changing low profile tyres diy

[310golfr]

did'nt think it was possible with 19" low profile wheels/ tyres
dont know about others but i always have this fear that tyre places will scratch my shiny new alloys, if i diy tyre change, no fear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKT9Hq1mVC4

[A1VDY]

That lever, although plastic coated is up against the rim as the tyre is removed.
Take your wheels to a trusted professional outfit and point out extra care needed. If the lug on the machine is positioned 5mm above the rim no damage will occur.
The tyre place local to me I've been using for 30 years and they've yet to cause any damage. Plus, they're balanced. Short of buying your own machine it can't be done at home..

[310golfr]

i've got a bar like the one in the video and as you say it's a nylon end. the thing is, i've changed 16 inch wheels/tyres with 55 profile and no scratching at all. but the guy in the video is doing a 19" tyre with probably a 40 series profile, i did'nt think that was possible.

[Driver101]

Why would you want to change your own tyres? How would you balance them?

For the sake of £10-15 take it to a tyre fitter.

[310golfr]

i change my own tyres because of the fear of alloy damage plus the self satisfaction of diying it, any ££££ saving is just a bonus
btw, i also have a spin type balancer which seams to work well on 16" or so size wheels but dont know how it would go on 19" + sizes

[thebraketester]

Driver101 said:

Why would you want to change your own tyres? How would you balance them?

For the sake of £10-15 take it to a tyre fitter.

£15 is a good few tins of Spesh....

[catfood12]

From the start of that video the bead is already broken on the right hand side. You'd never break a bead like that manually, without a big beadbreaker.

Not taking anything away from the fella, one the bead is broken he does make it look easy. I didn't think that would be possible unless using a machine.

[InitialDave]

That worked a lot better than I expected.

Agree with the comments about breaking the bead, though.

[310golfr]

yea your right, you dont see him breaking the bead, which on a 19" 40 series tyre will not be easy.
the machine he's using does have a lever type bead breaker and i'd have liked to have seen him do that in the video.

[310golfr]

yea i did notice the damaged bead, must have been from an earlier attempt not seen on camera.
maybe he's learnt from earlier attempts though, he did say he spent 2 hrs before giving up and taking it to a tyre place.
the thing is, he did make it look easy on camera and proves it can be done.
i've done 55 series no problem, i wonder how low a profile you could go before it gets impossible/difficult

[Dave.]

I wonder if it would be as easy with a stiffer sidewalled tyre?

That Accelera looked to be quite flexible.

[finishing touch]

I have the same equipment, apart from the 4 prong clamp. Mine has a cone so picks up on the wheels centre hole.

He seemed to make hard work of inserting the nylon tipped tool.
If you put your knee on the tyre and push it down to the wheel rim centre, where its a smaller diameter,
the tool easily slips in opposite side and flips the tyre over the wheel edge with little effort.


Why do it yourself?

Just put a set of 4 on my old E Class Estate for £152, inc delivery of the tyres to my door.

There's no such thing as a free lunch, or free fitting.

Paul G