Ok, so I am in the process of de-modding my M3, focusing today on removing the 19" BBS wheels, having the Michellin PS2's removed and installed on the oem wheels. I've always had good luck with Discount Tire following my concerns. They take a look at the wheels and say they can do the job no problem. So I left the BBS wheels/tires in their hands.

Brought the car in so they could install the PS2 tires on the oem wheels and pick up the BBS wheels. There was not a scratch, finger print, or particle of dust on the BBS wheels. Great job so far. While I am watching them struggle to remove the tires from the oem wheels, I'm thinking it's a miracle they don't break a chunk of wheel off in the process. Regardless, 3 of the 4 tires were successfully installed, with a bunch of techs standing around the last rear wheel/tire - uh ohhhh...

They call me out and say "you must of curbed it or hit something?" You guy's don't know me, but I would drive off a cliff just to avoid hitting a pothole. The damage were two, 2" bubbles, about 6" apart on the outer sidewall. I asked would that damage show up on the wheel too? "Yeah..." I then point them to the new looking wheels on the floor reminding them those are the wheels that the tires were mounted too, and the tech that removed the tires did not note the damage.

They now say that any bump or impact (not severe enough to damage wheel) has the potential to damage a tire and this type of damage, especially with today's low-pro tires, almost always shows up when removing and reinstalling the tire. Is this a bunch of bull??? I figure as many wheels/tires that GE has gone through, he surely has some input?

What makes this worse is thinking about having to repair a run-flat on our rigs, since the sidewall is a much more stiff construction and considered a low-pro tire as well.

I have had more aftermarket wheels that i care to think about. from 17's to 24's. this sound unlikely. to have more than one bubble is strange. i have seen defective tires do somthing simular, however, not to this degree. there is always the priceless second opinion. also if you bought these wheels from discount they normally offer somthing called "certs". this is when they have a pro rated type of insurance. check with them if you have this. In my opinion you would remeber a pot hole that did damage. i always knew i messed up a rim when it happend. QUESTION YOUR GIRLFRIEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Were there any tears present in the sidewall? It's very easy to damage a low profile tire when taking it on or off a wheel.

I have had more aftermarket wheels that i care to think about. from 17's to 24's. this sound unlikely. to have more than one bubble is strange. i have seen defective tires do somthing simular, however, not to this degree. there is always the priceless second opinion. also if you bought these wheels from discount they normally offer somthing called "certs". this is when they have a pro rated type of insurance. check with them if you have this. In my opinion you would remeber a pot hole that did damage. i always knew i messed up a rim when it happend. QUESTION YOUR GIRLFRIEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Tommy. Unfortunately I didn't buy any certs since this wheel/tire pkg. was purchased from an online retailer. Although I am always with the car while in motion, I can't say the same when the car was in the dealership or performance shop's hands, so who knows what could have happened. I just find it odd for this to suddenly appear now.
Were there any tears present in the sidewall? It's very easy to damage a low profile tire when taking it on or off a wheel.
Well, no tears that I can see, only these 1/2" or so bumps, or ridges on the inner sidewall.

I just took some pics of where Discout Tire says the ridges are proof of where the tire was "pinched" after contact with something. The painters tape is the center of where the sidewall bubbles appeared. To me it looks like that's where someone's prybar was while trying to remove a stubborn tire?
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h51/MTHOU/BBS/tireshot.jpg
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h51/MTHOU/BBS/pinch2.jpg
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h51/MTHOU/BBS/pinch1again.jpg
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h51/MTHOU/BBS/pinch1.jpg
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h51/MTHOU/BBS/pinch1and2.jpg
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h51/MTHOU/BBS/pinch1and2again.jpg

Now that I think about it, I guess a run-flat would be less prone to this type of damage since it's more stiff/rigid.

Ok, I'm just not seeing any damage, but that may not be apparent until they are mounted. At this point, it's really your word versus theirs. :(

Ok, I'm just not seeing any damage, but that may not be apparent until they are mounted. At this point, it's really your word versus theirs. :(
I wish I had a camera with me to take pics while it was mounted and pressurized, but the only damage on the outer sidewall were the large bubbles. When they de-mounted the tire again, they pointed to those tiny ridges in the inner sidewall saying that's the reason why the sidewalls are ballooning in those two areas?

tiny ridges in the inner sidewall would leave me to believe they damaged it with the prybars.

tiny ridges in the inner sidewall would leave me to believe they damaged it with the prybars.


i guess my opinion of discount is tainted. they have always been so honest and great to me.... i understand all may not be equal.

I agree...Discount Tire damaged it!

Good proving they did it though. I have seen them dance around this before. :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Boy-- it sure sounds to me like they damaged it. First of all, I have had a few dealings with Discount, and they have all been positive. They do very good (yet bulk) work. It sounds to me that one of two things happened..... you got defective tires, or inexperienced cats were dismounting them and damaged them. Tires are more often damged during dismounting than mounting. Do you know if they reverse dismounted them? Often times, if inexperienced folk are doing the work, they assume that if they reverse mount or dismount a tire, they can pry on them as hard as they want. They assume that because they are working on the backside, they can pry hard without worrying about visible damage. Well, they might forget about the tires. If they really cranked on them, the prybars could definitely have caused the damage.

The problem is that getting a shop to accept responsibility for damage is pretty tough. I have used all kinds of shops, but I always ask (politely) to be present while the work is done. It may be overkill, but I've seen and heard too many horror stories of damaged wheels and tires.

Boy-- it sure sounds to me like they damaged it. First of all, I have had a few dealings with Discount, and they have all been positive. They do very good (yet bulk) work. It sounds to me that one of two things happened..... you got defective tires, or inexperienced cats were dismounting them and damaged them. Tires are more often damged during dismounting than mounting. Do you know if they reverse dismounted them? Often times, if inexperienced folk are doing the work, they assume that if they reverse mount or dismount a tire, they can pry on them as hard as they want. They assume that because they are working on the backside, they can pry hard without worrying about visible damage. Well, they might forget about the tires. If they really cranked on them, the prybars could definitely have caused the damage.

The problem is that getting a shop to accept responsibility for damage is pretty tough. I have used all kinds of shops, but I always ask (politely) to be present while the work is done. It may be overkill, but I've seen and heard too many horror stories of damaged wheels and tires.

Well, I guess I've learned my lesson... didn't see them remove the old tires, but would not have known enough to tell if they were doing something wrong. However they did remove the old tires and installed the newer tires from the front side of the oem wheels. Thanks.