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New Skin for my ride

Joined
17 November 2002
Messages
1,630
Location
Santa Barbara, CA, USA
I just acquired a 2017 Nouvelle Blue with Oxford interior NSX. The rears were worn at 4700 miles with the fronts still with plenty of wear. I decided to put new skins on to start my journey. I decided on Michelin Pilot Sport 4S while not the stickiest tire one that got good reviews. I ordered the tires through Costco and went in to have them installed. Costco could not get the car onto the lift. It had been lowered with Eibach Springs as did not fit on to their lifts. I decided then to go home and use my jack that just fits underneath and remove the tires by pairs and bring them in. The tire supervisor looked at the rims and said he was concerned that his tire machine would possibly damage the wheels and he was really reluctant to go forward. So I asked him for his recommendations. He said he would refund the costs associated with mounting and balancing and still honor the warranty for tire hazard as well as mileage warranty. The mileage warranty is stated to be 30,000 miles. He indicated that since the tires on my car cannot be rotated that he would reduce the mileage warranty to 15,000 miles which is what they customarily do in this type of situation. So I agreed and decided to come back for the tires in my Volvo SUV. In the meantime I thought of calling the in town Acura dealership. It is a joint Jag/Range Rover/Acura Dealership here in Santa Barbara. I new from a couple of years ago that they could not do a PPI on my 2001 NSX when I sold it. I had to go to Gold Coast Acura about 40 or some miles away. But I thought they could recommend a shop. Turns out they are qualified to service the new NSX not the older NSXs. They have a properly trained Tech, Service Advisor, and Sales Person. So they said they could do the tire change over on my car for $200. I thought it was a bit high but was happy I could get the tires changed given how low my car is. Well I took it in today and waited for the car. The Tech decided to do the wheels in pairs starting with the rears. So he drove the car onto these low plastic lifts and then raised the rear first followed by the front. He loosen the wheels by hand never using a torque gun and put two stud pins in each wheel to help align the wheels when they were put back on the car. He ended up using a balance machine that does a forced pressure balance, which I have read is the preferred way to balance these wheels. He cleaned my wheels and got everything back together. Probably spent two hours working on the car. He then test drove the car and delivered it to me. I could not have been happier in my choice of who was going to do my new tires. My next effort is to have the Eibach springs removed and the OEMs put back on. The previous owner also put in sway bars which I will leave. So if someone wants the Eibach springs I will sell them for cheap. They lowered the car 1inch in front and .7 inches in the rear. I love this car. Best $200 I have spent thus far. I could not be more pleased with how I was treated.
 
It is nice to see someone post a favourable review of work done at a dealership. Most only jump on their keyboard when they have a complaint. Hope the Michelins last a bit better for you!
 
Thanks, the beauty is this is not just one dealership. I took the car into Gold Coast Acura in Ventura where Norman the NSX Tech has been there for over 32 years. He worked on my 91 as well as the 2001. I wanted to have the Eibach springs replaced with the OEM springs that I was given when I purchased the car. They had never done the springs on a new NSX but gave me a decent price for the labor. As it turns out they were unable to compress the springs with the equipment they had. They also did not have the special tool that is aftermarket for opening up the Strut. These struts are sold only as complete units. You cannot order components for them. They apologized professedly and charged me one hour of labor $150 for the four hours+ they spent. I actually felt bad about the whole thing. They did order me a new front driver mat as the NSX logo had peeled away. They went through the car thoroughly to insure everything was up to speed. And of course made sure it was washed and dried properly. I then contacted the dealership that did the PPI for this car at DCH Tustin Acura, and said they would do the springs at their facility and accommodate my driving out from Santa Barbara (140 miles) by having me drive out on a Saturday give me a loaner for the week and return the next Saturday so as not to be inconvenienced. I have not been on the forum since selling my 2001 NSX several years ago. I recall always getting good service with my 91 and the 2001.
 
So far I really like the Michelins. I cannot imagine breaking these tires loose while driving on the street. We have a number of great roads in Santa Barbara, but still you would need to drive like a maniac to break the tires loose. While some feel the Conti6 is a better tire for the track, I have to wonder where someone could drive public roads and feel the difference? Also on public roads I would want a tire that communicates that you are at the limit opposed to a tire that just breaks. Did I miss something here?
 
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