Need tires and want to use Tire Rack, but curious about what shops you guys use.

Also, still contemplating which tires. I see plenty of threads, but maybe a little different than mine. I drive my 996TT year round, all seasons don't really make sense since we can have summer weather in CA anytime. I have Michelin Pilot Sports now (not PS2), and they are very predictable in both wet and dry, I'm happy with the tires, but... Price sucks, and curious if there's something I could be more happy with?

The Hankook Ventus V12 got a pretty good write-up from Car & Driver, but I don't see anything good anywhere else, Tire Rack doesn't rate them yet.

Or maybe the Sumi's? Seems like a lot of people like them, but TR's report says they'd like improvement on the wet... how much worse on wet are they than the Pilot Sports? Anyone have a comparison from the non-PS2 stock tires?

Thanks!

Ben
'02 996TT

 

i use five point tires in redwood city. it's near ferrari dealer in redwood city. they wont damage your rims and will do it while you wait most of time.

good service and reliable quality. slightly out of way for you and not rock bottom cheap like america's tires but you know job will be done right. dont bother with america's tires. they are rip offs and a bunch of amateurs. they screwed up my tire and made me buy one of theirs at full prices.

your other alternative is stevens creek porsche. they are more costly.

 

Tire Rack contracts with many installers, you can find them on their website. Some tire shops, like WheelWorks, they actually match the Tire Rack prices. However, you then need to pay taxes on them. For some high performance tires, Tire Rack doesn't offer the insurance. If you buy them from WheelWorks, you are going to pay for that too.

 

I use Custom Alignment in Mountain View - great bunch of guys. They work on lots of high-end cars, use the Hunter GSP 9700 Road Force Measurement Wheel Balancer, take very good care not to damage wheels, and can take care of alignment/corner balancing needs as well.


http://www.customalignment.com/

BTW, I'm not affiliated, just a happy customer.

 

Give me a call, I'd be happy to help!

 

Thanks!

 

RennWerks in Los Gatos have fitted my Tire Rack tires before and did a good job. Looked after my car etc

http://www.rennwerksperformance.com/

 

I use Bridges Tire in Burlingame. The place looks like heck; been in business for many years. But Tim and his crew know their stuff and have never damaged any of my wheels or tires.

 

+1

These guys are the best to go to for alignment as well.

 

Thanks again for the recommendations. I decided to go with Custom Alignment from the recommendations as well as from the stats on Tire Rack. Nobody comes close to that many reviews with a 5 start rating... I hope I agree, not to mention they are only a few miles from my office.

Tire Rack shipped my Sumitomos yesterday and they were already delivered to the shop today.

My Orange TPMS is being delivered to me tomorrow.

Install is on Friday morning.

 

+2 on Custom Alignment. great guys!

 

Even though the OP has already decided, I will weigh in with my opinion anyhow...+1 on Five Point Tire in Redwood City being one of the best options.

Fyi, looking up "recommended installers" on Tire Rack website is not the way I would go...I found out the hard way using a San Mateo shop that was on the recommended list that butchered both of my rear wheels when I had my gt3.

No offense to Tire Rack intended, their service and sales are tremendous...just not a fan of the specific shop that was on their website recommended installers list.

 

Thanks Dave. I totally agree with you. The first time I saw the list, I dismissed it completely and then posted this thread. I don't believe in those kind of lists as who knows how many of them are real. On this thread, though, there are 3 recommendations for Custom Alignment, and they are close to me, and lastly, they have great reviews on tirerack.com.

I appreciate your recommendation (and someone else mentioned them as well) and I will certainly keep it in mind if I have bad luck.

Thanks for the honest opinion!

Ben

 

+1 more for Custom Alignments!!! they're good.

 

I'll just comment that most times my local tire shop will match tire rack's price.

Plus if you ever have a road hazard claim, flat, etc, your local guy- if he sold the tires- will be more inclined to help out...

food for thought

A