Thank's for the good words Drags. I appreciate it. I know how it is being a new guy. As some say it "This ain't my first rodeo". I'll be chiming in from time to time on my own but if anyone would like some help PM me your question, post it in our forum or PM me a link to your thread and I'll jump in as soon as I can.
I was hoping you'd chime back into this thread Jayhawk.
Here's a little about me. I got into the wheel and tire industry in 2003. I studied Industrial Design in College (Product Design) and decided I wanted to start designing wheels. So I did. I ran my own business for 3 years. In that time I designed and produced two lines of wheels. On top of the designing, I did all the marketing, most of the selling and even some of the installation. I ran the show and had to teach myself everything along the way. A year and a half a go, I saw the downfall of the economy coming and the flood of new wheel companies coming as well and decided I should get into something a little more solid. I sold my portion of my company over to my partner and joined up with Discount Tire. They were by far my favorite vendor for tires and wheels as they were the only vendor that had stood behind their products and services 100% in the 3 years that I had been buying from them. As an outside buyer I was only able to see part of what they do and I can tell you now that I've seen some pretty amazing things done here by both the company and the individuals that work here.
So now to get a little more specific to your questions. Why am I here? What do I do, Where's my specific MB experience? How do I make my recommendations?
I am no MB mechanic and I don't claim to be. I am a wheel and tire guy and I know wheels and tires. If I was a mechanic, I would be fixing or tuning cars and I'd probably be making a lot more money than I am now. You've all seen your labor bills I'm sure I don't have to remind you. I have spent a fair amount of time with MB vehicles. I really like the tight tolerances. Simple put, a nice set of shoes can really set them off. One of my favorite packages to build is a staggered 19" wheel and tire package for the small C-Classes. Just the right amount of wheel and just enough tire for comfort. Sport and luxury in one.
I am here to help you with your MB and your tire and wheel questions as well as any other vehicle you have a question on. I combine the experiences I have of designing wheels and getting my hands dirty with the tools and things I have learned here. I have tools at my fingertips that you don't have. Our internal fitment guide outlines wheels widths, diameters, hub sizes, x-factors and offsets, tire sizes, load ranges, speed ranges and a whole bunch more that you will never need to know specifically about your vehicle and the products we sell. I also have information from our product manufactures for reference as well as some tools for calculating some of the more extreme fitments you won't see online or in our fitment guide. In working at Discount Tire I frequently sit with our product manufacturers to discuss their products and I do get involved with their Ride-and-drives to see and touch products in use. I also read customer reviews online, as well as articles on the products we sell. I base my recommendations on all of this and I will tell you if I don't know or if I am not sure of something right off the bat. No one likes a Mr. Know-it-all anyway. Right?
As for the other forums. I have 90+ forums that I manage most of which I respond to my self and others that I oversee the responses of. They range in vehicle from Lamborghini to hybrid, Range Rover to Jeep, and Mercedes to Chevy cobalt.
As for getting a hold of me. We have our own forum on this site and we have a notification set up for it, if you start a thread there we will be notified and will respond as soon as we can. If you PM us we receive a notification for that as well. Also if you reply to any thread that we have replied to or started we will be notified, we will read your response and we will reply as necessary. Discount Tire has many different ways to be contacted. You can call or visit a store, visit our web site or call our mail order division at 1.888.459.4080.
Hope this answers most of your questions. If you have others please let me know.