Tuesday, August 06, 2002
Kam's Column - 06/08/02
Hello again!
You all know that I am an avid sports fanatic, but I have a confession to make this week – I barely saw any of the Commonwealth Games! In fact, I had to get daily updates on Britain’s medal haul from Mandy when I finally arrived home at varying hours of night. No, I haven’t been up to no-good, but since the guys did such an excellent job on that Mini Cooper’s bodywork last week, our body shop has passed a tide of work our way! Just as well the heatwave is nearly over then…
It’s another Stunner Story this week, and the party in question was a ‘T’ plated Vauxhall Vectra belonging to a Mr Samuelson (name changed to protect the innocent!). Mr Samuelson was a rep for a furniture company and spent his working life on the road – which is how he had managed to clock up an amazing 30,000 miles on the Stunner tyres we fitted only 11 months ago! (Not every car will do this sort of mileage on a single set of Stunners of course as cars all wear tyres at different rates)
“Kev,” he said when he brought the car in, “I need a new set of Stunners” (at this the other customers in the reception raised their eyebrows, obviously thinking that Kam now did even more than just timing belts, welding, servicing, repairs and MoTs…). “Plus, the car keeps veering to the left. A garage in Wales reset the tracking, but it hasn’t made any difference…”
“Not a problem Mr Samuelson,” I replied. “Are your tyres wearing unevenly as well?”
At this he looked a bit blank.
“I haven’t thought to check. I keep an eye to the pressure, and so long as it looks like there is some tread left, I tend to leave it at that…”
I have to admit I was surprised, most high mileage drivers take daily inspections of their cars (which is how it should be for everyone in an ideal world).
“No problems” I said, handing him the keys to one of our Kam Courtesy Cars. “We’ll give you a call once we’ve fixed the problem.”
Just one look at the Vectra’s tyres confirmed the problem – the left hand front tyre had virtually no tread left, while the right was just about legal (1.6mm in fact so bang on the borderline!).
Once the car was high on the ramps and the wheels were off, the problem became clear – the track rod ends were totally and utterly seized up. To add insult to the injury, the tracking had never been realigned in Wales or anywhere else in the last year. It took Scott a good hour with degreasent, spanners and hammers before the rods were moving correctly. Once he aligned them properly and fitted the brand new Stunners, the Vectra was driving straight and true once more!
That was the last I thought of Stunners for a few days until, on Wednesday, someone came furtively up to the counter and asked for a full set.
“What size would you like?”
The gentleman’s eyes grew wider. “You mean I get to choose the size?”
“Well, yes… Since they are built for precision handling, especially in the wet, we’ve got to match them not only to your radius but also to the type of car you’re using. If you want low profile sports models, we can get those too.”
Had his eyes got any wider, I think even Botox couldn’t have saved his forehead from disappearing. “Erm, I…”
Suddenly the light dawned on me. “No Sir, I’m talking about tyres called Stunners!” Whoever named these particular tyres obviously was thinking about something else at the time – so no wonder I’d been getting strange looks in the street as word got round that Kam were supplying Stunners!
The gentleman in question blushed to the roots of his hair. “Yes, I knew that…” He hurriedly snatched up a leaflet and scarpered out of the reception, much to the amusement of the guys behind me.
“Good job you didn’t start going on about the traction-improving groove, the larger models for heavy duty work or the two-year no-nonsense guarantee.” Chimed in Shaun.
“Not to mention the fact that we need to see the Stunners every three months to keep the warranty up-to-date!” I think that was Raj, but I couldn’t quite tell above the noise of the MiG welding…
To set the record straight, Stunners are high quality tyres that share the same patterns as many of their more expensive brethren. Whether you drive a 1.0-litre runabout or a high powered sports car, the Italian manufacturer has a set of tyres for you. Each tyre is protected by a 2-year guarantee to guard against accidental damage, kerbing, slashing and vandalism. The first year has a no-quibble replacement policy and the second year features a 50% contribution to your next set of tyres if the originals are damaged.
Well, now that’s sorted, it’s time for more welding work… Sometimes, I wish we weren’t so good – then I remember why I joined up!
