Tire shops

[Layton]

I usually swap my winter wheels and summer wheels in my driveway but since I was refinishing my allor rims, I needs the tires removed. When they were finished I had the tire shop put the wheels on the car too.

I know they never torque the lug bolts properly so when I got home I was going to loosen all the bolts and tighten them with my torque wrench. I got out my tire iron and three bolts on the first wheel wouldn't budge. The other two barely came loose and the tire iron was flexing and my back was killing me. Also, both bolts sounded like they were slipping before they loosened. I think I might go back and get them to loosen all the bolts.

Now I realize that those shops don't want to get sued when someone's wheel falls off, but how the hell is a person supposed to change a flat when they torque them to a million lb.ft.? And it really can't be good for the wheels. I tighten mine to 90 lb.ft. and they are easily loosened with the tire iron. Has this happened to anyone else? Sorry about the long post but this really pisses me off.

Mike

 

[Big Daddy]

The BMW torque specs for all BMW's, except X5's is 87 lb ft =/- 7. If your tire shop is not torguing your lug bolts find another tire dealer. My dealer tightens the bolts with by hand than torques them in proper sequence.

 

[Section_8]

Shops like that blow lugs on with airguns - that's usually the first sign that I need to find 'another' shop if I need a tire patch, or anything to do with touching my wheels..

Airguns *u** lugs and wheels up.. If you're breaking your back over one - that's a good guess as to why.

 

[Layton]

Since my torque wrench is quite a bit longer than my tire iron, I was able to use its increased leverage to loosen the lugs. I put it in reverse, dialed up the torque to about 150 and they all turned with significant, but not back breaking force. Then I tightened them up to the proper torque.

 

[andreyiv]

I remember one time I need to put a 2 foot pipe over my tire iron to break half the bolts loose on all the wheels. Next time I went to a different shop to get my wheels balanced, they broke one of the bolts while tightening it. The "mechanic" acted like he didn't notice, good thing I saw it. Got lucky with the management though, they got a "BMW professional" down to my car to remove what was left over of the bolt in my hub, gave me a new one and balancing was on the house. I'm not going back there again, but I must agree, not paying anything was pretty nice.