Quote :

"Wall of text below, scroll to bottom for summary. So I take advantage of Discount Tire Direct's recent freeshipping and 100 off sale and pick up some falcons at a decent price. (useless information) After they sit in my house for a week I decide to take initiative and get them mounted and balanced. Certain people ended up convincing me that dynamic is fine and I don't necessarily need to spend the extra cash on road force. Well the place I go to takes over 2 hours, I swear my wheels have more curb rash on them than before and they even remounted my spare wheel when I specifically asked them not to. Around 55 out the door for all 4, including replacing the dry rotted spare (even though it probably just remained on my original wheel) I get the car home and figure out 3 of the 4 wheels have wheel weights clipped onto the front lip. The front driver's side has none so I didn't immediately notice it before driving off. Having kept in email contact with one of the service managers at the local dealership I explain my dilemma and I decide to bite the bullet and have them rebalance them via roadforce and the GSP9712 69.99 w/o swapping my spare 89.99 with. Finished in about 10 minutes after I returned from breakfast I finally felt at ease. Keys in hand I take a quick glance and what do you know, rear driver's side has no weight, but the other 3 have them and to boot one they aren't even uniform size. I return to the service area with a big WTF cocked eyebrow expression and a couple minutes later I get a spill about the wheels requiring the clip on weights and no explanation as to why they have never had them on before. Should I see someone about possible OCD, or do I have a right to be upset? The entire reason I forked over the extra cash is so they would use stick on weights. I mean, they aren't 1k+ 19" BBS wheels, but still...the 16" oem are a tad more than your general ford hubcap and seem to be deserving of hidden wheel weights. --- Apologies for long words, summary being: am I the only one ever to get upset by the type of wheel weights used? Are there any other drivers with OEM wheels with replacement tires that have more aesthetically pleasing weights? 150.00 to mount a full set of tires I already had purchased, woot! PS: my luck is the audi tech responsible frequents this board, will see this, and forever hold a grudge against me shall I ever need the services only a dealership can provide but c'est la vie."

11/13/2007 10:47:37 AM

I bet Louiss Nutz knows the answer.

But it sounds like total b.s. to me. I have no idea why stick-on weights wouldn't work.

11/13/2007 10:51:26 AM

if they arent alum. rims with no lip, then you dont need stick on weights.

Quote :

"they aren't even uniform size."

each rim is different. unless the rims and tires are brand spanking new, you arent going to have the same exact weights on all 3 or 4 tires.

maybe the one without the weight didnt need one on the outside of the rim.

you can request, its one of those things where its not really necessary.

thats just me. ive done tons of wheel weights. stick on and clip on.

11/13/2007 10:54:09 AM

I know that different sized weights are required. I'm talking more that two of them are ------ long and ---- or ------ thick and the third one is ---------------- long and --- thick. Like they are a seperate manufacturer or something. Also the wheel that didn't have a weight, had one when the indy place balanced them. Audi removed it. Maybe because they moved the tire to the other side, who knows.

All in all, im upset so i think ill /wrist


To date, I haven't seen an A4/A6/S4 with OEM wheels that had clip on weights. Feel free to prove me wrong, it seems that just because they aren't necessary doesn't mean they can't be used if the customer requests?

[Edited on November 13, 2007 at 11:02 AM. Reason : .]

11/13/2007 11:00:09 AM

If it makes you feel any better, you have to remove ALL wheel weights before a demolition derby.

Remove unsightly weights and just go crash it.

[Edited on November 13, 2007 at 11:14 AM. Reason : .]

11/13/2007 11:11:27 AM

you have a right to be pissed, yes.

those hammered-on weights will be different lengths and thicknesses, naturally. and plus, they usually use piles of used weights from previous cars

11/13/2007 11:18:49 AM

Quote :

"To date, I haven't seen an A4/A6/S4 with OEM wheels that had clip on weights. Feel free to prove me wrong"

mine did..

[Edited on November 13, 2007 at 11:21 AM. Reason : did you specifically request stick on weights?]

