I remember 5 years ago or more Tire Rack had dozens of PepBoys locally that could accept tires and wheels and install them. Now the only local I have is an hour and 15 minutes away. The other stores exist, but aren't listed/accepting.
Zip 33712 (not .00 miles to installer)
(I know that I can go to other installers, but I know through PB that I'd have lifetime balance and rotation and I've yet to check how the other installers run their plans)
Most likely those relationships died with their acquisition by Discount Tire.
In reply to spacecadet (Forum Supporter) :
If I deliver to my gf or my father's zip codes Discount Tire shows up as a preferred installer, though.
In reply to Mr_Asa :
so discount tire locations near you don't show up?
To be clear, Discount Tire bought Tire Rack. That's why they'd be a preferred installer for Tire Rack.
I found out Discount Tire won't mount tires on wheels wider than the tire manufacturer's specifications say is the widest allowable wheel when I wanted some 205/5-15's on 8" wide wheels for my Miata. The Continental ECS spec says 7.5" max. NTB did it with no problems.
Weird. I had a set of ECS 205s on 15x8s that I bought from Discount Tire
spacecadet (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to Mr_Asa :
so discount tire locations near you don't show up?
E36 M3, that might be it. I don't know that there's a Discount Tire in Pinellas or Hillsborough county.
I think I recall Orlando area had the closest, or maybe Lakeland.
If you are forced to deal with discount tire, take the wheels/tires to them, and tell them they are for something else. Usually that is enough to get them to leave you alone.
Racebrick said:If you are forced to deal with discount tire, take the wheels/tires to them, and tell them they are for something else. Usually that is enough to get them to leave you alone.
I'm trying to deal with one of the chains. I'll deal with the road hazard warranty through Tire Rack, but I want that lifetime balance
Personally I just ship the tires to my house and then take them to the tire store of my choice. Always seemed easier than messing around with coordinating appointments between two different parties.
Racebrick said:If you are forced to deal with discount tire, take the wheels/tires to them, and tell them they are for something else. Usually that is enough to get them to leave you alone.
Had to do this with a local tire shop. The shop owner was adamant there was no way that the tires, which had maybe 1/4" more diameter and less width than the ones the car drove in on, would fit. They did fit, although I could get a bit of rubbing in the front at the limits of compression and steering, but extended bump stops and rack limiter shims took care of that...and eventually I found another tire shop in a rougher part of town that's a lot cheaper and more open-minded 
I was working in a shop where we were trying to get preferred installer status with Tire Rack. They required that we have a level of machinery/equipment that we as a small shop could not afford.
Amazon also lists a lot of tires. They offer some local installers or have then shipped directly to yourself and take them where you like. But, I recommend verifying that "where you like" will actually mount them, I'm seeing more of "we don't do tires we don't sell" response from shops.
In reply to John Welsh :
That's a little strange, because every indie shop where I have worked had zero markup on tires. We sell them for what we pay for them and only charge for mounting and balancing. We mainly sell tires to keep a current customer from going somewhere else and becoming someone else's customer. If you bring us your own tires it makes no difference to us. Heck we used to have people drop-ship their tires from Tire Rack to us, not as a "preferred installer" but as a shipping destination.
That said I have seen a trend in the last five or six years where people go to Costco for tires and come back to have us do the alignment and other services. Suits me fine 
Tire Rack is often the same or cheaper than our local tire suppliers, but we're talking a couple dollars on a $180 tire. The part that amazes me is that if I order from TR before noon, I get them before noon the next day.
jharry3 said:I found out Discount Tire won't mount tires on wheels wider than the tire manufacturer's specifications say is the widest allowable wheel when I wanted some 205/5-15's on 8" wide wheels for my Miata. The Continental ECS spec says 7.5" max. NTB did it with no problems.
I guess a side benefit of that is not having to deal with stance bros
Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to John Welsh :
That's a little strange, because every indie shop where I have worked had zero markup on tires. We sell them for what we pay for them and only charge for mounting and balancing. We mainly sell tires to keep a current customer from going somewhere else and becoming someone else's customer. If you bring us your own tires it makes no difference to us. Heck we used to have people drop-ship their tires from Tire Rack to us, not as a "preferred installer" but as a shipping destination.
That said I have seen a trend in the last five or six years where people go to Costco for tires and come back to have us do the alignment and other services. Suits me fine
Tire Rack is often the same or cheaper than our local tire suppliers, but we're talking a couple dollars on a $180 tire. The part that amazes me is that if I order from TR before noon, I get them before noon the next day.
Yeah the profit margin on tires themselves sucks ass.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:That's a little strange, because every indie shop where I have worked had zero markup on tires.
Yeah, so far the only place that's ever told me they wouldn't install "outside" tires was an Audi dealer. They definitely had non-zero markup (quoted me like 60-70% more than tire rack + local tire store), and I'm pretty sure the only reason they sold tires at all was because Audi required them to.
Have you used Pep Boys lately? I would rather drive on the rims than deal with them ever again.
I use my local Wally World supercenter to mount and balance for both racecar and trailer tires. So far I have never had a problem with their service. YMMV.
I have been purchasing tires from Tire Rack and having them shipped to Discount Tire for mounting/balancing/install. After the buyout DT was not a choice to ship to on TR site. I went to the DT store and the manager sold me the tires I wanted at a better price than TR was offering. Less hassle and I had a crew of 4 guys including the manager doing the install on my 99 Miata.
And, the manager understood the need for 15 inch rather than the OEM 14 inch and assisted in width and aspect ratio.
I've been doing the Tire Rack mobile install and it's pretty sweet. More expensive, but they're working on YOUR time, and you don't have to leave the house or waste time in a waiting room. Perfect for WFH days. They do a good job and actually use a torque wrench. And they don't care what car it's going on.
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:Have you used Pep Boys lately? I would rather drive on the rims than deal with them ever again.
Man, I worked for them as a service writer. I just want a balancing warranty
Once I took a custom Cat back (Ansa?) exhaust for my 200SX and the muffler guy gave me a giant lecture about not bringing your eggs to a restaurant, right?
So I'd be scared to bring tires to a tire shop.
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