deviant

okay, the shop i ordered the tires from said that theyve done a couple c6's before. when i asked them about having to raise the car with pucks, the manager told me that they dont raise them with pucks, that the key to raising it without them is to open the doors, raise the hood and pop the hatch. does this sound right? this shop has several shops throughout the panhandle of florida and has always done great service for me before with great prices. but since this is the first time with the vette, i'm a bit nervous. especially on the lifting of it part. they also assured me they can handle the runflats, so i guess i'll let them at it. any questions i should ask before letting them do the work? also, should i have to replace any rubber gaskets around the valve stem? i'm assuming if so, the dealer should carry the gaskets? i tried reading this page: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...currentpage=56 but i'm really not familiar with the machines, so its not much help to me.

mlongo99

They could not be more wrong!

The whole opening the doors/hood/hatch goes way back to the C4, when the chassis was not as rigid. That is 100% not necessary. You need to explain to them that without using some type of puck, they will cause damage by coming into contact with the rocker panels, and that there is no concern about chassis flex.

Also, you don't need anything for the sensor/valve stem. As long as they are careful, they don't need to touch it.

keyplyr

Took mine to Discount Tires to fix a hole in runflats. The manager said the same exact thing. He said that is what GM tells them in their service updates and that he does Vettes all the time like that

I told him I'd rather they not lift my Vette in that manner so they used a hand jack right in the parking lot to remove the wheel. Guess I'll never know if that procedure is accurate or not because I don't think I'll ever let anyone do it like that

orca1946

Save the headaches & buy plastic or metal pucks that you can insert & leave or remove as needed!!!

SpankUU

All the shops have the jacking pucks or the pad. If they don't want to use the jacking pucks or the pad do not let them jack up the car. They tried to use a jack ramp that was padded on my 07 the first time at Americas Tire (Discount Tire) and I said no way in hell. They had the jacking pucks on the rack.

If you don't watch them they will not use them.

foremaw

gota07

I had new tires put on recently at a new Discount Tire store and they knew about the fragile rocker panels but they had a pad on their lift that served the same function as a jacking puck. The guy told me they would use my pucks if I wanted them to, but their pads would be just as good. I let them go ahead and use their own pads and there were no problems.

Tire Rack has a tool on their site to find a recommended installer in your area.

Wayne88

I know from experience that their 'recommended installer' does not mean they know how to install runflats.

keg

I had one of my run flats fixed this past September in Texas at discount tire. They did just what you said, they opened both doors, the hood and the hatch. Then they placed four blocks at the frame lift points and raised may car just enough to get the tires off the ground. I asked them about this procedure with the doors etc. open and they told me just to be on the safe side they didn't want to warp any body panels. My dealer uses a four point post lift and lifting pucks. The only other place I have had tire service on my car is a local tire dealer and they used a floor jack and lifting pucks. So the only place I have had the door opening issue was at discount tire in Texas. BTW nothing happened to my car at any time with or without the doors being opened for tire service.

jschindler

There is another simple option. They all have floor jacks - tell them to jack up one end at a time by the cross member. They have done that on my car. They will probably have to drive the car up on blocks to get the jack under it. When they did mine, they actually asked me to drive the car up because all they had was a short block to drive it up on, and they figured I had a better feel for the clutch

Landru

Interesting tidbit concerning the C4s, thanks.


Let 'em know --in writing ON the service contract-- they're responsible for any/all damage(s) if they neglect using pucks.
It'll make a small claims court event rather simple should they refuse to ante-up after damage's have been inflicted.

deviant

thank you much for all the replies. i'll be contacting the tire shop this morning to be discussing the way they will be putting on the tires. its gonna be my way or not at all. ive got too much money invested to be trying a chance setup. thanks again!
dave