dealers says wheels/tires too big?

[mary5150]

I have a 2005 pt cruiser convertible which I bought at 26k miles from the dealership. it had aftermarket tires (235/40 zr 18) and wheels (velocity 18jj)when I bought it which is not a big deal to (me, but the salesman played it up. I put 4000 miles of normal city driving on it and took it in for oil change and tire roatation. It had no problems at that time. Now I am told that the wheels/tires are too big for the car and caused the front bearings to go out. The dealer replaced them and said they could not rotate the tires due to their size and that the bearings would go out again if tires/wheels were not replaced. What is really true? [xx(]

[matt87951]

I always thought it was when you lower a car is when you start to run into problems with bearings, C/V joints, etc because you are putting extra stress on those parts by lowering the car.

Although, the 18" wheels will be heavier, so the rotational mass will be higher, but I wouldn’t think it would have THAT much of an effect on the bearings. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!) Having the larger wheels may decrease the life of the bearings a little bit, but I don't think it would be very dramatic. You have to consider also - the wheels aren't that much bigger than the stock 17's on the GTs and such - so I doubt the wheels are a problem.

Matt

[fritz_t_coyote]

If the offsets are wrong, and the wheels stick out too far the added leverage may shorten bearing life, and apply extra stress to multiple suspension components.

On The Other Hand:
There are a lot of incompetent, or just plain dishonest, dealer service departments out there.

Did you Really need new bearings? Did they give you the old parts for an independent inspection?

---
Find a local independent mechanic. Your neighbors may be able to recommend someone you can trust.

With oversized wheels and tires, or low aspect ratio tires (short sidewall, wide tread), you might have to find a tire specialist or speed shop to do the tire work, as some shops only have the tools for 'normal' tires.

[Mean Green]

I think it may be the case of your being a woman. Way back when the EGR light went off on our new Plymouth Arrow. The dealer told my then wife that EGR meant Emergency Garage Repair and to bring it in. Luckily my wife called me first. The EGR meant Exhaust Gas Recirculation and the sensor went off every 15k so to have the sensor checked to see if it was dirty. The EGR was fine and I reset the sensor. I also had a few words with the dealer over that one. My current wife will have nothing to do with mechanics because they have tried to snow her with false info. Because I'm a knowledgeable man I am treated with a lot more real info than my wife ever was. I'm not saying all mechanics are that bad, but some prey on women. I've known people running bigger stock wheels that have suffered no problems. Now if the offset on the wheels is truly wrong then there could be a problem, but that was never mentioned.

[mary5150]

No one ever mentioned anything about the offset, I will check into that. And we never received the old parts! Thanks for the advice!

[matt87951]

quote:Originally posted by mary5150

No one ever mentioned anything about the offset, I will check into that. And we never received the old parts! Thanks for the advice!

I am no lawyer or anything, but I am pretty certain any shop is supposed to at the very least show you the old parts for you to inspect, and they are supposed to ask you if you want to keep the old parts or not. I am pretty sure it's some kind of law, I don't know the name or anything, but I am almost certain it is a law. They should be held accountable for that.

Matt

[ravix]

Originally Posted by Mean Green

I think it may be the case of your being a woman. Way back when the EGR light went off on our new Plymouth Arrow. The dealer told my then wife that EGR meant Emergency Garage Repair and to bring it in. Luckily my wife called me first. The EGR meant Exhaust Gas Recirculation and the sensor went off every 15k so to have the sensor checked to see if it was dirty. The EGR was fine and I reset the sensor. I also had a few words with the dealer over that one. My current wife will have nothing to do with mechanics because they have tried to snow her with false info. Because I'm a knowledgeable man I am treated with a lot more real info than my wife ever was. I'm not saying all mechanics are that bad, but some prey on women. I've known people running bigger stock wheels that have suffered no problems. Now if the offset on the wheels is truly wrong then there could be a problem, but that was never mentioned.

My current wife used to work on the pit crew for a race team. We had a buldge in a tire and she went to get it repaired (warranty) The "service advicer" told her it was from curbing the wheel. BAD IDEA!! she went into a 20 minute disortation on tires, curbs, speed, defects... in the end all he could say was "We'll have that tire replaced immediately!" Never assume a female is just a female, yuo may get you man nuggets ripped off.


I love my wife!

[quicksilverdon]

Originally Posted by fritz_t_coyote

If the offsets are wrong, and the wheels stick out too far the added leverage may shorten bearing life, and apply extra stress to multiple suspension components.

On The Other Hand:
There are a lot of incompetent, or just plain dishonest, dealer service departments out there.

Did you Really need new bearings? Did they give you the old parts for an independent inspection?

---
Find a local independent mechanic. Your neighbors may be able to recommend someone you can trust.

With oversized wheels and tires, or low aspect ratio tires (short sidewall, wide tread), you might have to find a tire specialist or speed shop to do the tire work, as some shops only have the tools for 'normal' tires.

Agree completely on both points. I don't think it's the tires at all, but the wheels - POSSIBLE. With dealers, I always assume they're lying, until proven otherwise.

[E30Memorial]

We have a 2001 lowered on Eibach springs, 235/40-18 tires and 55,000 miles with no bearing problems. Generally speaking, if you had a big offset change you would most likely have some tire rubbing issues also.
Good luck