Changing your own Tyres- Seriously Considering this..

[kurwa]

We have 4 cars in family which need tyre swapping all the time summer/winter.. , I just hate to visit garages and try to do most of the stuff myself as I always feel ripped off by high prices and not good worksmanship...who doesn't i know I know . But swapping tyres is one thing I thought I couldn't do myself just because I don't have the machines, and I'm always frustrated as fuk when they charge me £40 to swap 4 tyres which takes them 15mins and I have to waste half a day to schedule changing them/get them done etc. just sick of this tyre changing rip off.

Untill I found there is a manual tyre changer and balancer,
changer- £35
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tyre-Changer-Wheel-Mount...

balancer- £52
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portable-Wheel-Tyre-Bala...

checked few yt videos& it looks piss easy.
Watcha say guys?

[truck71]

kurwa said:

We have 4 cars in family which need tyre swapping all the time summer/winter.. , I just hate to visit garages and try to do most of the stuff myself as I always feel ripped off by high prices and not good worksmanship...who doesn't i know I know . But swapping tyres is one thing I thought I couldn't do myself just because I don't have the machines, and I'm always frustrated as fuk when they charge me £40 to swap 4 tyres which takes them 15mins and I have to waste half a day to schedule changing them/get them done etc. just sick of this tyre changing rip off.

Untill I found there is a manual tyre changer and balancer,
changer- £35
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tyre-Changer-Wheel-Mount...

balancer- £52
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portable-Wheel-Tyre-Bala...

checked few yt videos& it looks piss easy.
Watcha say guys?

Are the videos of ordinary folk changing tyres that have been on a vehicle for some time?

The first piece of kit is a leg breaker, it relies on the leverage from the long pole to create enough pressure on the bead of the tyre to break the contact seal with the rim. I used to use a proper air powered one and wouldn't want to use that tool, you need to focus on accuracy not force so you don't damage the rim.

As for the balancer, I don't know where to start. I wouldn't.

[ILoveMondeo]

cant fathom how the balancer is supposed to work, will have a laugh at the video later!

How much is your time worth? It'll take you a lot longer than the garage guys to swap four tyres without all their cool toys!

Im guessing these are the wife's car, kids cars?

Perhaps getting them to go to the garage themselves may be a better time saver for you

[Welshbeef]

How many tyres do you get through?
How are you going to dispose the used tyre?
Given the lube and sealant will "go off" there is a lot of waste
The weights you'll have to buy a complete set and no doubt never use most of them

How much money are you think you'd save?

[Riley Blue]

kurwa said:

We have 4 cars in family which need tyre swapping all the time summer/winter..

If this is because you have four sets of summer tyres and four sets of winter tyres simply buy four more sets of wheels and swap wheels/tyres over - far simpler than the solution you're suggesting.

[HoHoHo]

I think they're both a great idea and you should buy immediately.

Then video yourself and post it here so we can have a bloody good laugh

No, really leave them alone and be prepared to spend the money having it done for you

[Mike335i]

As pointed out this idea is full of practical issues, not least of which is the likelihood of hurting yourself, damaging your wheel or tyre and being far more of a faff than going to kwik fit et all.

Have you also noted that the 1st item is up to 16"rims only?

[finishing touch]

An old set of alloys, or better still steels, and fit the winters on those, would be my solution.

Tyres on wheels take up no more storage space than tyres alone.


Paul G

[CanAm]

Riley Blue said:

If this is because you have four sets of summer tyres and four sets of winter tyres simply buy four more sets of wheels and swap wheels/tyres over - far simpler than the solution you're suggesting.

+1

[Welshbeef]

finishing touch said:

An old set of alloys, or better still steels, and fit the winters on those, would be my solution.

Tyres on wheels take up no more storage space than tyres alone.


Paul G

Is OP suggesting it's for Winter Tyres or simply changing all weather tyres as and when??

[blueg33]

CanAm said:

Riley Blue said:

If this is because you have four sets of summer tyres and four sets of winter tyres simply buy four more sets of wheels and swap wheels/tyres over - far simpler than the solution you're suggesting.

+1

+ another one.

[Welshbeef]

blueg33 said:

CanAm said:

Riley Blue said:

If this is because you have four sets of summer tyres and four sets of winter tyres simply buy four more sets of wheels and swap wheels/tyres over - far simpler than the solution you're suggesting.

+1

+ another one.

If that is the case he has 4 vehicles so needs space for 16 winter tyres - not insignificant.

