

Same here, but most people don't know how to drift hence the industry standard.

My two cents: First of all not everyone who works at tire kingdom are idiots.

I never said they were. I just said the place sucks.

I worked there for a couple of years. Im no idot.

I don't believe you are an idiot, you make a compelling arguement and you can use punctuation.

There are no excuses for shoddy work. Most of the tire techs are younger and not paid much by industry standards. Still need to do the job right. Most are not trained and if they are they are trained its by someone whom doesn't do it right already. Training is the key.

I agree, but that is the shop's fault for not ensuring their employees are trained correctly.

Chewing someone out is going to make your stay longer. You need to ask whats up. Sometimes its out of the techs control. If I was working the counter and you were a dush bag you bet you will get yours one way or another. The people at the shops need to take better care of the customers for sure but I have met my share of idot know it all customers too. If you were going to camp outside my bay door to make sure you are watching the techs every move I would say take it somewhere else. I don't need the money that bad. I wont stand for it. Ill shut the door down.

The manager sure came quick and rang me up so I could leave when that f#$ktard went in there and told him about me. But normally I agree being an *** makes you stay longer yes. I agree sometimes things are out of there control, but I fail to see what was out of their control here. They looked pretty in control while standing around and doing nothing while my tires sat in a stack for an hour waiting to be dismounted. I didn't exactly camp outside the door, I popped the back door on the minivan and "tailgated" in the parking lot where I could smoke while I wait. I didn't know I was gonna be waiting an hour watching them all stand around like they had nothing to do.

The tire changer was working fine, nobody was fixing it. They had compressed air in the compressor tanks, the ONE guy working was using an impact just fine. The fact is they stood around eating pizza, smoking, standing, and walking around like they were lost. And why did six guys have to stare at the underside of that one car? All they did was pull the thing in and put it on the lift, stare at it, put it down and send it on its way.

Personally, I see it as a teaching moment. Having been an owner/operator for the past couple of years I've had customers stand right beside me as I've worked, not just stand at the bay door.

Most are full of questions about the function of certain parts, most are asking questions about the system the part is in. My customers have gained knowledge and helped them be better customers, as they now realize the work it takes to do the job and what the associated costs are. It's helped me become a better tech as I've learned to break the function down to layman-speak, be patient with folks who might not understand, and a better owner as I've built a rapport with my customers.

It's also a trust building moment between my customers and I as they can stand there and watch me compare the worn part to the new one.

In three years I've only had one customer call me a crook because I replaced the t-stat when I did her coolant flush (a practice of mine... new coolant, new t-stat) saying her "mechanic" brother never did that, even I was dumping coolant out of the system that looked like 40 weight.

As far as the OP, I have a challenge for you: drive a front wheel drive car on new pavement in the rain with worn tires on the *** and decent tires on the front.

I agree it is a teaching moment when they ask questions but when they watch you like a hawk, I can understand where I would get just as pissy as slappy.

Now on to your challenge, you do realize a RWD car with better tire on the front than rear can have the exact thing happen that you described? My challenge for you: Drive a RWD car in the rain with worn tires on the *** end and brand news on the front.

 

[MoparDaddy]

Actually, you're wrong
Sorry man, read it and weep .
I had a tough time with it also, but I've been to school and I've seen the science.

Um no he's not. What he relayed in summary is the same as what tire rack has listed. Dot wants better tires on the back to resist hydroplaning. How does tr say otherwise

 

[/6 Matt]

Um no he's not. What he relayed in summary is the same as what tire rack has listed. Dot wants better tires on the back to resist hydroplaning. How does tr say otherwise

I think he was referencing to where I said FWD has nothing to do with it. But thank you for sticking up and saying that. It seems like some people didn't thoroughly read and understand what I said.