Changing tyres are home - what do I need?

[mrmr96]

I'm getting through a lot of tyres doing track days, and it's costing a fortune keep getting Kwik Fit or similar to mount the rubber to the rim and balance it, so I want to be able to do it myself at home.

I've seen a video on youtube of a guy fitting and removing a tyre using "tyre irons" in under 2mins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qpKdkTIfSw
But I have some questions:

1 How do you set the bead, so the tyre can be inflated?
2 How do you break the bead, so the tyre can be collapsed and removed?
3 Are tyre irons the best tool, as I've seen some tyre changing equipment by Sealey which looked a tad more involved.

Please bear in mind my budget for gear is going to be like under £100, so I can't buy a commercial spec rig!! All advice greatfully received.

[Eggman]

I have seen (1) done by squirting lighter fluid into the tyre and setting fire to it so the tyre seats with a pop. I suspect there's a knack to it though; I couldn't get it to work when I was trying to reseat the little tyres on my sack barrow. Perhaps they would have sealed better if I'd had some of the goo that tyre fitters use.

You can break a bead either by driving over the tyre to unseat it or (in the case of Land Rovers etc) by using the foot of a Hi-Lift jack and the weight of the car.

No idea about point 3 - I once saw an off-road equipment supplier selling a tyre changing outfit intended for use in the field, but thought it rather expensive for what it was. I'd imagine tyre levers will do the job, but they might be a pain in the bum if you're doing it a lot. If I were in that position, I doubt I'd begrudge £100 or so for a tool that did the job half decently.

[john_p]

How are you going to balance it ?

iirc the "push on-off" machine isn't that expensive, but a balancer is a lot more involved.

[steveo3002]

id carry on paying unless theyre rough wheels you dont care about , can ruin the tyre bead too if you are heavy handed

[mrmr96]

john_p said:

How are you going to balance it ?

iirc the "push on-off" machine isn't that expensive, but a balancer is a lot more involved.

I was hoping that the fact that it's only used on track, and wears at a pretty high rate (with some lumps of rubber building up sometimes) that balancing it wouldn't be required, since at the moment I don't have a clue how to balance it at home... so I was kind of hoping it's not required on track?

[Astra Dan]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portable-Wheel-and-tyre-...

Surprisngly cheap for a 'real' one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WHEEL-BALANCER-NEW-/2807...

Edited by Astra Dan on Saturday 8th October 22:10

[Eggman]

mrmr96 said:

I was kind of hoping it's not required on track?

I had some horrendously out of balance knobbly tyres on my Range Rover, partly because balancing them would have cleared the tyre shop out of weights. tbh, you had to be going pretty fast before it was noticable so I reckon you probably won't notice much with the type of tyres you'll be using.

(btw, what's the betting that some knobber posts up instructions for changing a wheel? )

[mrmr96]

steveo3002 said:

id carry on paying unless theyre rough wheels you dont care about , can ruin the tyre bead too if you are heavy handed

They are just my track wheels which I pick up for about £100/set, i.e. £25 per alloy. I've got 4 sets. I'd be as careful as I could be of course, but the wheels are hardly irreplaceable. Plus the rate I'm going through tyres makes £100-£150 on gear to do it myself seem reasonable.

[daemon]

find a cheap independent to do it.

I often fit 'good used' tyres to cheapie cars that i am selling - I've found a local guy will do them for £3 fitted and balanced if i dont mind leaving them there until he has time, as opposed to £10 that my local main tyre fitter charges.

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

The easiest DIY method to break the bead is to squeeze it off the rim with a large vice (Like a Record number 6). Remember to remove the valve core first, otherwise the air in the tyre will get compressed and the bead won't slip off.
Then you just need some decent tyre levers to get the tyre off.

To seat a new tyre on the rim you'll need an air compressor.

There are plenty of tips on youtube for balancing tyres at home.

[mrmr96]

daemon said:

find a cheap independent to do it.

I often fit 'good used' tyres to cheapie cars that i am selling - I've found a local guy will do them for £3 fitted and balanced if i dont mind leaving them there until he has time, as opposed to £10 that my local main tyre fitter charges.

I appreciate what you're saying, but for the purposes of this thread can we assume that I just want to know what I need to do it inexpensivly at home. That link to the £40 balancer is the kind of thing that's really helpful.

[Classic Grad 98]

mrmr96 said:

I was hoping that the fact that it's only used on track, and wears at a pretty high rate (with some lumps of rubber building up sometimes) that balancing it wouldn't be required, since at the moment I don't have a clue how to balance it at home... so I was kind of hoping it's not required on track?

