Changing a tyre on a 19'' alloy?.. Dangerous?

Solarpitch

Hey,

I am driving a 318 Ci and the tyre blew out on me today. I only got a brand new tyre 2 weeks ago and the place that fitted it changed the tyre without taking off the alloy because they broke the locknut.

I didnt feel 100% comfortable when they told me they used "Brut Force" to get the tyre around the 19'' rim without even taking it off! I mean, was the wheel even balanced or anything!

More than likely the wheel blew out because it was put on this way, blew out in the inside (The side he couldnt really get at if he put the tyre on without taking the alloy off)

Is it dangerous to use this method to put a low profile tyre on a 19'' rim on a BMW? Because.. anyone I mentoned it too couldnt believe how he did it.. including Advance Pitstop.

walshe

perfectly safe this is how truck tyres are fitted.bmw's and mercedes are notorious for wearing out tyres on the inside edge as the tracking is quite easily knocked out on them,whilst looking brand new on the outside there is usually wires poking out on the inside edge which would cause your blow out

Solarpitch

I see.. it just seemed a little suspicious that this happened only 2 weeks after he fitted it. The tracking is slightly gone on the front right and it was the back right that blew out. So more than likely the tracking could be causing the blow out on the back right type?

masseyno9

On a 2 week old tyre??

Personally, I wouldnt have accepted the way he did it in the first place. Very poor of him to first of all, break you locknut (He should have sorted this for you) then put your tyre on wrong. It safe to do this on truck tyres because you can see all the way round the inside edge, not so (i would imagine) with a 19" rim on a bmw.

Also, If it was 'brute force' that was used to get it on, then possibly the tracking was knocked out, but still, the blame lies with the original tyre fitter.

EDIT: Could you even change the tyre yourself when you got the blow-out? Or had you got a new locknut by then?

Solarpitch

I couldnt change the tyre because I had no locknut.. there replica BMW M3 alloys so there not a standard BMW locknut. I still dont have one, the car is Still in Advance Pitstop and i've to try and find one tomorrow.

I do agree with you masseyno9 but I am starting to think that maybe it could be caused by my tracking been off slightly, could be putting some extra stress on the inside right back tyre.

He wasnt able to get me a new locknut because it wasnt a standard BMW alloy.. but the mad thing is, I bought the car from Joe Duffy BMW and the reason he broke the locknut was because the alloys are almost welded onto the car so tight.

So maybe its not right to put the blame on the tire fitter, as it could be the feckin tracking

AA had to tow the car to Advance

masseyno9

Maybe your tracking was off, but still....2 weeks? seems extremely short. How long had your previous tyre been on?

Solarpitch

Yeah, ist very short alright.. although the new tyre was not of the same quality as the other 3. It was the cheapest option for a tyre that size.

The other tyre's are KUMO and have been on it since last November, but the tracking only started to go over the last 6 - 8 weeks or so, just hadnt got a chance to get it sorted.

Maybe this wore out extra fast because it was a **** tyre.. or maybe it wasnt even brand new and was a feckin remodeled or whatever you call them.

walshe

i woulnt expect a tyre to wear out that quick, unless the tracking is WAY out stand your ground advance are a bit soft they like problems kept as qt as possible if they broke your lock nut they should sort it out. did they break the locknut with an air gun as they are are trained not to remove lock nuts with air guns. lock nuts should be loosened by hand as they are quite easily broken by air tools. also it is safe to fit the tyre as they did but they shoulnt have done it that way as an alloy wheel can be scratched/bent and if they had damaged the wheel they would need to repair/replace that too.

all in all there are a lot of things they should not have done but did. personnally i would look for a free replacement tyre,all locknuts to be removed and replaced and the tracking checked too. if the branch manager argues ask for his head office number and they will tell him to do it anyway.

Solarpitch

Yeah I see what you mean Walshe but it wasnt Advance who first fitted the tyre that blew out.. I got in done in a small garage in Tipperary while I was down there one day.. its run by 2 people and guess what, I dont even have a receipt..so I am not too sure how strong my grounds are for argument!

The last thing I want to be doing is getting into a legal situation and stress over a tyre when one of the chances are it could of been blow from the tracking. The little garage did spend all day trying to get me a locknut and even tried welding the one they broke, but me been the nice guy didnt ask them to replace the locknut which I dont think they will be able too... considering I've been all over Dublin and Kildare today trying to get one that fits.

Unless the tyre they fitted was not brand new, which it didnt look.. could have been reconditioned.

KidCapree

just out of interest, how much is a tyre for a 19" alloy these days??