Jerry's Evolving Thoughts on "new-to-me" Prime Premium

It occured to me that Firestone may still be offering the lifetime alignment deal. Pay them once and they'll check/redo as necessary for lift. A friend told me he had that deal.

Their idea of "torque to spec" is to use a torque stick on an impact. Not very accurate. I have a 0-150 ft-lbs torque wrench with a calibration curve that I use on all my wheels/cars. When I go to loosen the lug nuts, they always come off easily, as they should.

 

I don't know much about Toyo, but IIRC reviews here weren't very favorable. I actually like my Dunlop very much for its high mpg, I am even thinking about getting the same one again. The thing is they aren't that cheap at Tirerac considering its short tread wear and low-performance rating.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Enasave+01+A%2FS&partnum=965SR5ES01AS&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Toyota&autoYear=2017&autoModel=Prius%20Prime&autoModClar=Premium

 

He also swore they always checked the oil after they change it. Uh huh, right. This came up because I had to use an oil change pump to get an extra 8 oz of oil out of my car to get it to the full mark on the stick. That is when I went back to changing my own oil.

 

I once had the tires on my Tundra balanced & rotated at Sams Club. They broke a wheel stud. They owned up to it.
I had to go to a tire store up the street to get it replaced. Sams then reimbursed me for the repair charges.
That fiasco took a large chunk out of my day.

 

I insist on using a torque wrench and when I can, request they not use torque (wobble) sticks, or set them ~5 pounds light. Years ago, after being nigh on to impossible to remove a lug bolt on an alloy MB wheel (they use bolts, not studs and nuts) without the aid of a breaker bar and 4 foot length of pipe, I questioned the tire dealer he who said he torqued to spec... 115 ft/lbs... SAY WHAT The book called for 85 pounds, are you nuts?!? This was on very expensive wheels fastened to rotors I had just installed. Realizing that they might still use wobble-sticks or uncalibrated wrenches, I ALWAYS bring my own calibrated wrench to check/adjust before driving off (with a dollop of lithium or never seize on the threads)

 

Sometimes technology isn't an improvement!

Very! I'll have to leave Trip B alone and see if the difference increases, decreases or stays the same.

SMART man on the first part. The second depends on the people you are visiting and their habits. You could always claim to have Montezuma's Revenge and head to the bathroom for your PC fix.

How sad. Even the newest Prius owner will learn what those pop-ups are teaching in a short time. And be annoyed by them soon enough. Going to wear out the "return" button on the right side of the steering wheel.

 

I'm not understanding this: after they've installed your tires, before leaving, you're removing all the lug nuts, applying anti-seize, and then reinstalling the lug nuts with a torque wrench? Couple of thoughts:

1. Why are you paying them?
2. Anti-seize on wheel studs is not recommended. I would at least reduce lug nut install torque, maybe by a factor of 0.85.

 

WOW!
I did not know you were powerful enough to control the sun!

 

And pray tell what are "these"? I gather there is supposed to be a picture.

 

There is an Amazon link in the blank space. If your browser has Ad block enabled, they are not shown.

 

Ummm… Full disclosure, I am a long time gear-head/hobbyist since the muscle-car era and may, at times seem a little anile (not anal) regarding my vehicles. Life has been decent, affording the opportunity to indulge my penchants, one of which includes a fondness for certain German vehicles (I've not had less than two in my garage for the past 30+ years... the Prius sleeps outside). Their wheels can be beyond difficult to remove/re-install as they do not utilize conventional studs and nuts, rather stud bolts that thread through the wheel (and use rims can be insanely expensive).

Ergo:

1. When I get new tires, they do need to be mounted on the rims and balanced (mounting onto rims not in my wheelhouse).
2. You may have missed my comment: "request they not use torque (wobble) sticks, or set them ~5 pounds light".
3. Expecting them to be a tad light, I re- check them and can bring them up to spec before driving off. If the wrench indicates otherwise, I can loosen a tad and re-torque.
4. No, I do not have them apply anything to the studs... this is only when I have the wheels off for seasonal change (I keep two sets of tires/wheels for each of my other cars) or other inspection/repairs.
5. Some experts might discourage the use lithium or equivalent on wheel studs, as it makes for a "liquid" which prevents attaining/maintaining proper torque. Absolutely, but that is abated by re-checking the torque after some 50-100 miles, even if never-seize has not been used.

It's worked well for me for decades, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

 

I don't use anti seize on the bolts but I do on the surfaces of the wheel that touch those on the car. I've had plenty of problems getting the wheels off with all 5 nuts removed. It often took many blows to the tire with heel or rubber mallet.

That would be it. Wouldn't have guessed adblock would "look" inside posts.

OK, stopped AdBlock and saw the link. I just ordered one of those as well along with a "holster" and hook for my charge cord. Once I build a box to house them, my charger can remain plugged in and out of the weather rather than me having to store it in the car.

 

Yeah, strange behavior of PriusChat. AFAIK, only Amazon links are treated as ads. No other store links.

 

I haven't looked. are they sneakily adding referrals to the links?

EDIT I just looked at Jerry's link. Unless Jerry added a referral, this site did

Here is what I saw added:

Code:

ref=as_sl_pc_tf_til?tag=priuschatcom-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=&creativeASIN=B07F2BC544