I recon you've got that all the wrong way round. On the track, speeds are higher, you're less insulated from vibrations, and you really don't want the distraction. I hate it when the wheels are out of balance on my race car. Find a cheaper place than qwik-fit would be my advice.
Also as, others have said, your likely to damage your wheels/tyres and without an air compressor seating the beads onto the rims will be difficult/impossible.
I fit and balance my own tyres but I have access to the machines and an air compressor.

[mrmr96]

Right, so how about this lot?

£40 - Portable balancer
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portable-Wheel-and-tyre-...

£60 - Compressor
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Oil-free-compressor-pain...

£22 - Levers
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-X-TOOLMATE-US-car-Tyre...

£5 - Paste
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tyre-Paste-Tyre-Soap-Tyr...

£?? - Beadbreaker
Not sure whether to get a lever type one, or a 'hammer type' one.

Lever:


Hammer:

[windy1]

Had the same problem myself so bought the pole type tyre changer (comes with bead breaker) and also purchased a bubble balancer.
Works very well once you get used to it. Invest in a decent alloy wheel tyre lever too - the type with nylon pads - and you'll keep your alloys undamaged.
I reckon I've fitted about 20+ tyres now. No need to get ripped off having tyres fitted any more + I can buy all my tyres on the web and get them delivered to my door.

[jjones]

having changed a fair few tyres on proper machines i would guess that your tyres are pretty low profile as you are using them on track. breaking beads on low profile tyres can be a proper pain in the ass even with a proper machine. i would hate to even try to do it with a vice or other manual device, doing one would be bad enough, but then having to do a further three!

i would be looking for an idependent, best bet is small outfit, turn up , offer 10 to 20 quid cash to change all 4. otherwise you are looking at about £300+ for a 2nd hand machine and 150 or so for a compressor to power the bead breaker/jaws/clamp

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/240v-tyre-machine-/13058...

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SICE-TYRE-CHANGING-MACHI...

or you could go manual route (never tried these machines):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tyre-machine-tyre-change...
but a lot cheaper it seems

Edited by jjones on Saturday 8th October 23:24

[mrmr96]

windy1 said:

Had the same problem myself so bought the pole type tyre changer (comes with bead breaker) and also purchased a bubble balancer.
Works very well once you get used to it. Invest in a decent alloy wheel tyre lever too - the type with nylon pads - and you'll keep your alloys undamaged.
I reckon I've fitted about 20+ tyres now. No need to get ripped off having tyres fitted any more + I can buy all my tyres on the web and get them delivered to my door.

Excellent answer.

Is there any chance you could please provide me with a link to an example of each of the pieces of equipment you're using, so I know exactly what you're talking about and what it would cost me? That would be much appreciated as it sounds like you've got process of solving the problem I'm faced with, so I'd like to learn from your experience!

[sim16v]

I use a part worn tyre place, usually buy/sell the alloy wheels on ebay for £50-£100ish.

They often come with sizes I can't use, so if i buy a set with tyres I don't want, get him to put my tyres on and give him the others.

No money changes hands, he gets some free tyres so we are both happy.

[windy1]

mrmr96 said:

windy1 said:

Had the same problem myself so bought the pole type tyre changer (comes with bead breaker) and also purchased a bubble balancer.
Works very well once you get used to it. Invest in a decent alloy wheel tyre lever too - the type with nylon pads - and you'll keep your alloys undamaged.
I reckon I've fitted about 20+ tyres now. No need to get ripped off having tyres fitted any more + I can buy all my tyres on the web and get them delivered to my door.

Excellent answer.

Is there any chance you could please provide me with a link to an example of each of the pieces of equipment you're using, so I know exactly what you're talking about and what it would cost me? That would be much appreciated as it sounds like you've got process of solving the problem I'm faced with, so I'd like to learn from your experience!

Tyre lever http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/manual-tyre-machine-chan...

Bubble balancer http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portable-Wheel-and-tyre-...

Tyre changer with bead breaker, can't remember where I bought it but it's one of these http://www.diytools.co.uk/sealey-tyre-changer-manu...

[grimfandango]

It really isn't that hard. My dad changes all his own tyres and most of mine too, everything from tractor tyres to low profiles on 10 inch wide rims! (which arn't the easiest thing!) all with just a few tyre levers, a few blocks of wood and lots of jumping up and down on the tyres.

Not the easiest thing by a long way, or the quickest of jobs, but we havent damaged any tyres or rims and as long as youve got a compressor its easy to blow them up again.

We've never ballanced our own tyres though, although a lot of the time we've never needed to. then again, I didnt realise you could buy a wheel ballencer for £40!

[supersingle]

I've got one of the bubble wheel balancers. I think it's pants!

I ended up using an old hub to balance my wheels. Strip the bearings and clean out the grease and lube it with WD40 instead so that it's very free-running. You then attach the wheel and balance in the same way as a motorbike wheel (see YouTube). Works a treat.