This is somewhat of a general question, but I'm posting it here anyway. I've got some old tires and want to mount them on a set of 13" wheels myself, why?...because I'm poor and can't afford to get them professionally mounted and balanced. Are there any tips for doing this? I've heard that soapy water helps, but anything else? TIA.

 

lube, a crowbar, and brute force.

 

You will probably need 2 bars. They make special bars just for what your doing. But after you get them on the rim I have heard of people(nascar)setting ther rim on fire to help set the beed. Just squirt some lighter fluid around the rim and light it and the expanding air seats the tire. Also when you were a kid if you ever changed bike tires its very similar.

 

wow sounds real safe...

 

Hmm.....really safe.

 

wat the hells wrong with you guys it sound like FUN!

 

fiiiire, fiiiiiiiire, heh heh ehe heh

 

yeah yeha hehehhehe eheheh eheheheheh that'd be coooollll yeah fiiiiirererere yeah heheheheheheh

No actually I have seen something about that 1 time, I forget where tho

Jeremy wheres my lighter and pack of smokes you told me I was getting?

 

It was either monster trucks or nascar on tv showing them setting the rim/tire on fire to set the bead. Then maybe something on TNN. but I have seen it done and it works slick as hell.

 

the fire, actually a controlled explosion, is meant to happen INSIDE the tire - the rapidly expanding air puffs the tire up in a small fraction of a second, blowing the bead onto the rim.

do NOT try setting the tire on fire on the outside to do this. In fact, a sudden blast with an air hose hooked to an industrial air compressor (such as the 'air' hose at your local gas station) should cause the same 'pop' without the potential 'boom' of the aforementioned pyrotechnics.

If you can't afford the few bucks to have Larry the Tire Lugger mount your rubber on the rim (sounds a bit- ah, forget it) you sure can't afford the lawsuit for causing a minor mushroom cloud in your garage. And tires, once set on fire, can burn for a long, long time.

 

I just got 20 bucks. so I'm rich!!! Any place where I can get these mounted?

 

i have the lighter, but no cigs. working on that.

 

just have it done professionaly.. the last thing you want to do is screw up your tires.

 

Maybe offer the guy at the tire shop payment in an ...ahem...Different form

What does that cost?..Like 50 Bucks MAX??

 

1. lay wheel face down on a flat surface (probably something other than concrete or asphalt if you do not want to scratch the outer surface of the wheel)
2. put some dishwasher soap on the tire and wheel edges
3. lay the tire on the back side of the wheel
4. using a rubber mallet (use a rubber one else you will damage the wheel), start tapping the outer edge of the tire until it is over the lip of the wheel (I find this easier than using tire irons for mounting, they work also (or any large flat piece of medal, even a couple of large flat head screw drivers will work)), but the rubber mallet works faster and best in my humble opinion
5. then repeat for next edge/side of tire
6. you can usually get the tire to seal by holding it and pulling it toward the wheel edges (that is how most service stations do it)
7. if that does not work, find something that will go around the tire to squeeze it so that the sides bulge out (bands to do this were regularly used by service stations, farms, home mechanics, etc., but in recent years everyone just seems to grab the tire and work it until the edges seal (all the while pumping air into the tire)), if you do not have an air pump, take it to a service station and use their free air)
8. my neighbor has a device he calls a “get along”. I think this is a name that others call it also. It is a length of cable that has a handle that you can use to get leverage. Anyway, one of these could be used to go around the tire tread and then squeeze it to bulge out the side wall to make it seal.
9. the tire should go on very easily and with a little work you should be able to get the tire to seal
10. the fire idea sounds too dangerous. You could damage the wheel and/or tire to say nothing about yourself, your house/garage, etc.
11. to remove tires, I have seen people lay the tire to be removed on a flat surface, then drive your car on to the edge of the tire to break the seal. This needs to be done carefully, but it works

 

IIRC the exploding tire trick is more for back-country emergencies where you don't have the time or energy to do it any other way. I recall seeing this done by some guys driving across the Arctic. Was pretty cool to see it work in slow motion.

 

Look for a tire shop that stocks Pirellis or other high performance tires - if you buy 'em there and they mount 'em for you you don't own the tires 'till they bolt 'em on your car... so they get good techs working there who won't carve the bead off of your tire (yes, it's possible. I've done it myself when learning how to use the tire installation equipment way back when)

They won't charge any more than other tire shops for mounting, but they'll know what they're doing.

 

Thanks Mach7!

 

Come down to the Sunoco Station after the boss leaves and we'll put them on there. They have the machine.

 

Not to mention the fact that IF you SOMEWHOW manage to get the tire on the rim, HOW IN THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO BALANCE THE SUCKER? Heh... driving around on un-balanced tires isn't safe. And please don't try balancing it on a broom handle or something and adding solder to where to light spots are

Get a tire shop to do it... it'll save you time, money (in wrecked tires) and gray hairs...

Jeff

 

That's a good point you raise. I have no idea how to work the balancing macine. you might just wanna pay them a couple bucks and have it done right.

 

Service stations usually charge extra for mounting and extra for balancing, thus if you can get them mounted for free you will save that much. And I have had a lot of luck at running tires unbalanced when $$$ was tight. Back in the days of separate snow tires, I rarely balanced them and never noticed that they were not balanced. Of course this was not on a RX-7. Anyway it costs you nothing to put them on and run them and see how much vibration you get without balancing. You will likely notice an unbalanced tire less on the rear, so if you get vibration on 1 of the fronts, try switching it to the rear. It will likely be OK at slower speeds and could be livable even at highway speeds. You can always have them balanced if the vibration is noticable [or later when $$$ is less of a problem]. Give it a try. Take 82transam up on the offer if you live close by, it would be a whole lot easier to use a tire machine than to do it manually. My $.02 - as they say, you get what you pay for!!!

 

I think I'll take him up on that.