[anonymous-user]

In 24 years of driving I have never felt the need for different tyres for winter and summer, am I missing out and risk dying lots?

[simonh9]

To add some balance (badumm tsssch), I was in the same position a few years ago - sick of having to rely on garages and finding it a pain to get to them during the day (either due to work, or not wanting to miss time with the kids), not to mention the cost (£5/wheel at a ford garage if I left them the wheels loose, but they'd often be busy and it'd be 4-5days before I got them back, or a tenner at another garage).

So I bought the manual changer, bubble balancer, alloy wheel bar (the std bar will gash alloys), soap, valves, weights etc and a compressor and haven't looked back.

It means I can do all my tyre swaps once the kids are in bed and when I have some free time. Car on the ground to back on the ground, it probably takes 45-60 mins, so equivalent to £20-40+/hr. It has saved me a lot of money, especially as I bought/sold/sometimes split local wheels/tyres, which covered the investment. I also did a few bits for friends, but stopped as it was taking my time up.

Results wise, it's all in the technique.
- Higher profile tyres are easier obviously- smallest I've done is 45.

- Breaking the bead is a pain if the tyres have been on years (especially steel wheels), but it's just a matter of working it with a bit of soap. Others take two compresses and the whole tyre pops away from the rim

- Removing the tyres is generally easy,

- Fitting is OK once you've got the technique - you've really got to make sure you've pushed the bead into the well. Once you've done one of a set, the other three are always easy. I keep meaning to buy a bead keeper (basically a clip to hold the bead down), but I manage with my hands OK. Michelins have a twisted wire bead (presumably with a patent), which makes them very easy to fit, though you end up chasing them round the rim sometimes and they're occasionally a pita the seat the bead.

-Balancing works surprisingly well considering its just statically balanced. I've done up to 17x7.5J with good results. I think the narrower the rim, the less dynamic problems it would have.

Any questions, do ask.

Edited by simonh9 on Thursday 3rd November 08:17

[blueg33]

Welshbeef said:

blueg33 said:

CanAm said:

Riley Blue said:

If this is because you have four sets of summer tyres and four sets of winter tyres simply buy four more sets of wheels and swap wheels/tyres over - far simpler than the solution you're suggesting.

+1

+ another one.

If that is the case he has 4 vehicles so needs space for 16 winter tyres - not insignificant.

If he owns the tyres then with wheels they take up no more space

[TooMany2cvs]

Joey Deacon said:

In 24 years of driving I have never felt the need for different tyres for winter and summer, am I missing out and risk dying lots?

If only there was a thread discussing this...

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
(We'll miss the first 500 page thread out, and just point you straight to the 144 pages-and-rising of the second, shall we?)

[Welshbeef]

blueg33 said:

Welshbeef said:

blueg33 said:

CanAm said:

Riley Blue said:

If this is because you have four sets of summer tyres and four sets of winter tyres simply buy four more sets of wheels and swap wheels/tyres over - far simpler than the solution you're suggesting.

+1

+ another one.

If that is the case he has 4 vehicles so needs space for 16 winter tyres - not insignificant.

If he owns the tyres then with wheels they take up no more space

We need OP to clarify - but this was a post made at nearly 3am this morning.... drinky drinky post?

[TooMany2cvs]

simonh9 said:

-Balancing works surprisingly well considering its just statically balanced. I've done up to 17x7.5J with good results. I think the narrower the rim, the less dynamic problems it would have.

Then there's the dynabeads. Little balls of ceramic that pour through the valve and move around to balance the tyre.

[russell_ram]

None of the doom merchants in this thread own or operate a car before 1980 or so? because the equipment the OP is suggesting was how garages used to fit tyres back in the day. Its true that the virtually fully automatic removal and fitting machines today require much less manual effort (particularly on low profiles) and the modern dual plane (dynamic) balance machines which calculate required weight, split to hide behind spokes etc etc ultimately do a better job but you can get a perfectly adequate job with the equipment suggested as Simonh9 says. In fact, a few years ago, you had no option.

[PositronicRay]

TooMany2cvs said:

simonh9 said:

-Balancing works surprisingly well considering its just statically balanced. I've done up to 17x7.5J with good results. I think the narrower the rim, the less dynamic problems it would have.

Then there's the dynabeads. Little balls of ceramic that pour through the valve and move around to balance the tyre.

Dynabeads interest me, has anyone here tried them?