Until next week, check those tyres!
Dr Kev Allen
You all know that I am an avid sports fanatic, but I have a confession to make this week – I barely saw any of the Commonwealth Games! In fact, I had to get daily updates on Britain’s medal haul from Mandy when I finally arrived home at varying hours of night. No, I haven’t been up to no-good, but since the guys did such an excellent job on that Mini Cooper’s bodywork last week, our body shop has passed a tide of work our way! Just as well the heatwave is nearly over then…
It’s another Stunner Story this week, and the party in question was a ‘T’ plated Vauxhall Vectra belonging to a Mr Samuelson (name changed to protect the innocent!). Mr Samuelson was a rep for a furniture company and spent his working life on the road – which is how he had managed to clock up an amazing 30,000 miles on the Stunner tyres we fitted only 11 months ago! (Not every car will do this sort of mileage on a single set of Stunners of course as cars all wear tyres at different rates)
“Kev,” he said when he brought the car in, “I need a new set of Stunners” (at this the other customers in the reception raised their eyebrows, obviously thinking that Kam now did even more than just timing belts, welding, servicing, repairs and MoTs…). “Plus, the car keeps veering to the left. A garage in Wales reset the tracking, but it hasn’t made any difference…”
“Not a problem Mr Samuelson,” I replied. “Are your tyres wearing unevenly as well?”
At this he looked a bit blank.
“I haven’t thought to check. I keep an eye to the pressure, and so long as it looks like there is some tread left, I tend to leave it at that…”
I have to admit I was surprised, most high mileage drivers take daily inspections of their cars (which is how it should be for everyone in an ideal world).
“No problems” I said, handing him the keys to one of our Kam Courtesy Cars. “We’ll give you a call once we’ve fixed the problem.”
Just one look at the Vectra’s tyres confirmed the problem – the left hand front tyre had virtually no tread left, while the right was just about legal (1.6mm in fact so bang on the borderline!).
Once the car was high on the ramps and the wheels were off, the problem became clear – the track rod ends were totally and utterly seized up. To add insult to the injury, the tracking had never been realigned in Wales or anywhere else in the last year. It took Scott a good hour with degreasent, spanners and hammers before the rods were moving correctly. Once he aligned them properly and fitted the brand new Stunners, the Vectra was driving straight and true once more!
That was the last I thought of Stunners for a few days until, on Wednesday, someone came furtively up to the counter and asked for a full set.
“What size would you like?”
The gentleman’s eyes grew wider. “You mean I get to choose the size?”
“Well, yes… Since they are built for precision handling, especially in the wet, we’ve got to match them not only to your radius but also to the type of car you’re using. If you want low profile sports models, we can get those too.”
Had his eyes got any wider, I think even Botox couldn’t have saved his forehead from disappearing. “Erm, I…”
Suddenly the light dawned on me. “No Sir, I’m talking about tyres called Stunners!” Whoever named these particular tyres obviously was thinking about something else at the time – so no wonder I’d been getting strange looks in the street as word got round that Kam were supplying Stunners!
The gentleman in question blushed to the roots of his hair. “Yes, I knew that…” He hurriedly snatched up a leaflet and scarpered out of the reception, much to the amusement of the guys behind me.
“Good job you didn’t start going on about the traction-improving groove, the larger models for heavy duty work or the two-year no-nonsense guarantee.” Chimed in Shaun.
“Not to mention the fact that we need to see the Stunners every three months to keep the warranty up-to-date!” I think that was Raj, but I couldn’t quite tell above the noise of the MiG welding…
To set the record straight, Stunners are high quality tyres that share the same patterns as many of their more expensive brethren. Whether you drive a 1.0-litre runabout or a high powered sports car, the Italian manufacturer has a set of tyres for you. Each tyre is protected by a 2-year guarantee to guard against accidental damage, kerbing, slashing and vandalism. The first year has a no-quibble replacement policy and the second year features a 50% contribution to your next set of tyres if the originals are damaged.
Well, now that’s sorted, it’s time for more welding work… Sometimes, I wish we weren’t so good – then I remember why I joined up!
Until next week, check those tyres!
Dr Kev Allen
