Plus Sizing Perils: TPMS Adds More Complexity to Aftermarket Tire/Wheel Installation
Over the next couple of months, I’ll be tackling the issue of how tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) affect the aftermarket and discussing strategies that can help tire dealers protect themselves and their customers. First off, what does NHTSA say about TPMS and aftermarket tire and wheel installation? Here is the excerpt from the latest
New and Improved: New Rides Rolling Off the Lots Bring New Bolt Patterns and Offsets
Based on the tremendous response we received from the Performance Training Guide launched in May, we’ve developed another unique tool designed to give you a winning edge. Starting this month, and appearing semi-annually, I’ll be covering new vehicle and wheel applications data that will help you get the most from your sales and installation team.
Two of a Kind: Mixing Sizes, Construction Leads to Trailer, Dually Disasters
Why do people seem to lose their ability to reason when selecting tires for trailers and dually trucks? Since tire manufacturers build a specific tire designated as ST – Special Trailer – it is reasonable to assume that they did so for a purpose. Maybe to keep the scene depicted below from happening? Take a
Push the Envelope: Master the Performance Upsell By Knowing About Offsets
“Upsell.” This might be a new word for you or your staff. Or, perhaps your staff has been trained on upselling techniques, and this term is nothing new. In any case, if you want to increase your average sales ticket, there are opportunities that you should look into that will allow you to sell a
Fitment Blues: Seven Real-Life Cases Show You How to Handle ‘Common’ Tire/Wheel Problems
You must have at least one employee with some basic knowledge of custom wheels and non-OE high performance tires, even if you don’t sell them. Why would you want to know about something that you don’t sell? First, if you’re not selling custom wheels, you’re missing a huge profit opportunity. Even then, you will certainly
Like a Glove: Top Wheel Makers Keep Up With Changing Vehicle Specs
A couple of months ago, we discussed one of the dark secrets of the wheel industry – substituting bolt patterns. Many in our industry have made a good living by practicing this method of selling aftermarket wheels. It is time that we ask – and, yes, demand – better from suppliers that are doing this
Double Jeopardy: Right Size, Wrong Load Index Can Mean Liability Risk
When you sell a set of non-OE tires, do you set the air pressure the same as it was in the OE tires? Do your sales staff, manager and technicians understand the importance of load index? Can they read a load and inflation table? Can they recite, from memory, the inflation rule – that the
Fitment Faux Pas: Wheel Misapplications Come Down to Fractions of an Inch
Last month, we discussed a number of topics dealing with the installation of aftermarket wheels and non-OE tires. This month, we’ll begin Part 2 – overall width. You wouldn’t think that the width of a wheel would be a concern, but it can cause problems, as the following cases show. The information here will help
Devil’s in the Details: Selling and Installing Aftermarket Wheels Can Be Tricky Business
As many of you know, I’ve been involved with aftermarket wheels and hardcore fitment problems for most of my career. This has exposed me to a lifetime of diagnosing drivability complaints and fitment issues that most people rarely, if ever, experience. Still, there’s always that one time when something unique and out of the ordinary
Staggering Results: Stocking and Selling Innovative Products Can Boost Profits
Over the next few months, you will be reading a great deal about who had the biggest, most expensive or most outrageously modified product or vehicle at the SEMA show. Sure, it all looks good, but how will it help you grow your business? I want to take a different approach and tell you about
Alternative Pressure: Performance Customers are Good Targets for Nitrogen Inflation
What’s wrong with air? Like a slumbering giant, the passenger and light truck tire industry is slow to evolve and slower to accept new products and ways of thinking. Take the current buzzword going around: nitrogen. That inert gas has the industry and, as I found out, consumers, in an uproar about who and what
Pedal to the Metal: Drag Tires, Lightweight Wheels Quench Customers’ Thirst for Speed
Speed: (sped) n. Magnitude of a velocity. The act or state of moving rapidly. An unquenchable thirst for more. OK, I made up the last one, but you know what I’m talking about. In the world of instant gratification, motorsports is king. If a 10-second quarter was great yesterday, it’s just a start today. Because