Road Force and Balance - Lazy Technicians

[ctrcbob]

The car did not pull before the Road Force, and does not pull now.

Returning to Florida in a couple days (getting COLD here) and should be there by Thursday night. Will get the oil/filter changed (probably GC 0w30 but perhaps Mobil 1 0W-40. (By the time present oil gets changed, it will have around 9000 miles on it). Then ready to leave for New Mexico a couple weeks later.

BTW CapriRacer,
The tires only had 300 miles on them when I first took them to my local (Florida) Ford dealer, so it was not like they had a lot of miles on them. I decided to wait until I was up here (WNY) so I drove the car another 600-700 miles before I left Florida, then 1300 miles here to WNY. Now have a total of aprox 2000 miles on these tires, so the tires are not worn.

Also, don't know if I mentioned why we use the Continental, not the MKZ for these trips. It is because my wife likes the Continental for trips, and would trade me, before she trades her Continental. This is our third Continental, two 98's and this final year 02, so I guess you know we (mostly my wife) likes the Continental. When I travel alone, I use the MKZ.

 

[CapriRacer]

Bob,

There're still some things that bother me.

You bought the tires at one place and then expected someone else to try to fix it.

As I said earlier, I have lots of stories about folks who have tried to be helpful and in the end spent a lot of time, effort and money to fix a problem someone else broke.

As an example, you said:

".......Next he told me that that they tried to do it on a car once, and it took them four hours to get the job done (like I believe that)......"

I believe it - because I've done one just like that! Short version: Company president's car with out of round aftermarket rims from China. Company president expected our department to fix it - which involved taking the car back to the dealer to replace the rims, then hub rings, etc, etc. Didn't fix it until we balanced "on the car", which means the problem was likely the rotors. Spent 3 days on this!

So I think it is understandable why the Ford dealer would not want to get involved.

But what about the pull? You already have too many miles to do a warranty claim. Besides, the problem might be the alignment. Only way to tell for sure is to swap the front tires left to right. No change: Alignment! Change: Tires!

See, here's another case where someone else might step in to be helpful and he could spend a lot of time and effort and still not fix the problem.

 

[Thatwouldbegreat]

I had good results with Road Force balance from Tire Rack mail order and Discount Tire's retail shop near Littleton, CO

The retail shop typically went through 7 brand new tires to get a good set of 4 balanced properly. It is time consuming , but the results are worth it, IMHO.

 

[Colt]

I bought a set of Goodyear Silent Armors for my new Tacoma.I wanted a more aggressive tread for snow.A AT 41 lb tire.
I bought the tires at a discount tire shop in my area.
The shop couldn't get the balancing right.
Toyota service had a Road Force machine so I had them balance the tires.
Same thing,vibration.
I went to a shop recommended by a friend.
The shop got it right on a Road Force machine without the Road Force mode,just the regular balance mode,useing stick on weights and no more problems.
Workers should know how to use Road Force machines before attempting to use it.
I'm going back to Toyota to get my $96 back.

 

[ctrcbob]

Sorry CapriRacer. I know you want to stir the pot, but I won't bite.
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Returned to Florida yesterday and had a smooth ride for the entire trip. When I spoke with the Service Writer at Dunn, he confirmed that most New Car Dealers now have this Hunter GSP9700 but that they feel they lose money when they do the Road Force Correction as "it takes too long". Also said that most small Tire Dealers can't afford this Hunter machine. Matter of fact, this Tire Dealer has four of five shops in the area, but only one has this machine, so anyone who wants the Road Force Correction, is sent to this one location.

Now that I am back in Florida, I spoke with one of the two small Tire Dealers I deal with, and it would be a long time before he could afford this machine. Although I have not yet spoken with the other small Tire Dealer, I know that he would not be able to afford it either as he sells for even less than the first small Tire Dealer.

Lastly, I never asked my Ford Dealer to "fix a problem". What I asked him to do was to run a Road Force CORRECTION, which he would not and did not do. (He was happy to run a Road Force CHECK, and take my money).

Cheers!