Is it the tires, the shop or me…

[Sherman Bird]

I was in a down pour yesterday, my Toto’s didn’t wanna grip for **** even with LSD and traction control. Everyone said the ko2’s were bad in the rain these might take the win.

Traction control, Vehicle stability systems, et. al. cannot function with under inflated/ worn out tires. I routinely see people drive a vehicle with tires so worn that I can almost see the air .

 

[2012RAM1500RT]

The company I work for has used the same tire company for the past 35+ years. I took my work truck in to have 4 tires put on it, got a road call while I was sitting there so as soon as they finished I had to go quickly. As soon as I got out on the road I could tell it was handling very different. When I got to where road meets bridge it was almost like the front tires bounced and wanted to switch lanes and I felt like I had to chase the steering. After I fixed the truck that was broke down I started heading back and was not comfortable with how the truck was driving so I pulled over and decided to check my tire pressure. Wow, the front driver side had 88 lbs, the rear driver side had 84 lbs, the front passenger side had 52 lbs and the rear passenger side had 71 lbs. "How do you do that?" I put the air pressure to where it was supposed to be which is 55 lbs front and 70 lbs rear, 2012 2500 Ram. Problem was solved! Point is for me is to check behind everybody. Jobs are just a pay check anymore. Not many people take pride in their work anymore and what comes through the door looking for a job anymore aren't experienced most likely so it's hard to find qualified employees..... what do you do? As far as tires being balanced correctly, their machines have to be properly calibrated to start with so who knows? I hate hearing "Within specs", get them on the money!

 

[Sherman Bird]

Not many people take pride in their work anymore and what comes through the door looking for a job anymore aren't experienced most likely so it's hard to find qualified employees..... what do you do? As far as tires being balanced correctly, their machines have to be properly calibrated to start with so who knows? I hate hearing "Within specs", get them on the money!

After many years of being treated like a mushroom in the concept of being kept in the dark and fed BS by management, and the infrastructure of dealers/indie shops treating my expertise and diligence as a fungible item that they could exploit shamelessly, I opened up my own shop.

Conversely, There were/are many customers who do not deserve my best due to their attitude of "Gimme" or "How cheap can you do it for?"
The latitude to fire customers has really helped reduce stress greatly, too.

The final feather in my cap? My shop is dehumidified, heated, and air conditioned.

 

[BuschLatte420]

Traction control, Vehicle stability systems, et. al. cannot function with under inflated/ worn out tires. I routinely see people drive a vehicle with tires so worn that I can almost see the air .

Good thing mine are brand new with proper psi, they still suck in the rain

 

[Sherman Bird]

Good thing mine are brand new with proper psi, they still suck in the rain

I had a near miss back in the early 2000's. I had bought a car from a major, nationwide used car conglomerate with the word max in their name. One advertising "gotcha" was that every car they sold had new tires on it. This implied directly (they stated it as well) that safety was at the pinnacle of their concerns.

Fast forward a few months. I'm driving the car in the rain... one without any ABS or Vehicle stability system.
I hit the brakes normally to turn at an intersection, and was spinning uncontrollably in the flash of a light.
Fortunately, I didn't hit anyone or any thing, and was only shaken up.

Later that day, I looked at the ratings on the sidewall of the tires. Traction, Temperature, and Wear. The traction number was at the lowest of the safe scale. I replaced those new tires first thing the next day. These were not some Chinese made el-cheapo tires, either.

I learned a valuable lesson that day: Be ware of any "Looky what we've done for you!" claim by a big conglomerate.
Yup, IOW, be cynical!

 

[Hagar1]

Toyo tires are my "go to" for both my Ram and my Caravan, they make an excellent tire and balancing is typically not an issue.