Neo

iTrader: (3)

LOL. I used to live in Dublin and have bought tires at your shop a few years ago.

Custom Alignment is great if you want to go to a shop who REALLY knows what they are doing. If you have adjustable suspensions, they can even tune the setup for height and performance (for more $ of course).

I've also heard great things from SonicMS. I've bought stuff there before. Nice guys. Service/attention to details was so-so. I have not had my car aligned there. I don't know the guys' backgrounds but they recently got a Hunter machine to do alignment. I just don't know about their experience vs Custom Alignment.

Both shops deal with stock and modified cars.

JspecSC3

iTrader: (4)

The only thing America's Tire Co does all day is mount and balance tires since the early 1960's. Im pretty sure they know what they are doing.

Coconut

True, BUT unfortunately the hourly pay doesnt give the workers (most are really young) much incentive to take care of customers cars. Last time I had them change my rear tires, they managed to scuff my front lip and chip both my rims around the lugnut areas.

litesoarer

That is somewhat pricey.

I paid $30 for rotation/balance.
And $130 for lifetime alignment (can take it in...ANYTIME for re-alignment)

But then again, i'm not lowered.

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Nothing wrong with the America's Tires guys. I have used them with stock wheels and tires. I would not hesitate to do so again.

Would I take it to them for my high end wheels? Unless I know the guy that is doing the work, no. The guys I see there are not always the ones from the previous times. I have no guarantee of how careful and trained they are.

On top of that, I was talking about the alignment part when I talked about Custom Alignment. I usually see the same faces there so there is some consistency and experience. They tune race and modded suspension there, depending on your needs.

Of course I am down in SoCal now so it's a different ball game.

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

If you do a search for Custom Alignment in NorCal section, you will read through the years of comments that they do Top Notch work and their prices reflect that. (No one will argue that they aren't cheap) There are still many local members that wouldn't go anywhere else. They specialize in doing lowered cars and they have done a lot of Lexus over the years. The other good shop with a good rep in NorCal is Tire Outlet. These are the ONLY two shops that have a proven track record of aligning lowered Lexus, good service and will "take care" of you and your cars. (This is my opinion based on 7 years of seeing shops come and go)

I know SonicMS is a new and up and coming shop and I see there appears to be several people who have good things to say about them. We'll have to see over time additional feedback on how they're doing.

As for mounting and balancing, if you have stock rims, etc. you can go anywhere, but if you have EXPENSIVE rims, do you really want to take a chance on some young pup learning their trade on your wheels?

I personally would not go to such a shop unless the manager GUARANTEED me in writing that they would pay for any damages.

But again, let's use some common sense here folks.

Wheel Tech repairs rims, they have an experienced tire mounter who KNOWS how expensive some of the rims are that his shop just repaired. He does I'd say 98% of all the tire mounting/balancing in the shop and he has been doing it for many years.

Most shops you have no idea who of their many employees will do the work on your rims, whether they are new or experienced, etc. How many people do you think will mount /balance tires as a career?

I'm not saying Americas Tire or other chains are bad, but again the cost of your rims and/or how much you value your rims (regardless of price) should weigh in on how much risk you are willing to take to save a few bucks or pay more for experience and reputation.

Coconut

Thats what I was thinking. Have Wheel Tech mount/balance the tires and have another shop do the alignment.

CAMAracer

iTrader: (1)

Wheel Techniques told me that my rubber O-ring for my SSR center cap was too degraded to be re-used when the worked on my rim. I call BS, I checked the other rings and they were all fine. I think they just lost it and didn't want to man up to it.

And FYI, it is a royal PIA to get that rubber ring replaced. $25 and imported from Japan! FFS...

JspecSC3

iTrader: (4)

If you really feel that way about it I will mount them up for you personally. The majority of the time I work on BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc. I have also done rare and new model Ferraris, Lotus, Maserati, and Bentley. I wont ruin your wheel.