11/13/2007 11:20:12 AM

Quote :

"each rim is different. unless the rims and tires are brand spanking new, you arent going to have the same exact weights on all 3 or 4 tires. maybe the one without the weight didnt need one on the outside of the rim."

unless you request stick on's they're not gonna do it, it takes extra time and effort, and the point is, are you worried about them being balanced, which i'm sure they were from both places, or just how they look, which sounds like a ricer fag

11/13/2007 11:20:30 AM

yes, hammer those weights onto a set of $1500 wheels. Make sure to miss the weight a couple times and hit the rim

11/13/2007 11:35:47 AM

^^I don't even know how to respond to that. I have done nothing to warrant you calling me a ricer fag. If I pay you 90 dollars to redo a job I just had completed, it had better well be done to my expectations. And yes I mentioned NUMEROUS times of the things I did not appreciate the other shop doing. Why on earth would I go through the trouble of scheduling and keeping an 8am appointment at a stealership just to have the exact same job done, with the exception of the use of a more efficient balancer?

Is this the part where you attempt to get me riled up so that half the population of the garage can jump on board and tell me what a loser I am and how their car knowledge is vastly superior to mine? What gives?

Apologies for wanting my wheels to look aesthetically pleasing to compensate for the vast number of swirl marks, scratches and usually overall dirtiness of the exterior.


[Edited on November 13, 2007 at 11:38 AM. Reason : ^]

11/13/2007 11:36:45 AM

The only response I have to this is:

Did you specifically ASK for stick-on weights? If you didn't, then it's nobody's fault but your own. Way back in the day when I did tires and wheels, every fucking wheel I balanced (and it was one helluva lot of 'em, I can tell you that) got clip-style weights. You only got stick-ons if you asked for them.

So for now, pry your underwear out of your ass and be that much wiser next time.

And yes, you might consider seeing somebody about your OCD over the whole thing. I can recommend a couple of people (YES, I'm a medicated motherfucker).

So calm down and go take a Xanax.

[Edited on November 13, 2007 at 11:48 AM. Reason : Xanax, mofo. Use it.]

11/13/2007 11:46:11 AM

Quote :

"ok so i let a couple people convince me that dynamic balancing would be fine. driving around yesterday i randomly pull up into Pugh's and says it would be like 55 bucks straight up. I mean how hard is it to balance i tire i think, surely no one could screw that up. Figuring you guys were booked solid for a week and wanting these four tires out of my room I bite. Now the car pulls horribly to the right, and 3 out of my 4 tires have clip on wheel weights...what kind of tacky garbage is that!? not to mention after specifying the SPARE wheel was on the driver side and i wanted the one in the TRUNK mounted there, they seemed to ignore my request Wonderful...Anyway, when's your next opening? I think I might just bite the bullet and get them re-done w/roadforce afterall. You have that hunter gsp9700 nonsense i assume? - Show quoted text -"

Quote :

"I can get you in on tuesday of next week, nov 13. and we have the hunter GSP9712. i will put you in for that day unless otherwise. we'll see you then."

Quote :

"Not sure why he used those, he should have used stick on. **5m later, [insert bullshit about type of rim and that is why he had to use them]"

I had also talked to someone from PEC who is best friends with the tech that works there. He said he'd use any kind of weights I wanted. And I'd love a xanax, share plz.


[Edited on November 13, 2007 at 11:52 AM. Reason : emails and in-person responses from the service manager.]

11/13/2007 11:50:06 AM

the only way they will do it without you asking is if there is not a lip on the outer edge.

but yeah. you've gotta ask.

11/13/2007 11:51:32 AM

no where in your email exchanges nor forum posts did you mention that you wanted stick on weights.

you are a strange kid.

11/13/2007 12:09:46 PM

Quote :

"unless you request stick on's they're not gonna do it"

11/13/2007 1:01:31 PM

He posted some french.

11/13/2007 1:58:19 PM

fuck kenny hawkins!!!1

11/13/2007 7:47:19 PM

Discount Tire Company on Six Forks and Wake Forest, FTW.

If you bought your tires from DTC (not sure about getting them from Direct, but it should apply. If not then just leave out the "Direct" when talking to the salesman.), then you automatically get free lifetime rotate and rebalance. Just ask for tape weights, and you will get them.

It is not any harder to do tape weights instead of bang ons, and the tech doesn't know or care if tape or bangs are more expensive.

