[mgdavis]

I had new tires put on my Off Road Package wheels yesterday. When I was cleaning the wheels later in the day, I noticed some gouging from the original wheel weights. On one wheel there is actually a fairly complete outline of the weight, with a decent gouge at one corner of it.

Is this a problem that others have had? It's not trail damage, I can only assume that the weights were improperly installed at the factory, or improperly removed by Costco employees. I'm going in to the dealer on Monday to see what they say.

 

[FJCcrawler]

Should be fine, but that's why I always use the stick on weights.

 

[08fjcruiserjeff]

There is nothing wrong with the way they installed them or removed them. It's just metal on metal. No matter how careful you are when removing wheel weights, it's going to leave some kind of mark. You can use sticky weights but it's much harder to get a good balance on your tires. What kind of tires do you have? If you are running any all-terrain or mud tire, having them balanced is going to be a challenge.

 

[mgdavis]

I just changed to BFG MT tires, from the OEM Rugged Trail.

I'll throw up a couple pictures in the morning to illustrate my problem, this is something that I definitely do not find acceptable. The gouge on the left front wheel is probably at least 1/16" deep.

 

[Fjamming]

These damage will not concern you once you've taken it off road. It is however unacceptable and you should talk to the installer.

 

[mgdavis]

The way I see it, there's a big difference between trail damage and something that was caused by the retailer.

It should have come to me in pristine condition, so I can be proud of all the dings that I put on it. :rocker:

 

[mgdavis]

Here's a picture of the left front wheel. The damage is clearly visible. All five wheels show varying degrees of this.

 

[kokopelli]

Looks to me as if the guy that removed them was a little careless and/or had trouble getting them off.. Ron

 

[08fjcruiserjeff]

I just changed to BFG MT tires, from the OEM Rugged Trail.

I'll throw up a couple pictures in the morning to illustrate my problem, this is something that I definitely do not find acceptable. The gouge on the left front wheel is probably at least 1/16" deep.

Good choice! BFG tires are the best!

I worked in the tire industry for about 6 years and received my training directly from Michelin/BFG. What ends up happening is that over time dirt and crud gets stuck under the wheel weight. When the tech goes to remove the weight, the dirt grinds between the weight and rim. The weights that are used for Toyota are the same weights used on Lexus. I was even more careful when removing weights from a Lexus and the same thing happened. Not as often b/c people don't generally off road their Lexus, but it did happen. Not to mention, putting wheel weights on any Toyota rim is a pain in the rear. I have the black a blue fingers to prove it, hahahah. The good thing is that the weights they use at Costco are coated to help protect the rim. Can you post up a pic of the new weights? I can tell you if they used the right ones.

 

[mgdavis]

I've only had the truck for three weeks, so I doubt that it was accumulated grit.

The new weights looked pretty standard, but I can get a picture in the morning.

 

[mgdavis]

As promised, a shot of the new weights. You can also see more damage, this is the right front wheel.

 

[mgdavis]

Looking around the web, it seems that other people have had similar issues with Costco. I've canceled my appointment at the dealer, and will stop by Costco tomorrow to get their take on it.

 

[1poser]

mgdavis, sorry to hear about your rims due to poor workmanship, some people just don't care! Hope Costco will do something about it, like re-polish the rim or have someone that knows how to spot polish aluminum come out and fix it.

on another note, could you show a full shot of the rims with the tire...I'm thinking of getting the same rims and would like to see it on the FJ.

THANKS for doing it!

 

[08fjcruiserjeff]

As promised, a shot of the new weights. You can also see more damage, this is the right front wheel.

Those are right weights alright. I took another look at the other pics you took and I think you are right. I can see some tool marks right in the middle of where the weight used to be. Take it back to Costco and usually if you are cool about the situation, they will take care of you. You just have to fill out an incident report and they will send it to headquarters. If the Tire Center manager does not want to help you, ask to speak to a Front end manager and if that doesn't work ask for the assistant whs Mgr. And if that doesn't work then drop this name Robert Moyer (VP of Tire Centers for the entire US) and tell them you are going to write a letter. Only go that far if you have to, but they usually don't let it. If you have questions about how they are handling the situation PM and I can give you more details.

 

[mgdavis]

That ain't going to polish out, there's actually material missing. I'm going to push for five new wheels.

I don't have a great picture of the new tires, but they look great. More importantly, to me, they should get great traction.

 

[1poser]

mgdavis,thanks for this pics, your rig looks nice! You mad the right choice in tires for traction, can't go wrong with BFG MT's.

I have the chance to pick up a set of 5 and I'm hoping that 315/75x16 will fit on the 16x7's.

Good luck with getting some new rims!

 

[Ramjet]

Good choice! BFG tires are the best!

I worked in the tire industry for about 6 years and received my training directly from Michelin/BFG. What ends up happening is that over time dirt and crud gets stuck under the wheel weight. When the tech goes to remove the weight, the dirt grinds between the weight and rim. The weights that are used for Toyota are the same weights used on Lexus. I was even more careful when removing weights from a Lexus and the same thing happened. Not as often b/c people don't generally off road their Lexus, but it did happen. Not to mention, putting wheel weights on any Toyota rim is a pain in the rear. I have the black a blue fingers to prove it, hahahah. The good thing is that the weights they use at Costco are coated to help protect the rim. Can you post up a pic of the new weights? I can tell you if they used the right ones.

I agree. The tech was probably careful, but it is unfortunate that it happened.

 

[4rocker]

When I got my truck with the offroad package, I had the stock tires immediately swapped out for a set of BFG ATs. I also noticed a very small amout of scratching where the old wheel weights were, but I know that my old dealer did good work and I figure that a little bit of evidence of the old wheel weights was probably inevitable. The marring is not even really visible unless you are specifically looking for it, so I am not worried about it. Having a set of real tires mounted is definitely worth it!

 

[NBFJCruz]

Man that looks like alot of weight on that wheel in the above picture. I have had mud tires on old trucks and have never seen them take that much weight. Now I am not a mechanic or anything but in the past I have requested that weights be put on the inside of wheels simply to save an alloys coating....and ofcourse the way it looks.

I am not a huge fan of my stock alloys but I do like that they have to be weighted on the inside... That sort of thing is yet another vote for steelies in my mind.

 

[08fjcruiserjeff]

Yea, if it were me I would take it back and have the tires re-balanced. They can match up the heaviest part of the wheel, with the heaviest part of the tire and that should reduce the amount of weights they have to put on. You can ask for a static balance (weights on the inside) but most likely the balance machine will ask for more weight.