[alfa] Re: 164 rear tire wear

[Thomas Washburn <thomasw@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Jason Hagen <hagen_jason@domain.elided> wrote:

> Ryan Kundrat <ryankundrat@domain.elided> wrote:
>
> > The car was aligned back when the tires were new, but within
> > the last few months I had a flat repaired at a tire place. B 
> > They jacked the car from the center of the rear.... Could
> > this have thrown something off??? B I've never had tires wear
> > in this way, this quickly on my car. B Thanks!
>
> Definitely! B You cannot jack the 164 up from the center as
> that area is not strong enough to support the weight. B That
> sucks. B You should be able to starighten out the bent
> member and then have the rear links realigned.

Tire shops are the worst.  So many tire shops have damaged my
cars over the years that I will no longer take any car to one.

The last time I relinquished custody of my car to a tire shop
was about six years ago.  The mechanic drove my 164 into the
service bay and over the lift.  Then he got out of the car,
glanced underneath, and without bothering to position the lift
pads, casually punched the lever to lift the car.  The lift
arms slammed into the underside of the car and up she went.

I burst out of the waiting room and into the shop.  The car
was resting on its floorpan and side skirts.  The floorpan
had been bent.  The lift pads had managed to miss all four
factory lift points (which, if they were not obvious enough,
Alfa literally points out with arrows molded into the skirts).

I called the manager over and explained the situation.  He
didn't see any problem.  "Trust me, I've been doing this for
years," he said.

That was the end of the line for me and tire shops.

Nowadays, when it comes time to change tires, I remove all
four wheels at home, load them into a truck, and happily
drive them to a reputable racing tire/wheel shop (about 50
miles away) to do the work.  This way, the worst they can do
is damage the tires and wheels, and no one comes near the
lug bolts.

For alignment work, I go to a local alignment specialist.

Regards
Tom
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