11/14/2007 3:38:00 AM

Sure it's harder. The goddamn things don't stick to a dirty or grease-laden wheel...which means having to clean the spot THOROUGHLY with some brake cleaner or degreaser.

It's a little harder. Lots easier to whack and go.

11/14/2007 3:45:52 AM

^agree 100%. Plus if you miss the mark its a lot easier to pry off a hammer weight and move it. With tape weights you have to peel them off and put new ones on (good luck getting the old ones to stick again).

11/14/2007 3:52:56 AM

yeah, those stick on weights are more of a PITA.

if you get it wrong a tad bit, you gotta put a new pair on.

the hammer on weights are lifetime use.

when they come off one car, they go right back on the same, or a different one

11/14/2007 8:17:14 AM

i guess i just sound like a pretentious snob making assumptions that an audi dealership wouldn't use hammer-on weights on their cars.

I cleaned the wheels yesterday and found adhesive on every single one. So someone had to remove the stick-on weights and deliberately show how much of a lazy fuck they were not to put them back on.

Whatever, live and learn I guess.

11/14/2007 1:54:28 PM

This is why I'm so anal about letting ANYBODY but me work on my car. With a few notable exceptions (and they are ALL good friends).

11/14/2007 1:55:36 PM

about to send an email reply to the service manager. borrowed some of the shit a couple of you replied in the thread with. And as far as being dirty and a PITA, if you check the thread where i bought the tires, i was actually trying to find a place that would let me clean the wheels myself while the car was on the lift.

Quote :

"I thought I could just resort to a random cliché "live and learn" or "c'est la vie" and move on but I can't. Perhaps I sounded like a pretentious snob making such a big deal about hammer-on weights, but throughout the few emails I sent to you expressing my disgust with Pugh's handwork it was painfully obvious the bulk of the reason why I would even consider a 90.00 roadforce three days after a perfect dynamic balance was aesthetics. I know I didn't specifically request stick on weights at the time of check in, but is it wrong to assume that an Audi dealership would use anything but? I mean, had I of pulled in with a B8 S4 with stock wheels would you have let your techs have a hammer anywhere NEAR them? I was so frustrated when I left I spent the remainder of the day debadging, washing, detailing and well, of course I found the left over adhesive on the inside of the wheels where stick ons had been previously used. So honestly, it boiled down to the techs being lazy and taking the easiest and fastest route. I would almost be willing to bet that they would not use clip ons on any of their own vehicles or any of their close friends, after market wheels or not. I now understand why so many people are anal with who exactly they let work on their vehicle. It's really going to be inconvenient having to make the drive to Raleigh every time I need a dealership service. Not to mention, I'll be more than happy to remind you, your techs didn't even consider, while replacing the ECU, to ask for the spare keyfob when reprogramming so that it would not trigger the immobilizer and be nothing more than a useless paperweight. Just thought that I would express my discontent with the outcome of my service appointment -- and unfortunately how i was treated by the service staff. However, If you were able to replace the weights with stick ons, it would go a long way toward repairing my disappointment."

[Edited on November 14, 2007 at 2:50 PM. Reason : .]

11/14/2007 2:25:22 PM

Sorry guys, I do it five days a week, and tape weights are no harder than bang-ons. With a good machine, tape weights can be placed accurately, and I rarely have to readjust them.

Also, at our shop, we never reuse bang-on weights. They come off of a wheel and into a recycle box where we send em off for the metal to be reused, but not the weight as is.

Guess these things are just the benefits of working for the largest chain in the country instead of some shitty shop who can't afford to do things right.

11/15/2007 12:43:22 AM

^^

you still sound like a pretentious snob.

why can't you just get to the meat and potatoes?

[example]you did A, i didn't like that. if you do B, i will be satisfied.

thanks for your time,

joeblow[/example]

to be honest. i dunno why you are so anal about this, considering that it was A your fault, B you didn't go back to the orig. place and have them fix it. you paid even MORE to get it done at another place where you AGAIN didn't state your wants, just alluded to them.

what is wrong with you man?

