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I wouldn't be putting them on myself but would purchase the tires and take them to a friend that would remove the old tires and install the new ones since he has one of those tools.
Are there any drawbacks to going this route? I figure I can save some money and time.
What's funny is that I used to change tires on Mag Wheels by hand years ago. The kind of Mags that machines could possibly damage back then. I could do a whole car in about an hour or so. I used to Bubble Balance as well.
But hopefully the friend has a Tire Machine and a High-Speed Balancer.
Today, sometimes I buy my tires cash and carry and have a local tire shop mount and balance them for me. He is an independent and welcomes the business. Then I bring them home and put them on the car myself. I like Torqueing my own Lugs anyway.
Well, it's tire spoons and a sizable sledge hammer. Got to have THAT.
OP, if that alloy wheels - do NOT let him hand handle this. Steeleies are ok, but not alloys. There is normally a lot of prying and pounding going on.
Well, it's tire spoons and a sizable sledge hammer.
A Sledge Hammer for big truck tires, but I never needed anything bigger than a Rubber Mallet for car or small truck tires. Breaking them down is the hard part and although I wish I had one of those "Bead Breakers" today that are available, back then I just used a bumper jack. Once broke, I would use my large screw drivers and tire irons to dis-mount them. Back on I would Lubricate the Beads to re-mount them and use the Rubber Mallet to help along. The Lube also seated the tire to the rim for a better seal.
It takes a little finesse and muscle with a hammer. Can do alloys without damaging them. A bead breaker is needed. You first pull the valve core (drain the air) and then break the beads. Use a little dish soap and a tire spoon. It only takes about 5 minutes to get a tire off a rim. The new ones go on very fast.
Airing up the tire can be a challenge (you need an air compressor), but it goes okay if the tire is wide enough for the rim. If not, you need a tire bead seater blaster (fill it using air compressor). Next, balance and you are done. So, you need a few special tools: a bead breaker, a tire spoon or two, a balancer and, possibly a tire bead seater blaster. You will need some wheel weights.
If you replace the valve stems too, you will also need a valve stem tool. Of course, you need a hammer as well. A large ball peen or a club hammer works. Need a fairly heavy one as you will be hitting the tire spoon with it to remove the tire from the rim (this is where the muscle comes in).
Once you have all the tools and some practice, it goes really fast. If not, it can be very frustrating.
What's funny is that I used to change tires on Mag Wheels by hand years ago. The kind of Mags that machines could possibly damage back then. I could do a whole car in about an hour or so. I used to Bubble Balance as well.
But hopefully the friend has a Tire Machine and a High-Speed Balancer.
Today, sometimes I buy my tires cash and carry and have a local tire shop mount and balance them for me. He is an independent and welcomes the business. Then I bring them home and put them on the car myself. I like Torqueing my own Lugs anyway.
The only thing I found in hand mounting tires was that I had places on my body that I did not know could ache.
Given that the tire places charge <$20 per tire for stem mounting (on cash and carry tires) and offer lifetime rotations/balancing for that fee, tires are something I don't mess with. I will plug flats (to save the time of driving to the tire place), but let the tire places mount/balance/etc.
My local tire place installs them for nothing as long as you purchase them there, which is a no brainer because they have very competitive prices compared to what the chains charge.
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