Discount Tire
You get more then you pay for

Let me start out by saying I love Nitto Tires. I have 20″ rims on Black Sunshine and want only the best performance possible. Before you all start yelling at me for grouping 20″ shoes with performance on a sports car, let me tell you that I don’t care. I like the aggressive stance that the larger wheels give and if I sacrifice a small amount of power then it is my choice. Anyway, I wrapped the rims with Nitto NT555 high performance street tires and I couldn’t be more happy. The side wall is short and the grip feels great (as long as the road is dry). It is easy to get my baby sideways in the rain with the 4.10 gears but these baby’s were not optimized for Seattle.

Anyway, to the point of this post. Not many tire stores keep the Nitto NT555 in stock let alone give good pricing on them. I had the option of ordering them through parts stores or paying $10 more to go through Discount tire. I decided to go with Discount Tire since they would do the mounting and balancing along with the other stuff that I just don’t have the tools for. The mounted all the tires quickly and the guys there were very helpful. Being a gear head, I had a blast browsing through their showroom of different tires and got a chuckle when this lady came in and wanted the cheepest tire possible for her little Toyota. Tires are not the part on your car to go bargain shopping on!

So when my tires were finished, the salesman at Discount Tire gave me the usual sales pitch on “hey do you want the warranty on your tires?” I usually shy away from add-on sales and cross-sales but we are talking about my freekin tires. At about $25 bucks a piece I was able to buy tire insurance for the tread life of each tire. This is one hell of a deal for anyone with performance tires and I will back this up.

Last week after getting my warranty service, I noticed my tire was running low (very hard to tell with such a short side wall). At 15psi I knew something was wrong. I was even more disturbed when I could hear air escaping after tossing in some air. I called Discount Tire and made a appointment for my lunch hour. They did not have any Nitto NT555 in stock (no surprise) but they would take a quick look at the problem. I got there right on time and they brought me right into the bay (make an appointment people…walk-ins always wait longer). Sure enough there was a nail in the middle of my tread. The guys there patched it right up and I was out the door in about half an hour. I was in and out and did not pay a dime thanks to the tire insurance.

Long story short, I would send anyone to Discount Tire and almost force them to get the insurance for their tires as long as they aren’t buying the cheap non-matching used rubber erasers for their Toyota. Thanks guys!

—- EDIT/Addition 2008-03-12 —-
It looks like my boys over there at Discount Tire are getting some love from Google.  It seems that their first week using Google Analytics gave them a %14 boost in online sales.  I have always been an advocate of GA and I am glad to see some of the places I like to shop get some love (especially in online transactions).

As promised, here is my laundry list of things to do to Black Sunshine

• Window Tint
  • Window Tint Pricing
• Clear Corners
  • Installing ClearCorners
  • Installing Xeon Chrom-Amber Bulbs
• Shorter Antenna
• Sequential Break Lights
• Chrome Door Handles
• Satellite Radio/iPod
• Chrome Interior Accents
• Spring Kit then Suspension
• Ventilated Breaks
• Additional Gauges
• Custom Paint / Stripes
• New Tires/rims on all fours

I will post about each of these when I install them with pictures and my shopping analysis. Of coarse I will give credit to the people I shop with (good or bad) and inform all you on the process and costs involved.

Cleaning your air filter with
K&N Recharger Filter Care Service Kit

As you can see from the image above, my air filter was in dire need of a cleaning. I have a beautiful cold air induction system in my Mustang so I decided to buy a CAI cleaning kit. This process was a lot simpler then I imagined it would be. The kit itself was around 10 bucks and the only other tool I needed was a flat head screwdriver to remove the filter. After that it was full steam ahead.

Once I had the filter removed, I removed a lot of the loose debris by lightly tapping the end of the filter. I then simply sprayed on the K&N Air Filter Cleaner (it goes on like windex). I coated the entire filter liberally and let it sit for about 20 minutes. I then ran warm water through the inside of the filter and watched the gunk fall right off. I ran low pressure tap water from the kitchen sink and it did a perfect job. I let the filter dry for an hour or so and repeated the process to make sure it was spotless. I let it dry in the sink over night. The next day when it was completely dry I applied the K&N Lubrication Oil. It went on like a thick spray paint and you can easily see the spots you miss. Do this outside over some cardboard as it is messy and will stain. The oil is very toxic as well so make sure you wash your hands. The night I applied the cleaner, I think I got food poisoning but I am not sure if I cleaned my hands very well after cleaning the air filter. Do yourself a favor and wear rubber gloves just in case. It hurt pretty bad.

Anyway, once it was all said and done, I definitely noticed a difference in my ride. A clean cold air intake makes a world of difference and I definately have to give the boys at K&N a huge thanks.

Charlotte Radio
95.7 The Ride

So I had a realy bad day today and on top of all of life’s events I was forced to listen to local radio on during my commutes. Let me start by saying, I like listening to local radio about as much as driving a ford focus (had to toss that in there). Anyway, I was almost home when I got stuck behind this huge black Ford 250. I love pulling up behind these huge monsters because if the angle is just right, I can see my headlights and the Roush fog lamps smiling back at me. So after my long annoying day I start to smile. John Mellencamp busts out a live version of “Pink Houses” as I stare dead into the huge blue oval on the back of the 250. “AIN’T THAT AMERICA?” For some reason the song was right for the mood I was in. I cranked up the Shaker 1000 and lived every second of the song.

I love my car. My wife calls her my other woman and it makes more and more sense. She may not be perfect but I still enjoy laying into her full throttle and hearing her engine scream at me. She loves to keeping me smiling no matter what life brings my way. I get an hour and a half alone with her every day and we enjoy every second. This is the first time in years that I have listened to local radio. I still doubt I will return for a long time once I get my CD player fixed. However, for 3.5 minutes today 95.7 The Ride changed my tune.

I got home and tried to find out what CD the live version was on. I found the home page for 95.7 The Ride. It is not pretty by any stretch of the imagination. They definitely need to work on their web presence. They do however have a neat little search tool that allows you to see what was broadcast that day (see screen shot below). So as the day draws to anend I need to say thank you to 95.7 The Ride and sorry to Todd at DJF. I know it will all be better soon and I will be rolling around to the music of my choice.

New Blogroll Addition (aka Important People)
Krissy Miller

Designs by Krissy is a new site being built by Kristina Miller.  Currently she has joined the ranks of WordPress loyalists and like most smart people is beginning her web presence.  The main transactional side of her site is still being developed however her personal blog is up and running.  Krissy will be showcasing her custom jewelery designs on her site as well as maintaining her blog.

Krissy is a fellow search professional who manages paid search campaigns for a major retail brand.  Keep an eye on this site as it grows and make sure to stop by from time to time and see what she has in her inventory.

REFLECTION

“We should learn, by reflection on the misfortunes of others, that there is nothing singular in those which befall ourselves.”
– Thomas Fitzosborne

“At the end of each day, you should play back the tapes of your performance. The results should either applaud you or prod you.”
– Jim Rohn

“All of us are watchers — of television, of time clocks, of traffic on the freeway — but few are observers. Everyone is looking, not many are seeing.”
– Peter M. Leschak

“Evaluation of the past is the first step toward vision for the future.”
– Chris Widener

The Wisdom of the Day is brought to you by Sam Singh