11/15/2007 2:36:45 AM

Yep, you still sound like you are complaining. YOU didn't ask for it, not their problem. Also, I bet they techs would use hammer on weights on their own wheels and friends wheels. They aren't snobs.

swoakley-I don't care how often you masturbate, five days a week or not. Stick on weights are more of a pain in the ass than hammer on. They are harder to place correctly, regardless of maching, no one said anything about accuracy. Hell, I can do it right the first time with a crappy machine, but that is called experience. So what, you work for Merchants/NTB/Tire Kindgom? They still have some crappy machines at some of their stores. Just because you work some place doesn't mean you know everything. A lot of people have more knowledge on this subject than you. Just because you think you are awsome doesn't mean you are. I agree that hammer on weights just go in a bucket once they come off though.

11/15/2007 9:23:25 AM

Quote :

" Also, at our shop, we never reuse bang-on weights"

i think i was just joking when i said that.

but i dont know.

pound for pound, hammer ons are easy.

like people have said. you've gotta clean the area, and make sure you are ACCURATE.
one little mistake and you have to re-do it. and one too many re-dos add up.

no one is saying they are hard, but they are a more PITA than hammer ons

11/15/2007 9:38:51 AM

Quote :

"With a good machine, tape weights can be placed accurately, and I rarely have to readjust them. "

I've done the same thing with a crappy machine...but I took my time calibrating the machine and I took my time chucking up the wheels.

And I never reused weights either unless I had absolutely no other recourse.

And still I say unto thee: tape weights are a pain in the ass.

11/15/2007 10:00:31 AM

I was wondering why people didn't seem too happy when I told them to use that type

11/15/2007 10:01:40 AM

well if tape doesnt need to be used, then yeah.

like i said, some wheels HAVE to have weight. if thats the case then you gotta do them.

i NEVER put tape unless the wheel needs it, or the customer requests it.

i even add rocks to the tread to balance the wheel even more

11/15/2007 10:05:31 AM

free rocks eh.. awesome

11/15/2007 10:12:01 AM

With some of the 33''+ tires I've had to do, prying the rocks out is all the balancing they need.

11/15/2007 10:52:58 AM

I'm not claiming to know more than everyone here, all I saying is that tape weights aren't a pain at all. You guys don't agree? Okay, fine. Excuse the hell outta me for thinking that there could be mature debate over the internets.

MaximaDrvr - Is your mom a lollypop? Cause you sound like a sucka.

11/16/2007 8:03:50 PM

i wanted stick on weights, but the dudes were like, "it's not never going to be as good (balance-wise) over a hammer on". they knew how much of a stickler i'm am for accuracy.

11/16/2007 9:16:11 PM

last time i got sticker weights, the guy lightly applied the ends of the sticker onto the wheel and started up the machine to test it out. If he had to move the sticker, it was no problem removing and reusing the strip. If he didn't have to move it, then he'd just press it down snugly. He'd run the machine again just to make sure everything was good. Seemed easy enough

11/17/2007 9:51:10 AM

Quote :

"I'm not claiming to know more than everyone here, all I saying is that tape weights aren't a pain at all. You guys don't agree? Okay, fine. Excuse the hell outta me for thinking that there could be mature debate over the internets."

no one is saying they are a pain, or they are hard.

i believe everyone is saying that hammer on weights are easier compared to the stick ons.
application and everything.

11/17/2007 10:39:20 AM

Quote :

"MaximaDrvr - Is your mom a lollypop? Cause you sound like a sucka. "

What the hell is that shit? I love when new people come in here, know nothing about anybody, and make stupid statements like that.

11/17/2007 6:12:25 PM

True or false: You have to clean the area before applying a tape weight.

True or false: You do not have to clean the area before applying a hammer on weight.

Extra step = harder.


And to reinterate because you must have missed the point.. you did not ask for tape weights, you will not get tape weights. That is not something you just imply. For all the guy knew you wanted them rebalanced because the dynamic job done earlier wasn't done right.


People like you make my job harder. Its this unnecessary BS stress of dealing with people who don't know what the hell they're talking about but swear up and down they do. Do the service manager a favor - leave him the hell alone. He is at 0% fault. Nothing wrong. He didn't give you anything you didn't ask for. Most of the time that's applauded in the automotive service world.

11/17/2007 9:55:49 PM

You go to McTireShop, you get McService.

