Originally Posted by
sjfehr
Is this so simple and easy that I really COULD have it done in a back alleyway with happy results?
It CAN be done, but I don't think anybody in this area does it. TireVan in the DC area does some of the best work, and they have a truck with a mounter and balancer in it and just drive out to you and do it in a quiet street or parking lot. That said, a bad tire shop will do a bad job no matter what the facilities. I wouldn't go to any place that doesn't use a GSP9700 balancer, especially if the tires have an aspect ratio of 40 or below.
Also, make sure to torque your own wheels, I've never seen a tire shop, other than TireVan, where the guys remember to set the torque wrench to 0 when they're done using it, so they all have horribly inaccurate torque wrenches.