11/18/2007 11:00:05 AM

^^gtfo if i drive a piece of shit 4 banger with three hubcaps and a doughnut fine, use hammer ons. on the rare occasion i take my audi to the fucking stealership and pay 100 dollars for a rebalance, i don't see how it's so wrong to expect them to treat me as a valued customer and do a job that reflects it. 45 minutes hammer and go (OH SHITZ I MISSED AND DENTED TEH FUCK OUTTA HIS WHEEL, Ah who cares he wont notice) is unacceptable. The service manager TOLD me that his techs should have used tape weights.


Regardless, Audi always does follow up courtesy calls to you after every service, and i told my rep to give me a week before calling back. Didn't mean for this thread to get so out of hand. Moral of the story is to never assume.

But if you do, make sure the assumption is that everyone everywhere is a lazy half-competent moron.


Not to say there weren't good responses here, I appreciate the feedback and will voice/clarify/spell out my requests word for word in the future.

11/18/2007 5:38:09 PM

You can't go to wendy's, say "I want a cheeseburger" and expect them to know you want a double instead of a triple.

You can't go to a shoe store and say "give me a pair of new balances" and expect them to know what size.

You want sticky weights, you must specify, period.

11/18/2007 5:49:40 PM

its still completely your fault. as a customer its YOUR responsibility to ask for what you want, ESPECIALLY if you are so fucking OCD about your posessions.

11/18/2007 5:50:37 PM

That dealership is profoundly lazy, and you shouldn't have to specify that a luxury car dealership service department use stick-on weights when balancing the tires on your luxury sports sedan. I've owned three Audi automobiles, and I've never had to specify stick-on weights at the dealership (I mount and balance wheels/tires at least twice a year on my cars because I use different sets for summer/winter). If I ever saw that the techs had used clip-ons, I would be fucking horrified and rightfully upset. Yeah, it never hurts to cover all of your bases and specify exactly what you want, but the bottom line is that this dealership is lazy, and they should have never let clip-ons anywhere near your wheels. They need to make this right for you, or else you should give them the lowest rating on all questions asked by the customer care rep (which should earn an unfriendly phone call -- and potentially other adverse repercussions, depending upon their rating history -- from Audi USA to the GM of the dealership). It would be a shame for the dealership if they have a such a fucktard service manager that he lets a review like that slip through because of some wheel weights (nevermind that they shouldn't even have clip-ons in that service department).

11/18/2007 5:59:03 PM

Quote :

"You want sticky weights, you must specify, period."

Quote :

"its still completely your fault. as a customer its YOUR responsibility to ask for what you want, ESPECIALLY if you are so fucking OCD about your posessions."

No, it is the dealership's fault for maintaining a sub-par level of service. We're not talking about Jim Bob's Backalley Tire Shop or something. We're talking about a luxury car dealership service department. They're cutting corners and not living up to the standards that most other Audi service departments maintain on a regular basis.

[Edited on November 18, 2007 at 6:04 PM. Reason : []

11/18/2007 6:01:56 PM

since when the fuck was an audi considered a damn luxury car


yall act like its a fuckin bently or some shit

11/18/2007 6:05:15 PM

^ And the guys who work at this 'luxury' car dealership are the same guys who work at the discount tire place. You don't go to butler school beforehand. You go to wake tech community college.

11/18/2007 6:06:53 PM

i know a few of these 'luxury' car dealerships where the managers dont even trust the techs to drive the cars

11/18/2007 6:17:14 PM

Quote :

"since when the fuck was an audi considered a damn luxury car"

I trust that your cave was quite cozy during your apparent absence from society.

Feel free to learn about all of the car brands in the "Luxury" segment via the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxury_car

[Edited on November 18, 2007 at 6:29 PM. Reason : []

11/18/2007 6:28:44 PM

Quote :

"i know a few of these 'luxury' car dealerships where the managers dont even trust the techs to drive the cars"

I do as well. Which is usually just one of many symptoms of a poorly-run dealership. These are usually the dealerships with poor customer satisfaction, frustrating allocations, unimpressive inventory and struggling sales. The service techs at luxury brand dealerships make good money; there's no reason to hire unreliable help unless you're trying to cut corners -- which seldom makes for a successful dealership in this particular market segment.

[Edited on November 18, 2007 at 6:42 PM. Reason : []

11/18/2007 6:41:44 PM