Mounting tires

[JimD]

Mounted 4 tires for the 124 Special today. Can't wait to get that car off the skinny tires with steel wheels.

Now I will ramble about this project a bit, feel free to stop here.

I got a set of Achilles 185/60 tires a couple weeks ago to put on the BWA rims I bought from Vicks a month or so ago. I called a couple shops and they wanted ~$100 to mount the tires. I bought a HF tire mounting tool last year to mount some Hoosiers for autoX, so I figured I would give mounting tires another try. I remembered I did not enjoy mounting the Hoosiers, but figured I could get it done again.

First lesson learned ... again... don't assume you remember how to mount a tire. After a failed 1.5 hour attempt to mount one tire yesterday, I gave up. I got up early today and went to Youtube and watched a few videos which pointed out my error. I wasn't keeping the top bead from seating while I worked around the wheel. You need to keep the bead in the wheels drop center or you will never get it over the rim. There were a few suggestions in the video. One guy used a slim block of wood, another a vice grip. I decided to use a heavy duty spring clamp.

This worked really well. It was plastic, so it didn't scratch the wheel and the shape of the jaws helped keep the bead down towards the drop center. It still wasn't easy, but I finished all 4 tires in the same 1.5 hours I wasted f'n around yesterday. I will balance them this week when I feel energetic again.

I feel the HF tools (I got the home balancer too) have a easily paid for themselves now. Hopefully I can remember these lessons again the next time.

 

[Ricardo Borja]

Same boat...

Hi Jim,

It looks like all here we are in the same boat without notice Lol..

I did the same last month to mount a tire for my 500 and I used an old X1/9 wheel to test and remember how to remove the tire from the wheel and same worry, I spend 1.5 hour to take out (and very tired Lol) mg:

and now I'm looking for THE SAME bubble tire balancer like yours :nuts:

Good luck mounting your tires, I got an extra blade to mount tires..


Regards.

 

[JimD]

It is a very good feeling to finish this job

Thanks Ricardo,

It definitely feels like you have accomplished something significant when you finish mounting tires on your own.

The HF bubble balancer does work OK, but make sure your carefully examine it before you trey to use it. I had to return the first two I bought because the main shaft was not threaded properly. When you put the nut on to fasten the shaft to the base, the shaft was not perpendicular to the base. There was a slight angle that made it impossible to balance the device.

 

[Ricardo Borja]

Thanks.

Thanks Ricardo,

It definitely feels like you have accomplished something significant when you finish mounting tires on your own.

The HF bubble balancer does work OK, but make sure your carefully examine it before you trey to use it. I had to return the first two I bought because the main shaft was not threaded properly. When you put the nut on to fasten the shaft to the base, the shaft was not perpendicular to the base. There was a slight angle that made it impossible to balance the device.

Many thanks for advise, I'll keep it on mind.

Regards.

 

[Red Bull 78]

Looking Good

This is one area where I got the advantage on you other "X'ers". One of my first jobs was as a Commercial Tire Man. I've changed Tires on everything from Golf Carts to Off Road Coal Hauling Trucks that I could stand up inside the tire. Usually with nothing more than a couple of Tire Irons and a 15 lb. long handle Tire Hammer or a short handle 9 lb. one. For awhile I had my own personal Company Truck to take home, since I was "On Call" 24/7 for company trucks. To the best of my memory, the Golf Carts were the biggest PITA.
Before he hit the Big Time I mounted some tires for Darrell Waltrip's race car for a little while. Some of the "Real Mechanics" in that garage actually built his Cars back in the 60's & 70's. They invited me to join the "Party", but I never went racing with them as I was playing drums in a Rock band on the weekends.

 

[JimD]

Seems like I did a good job on the mount and balance

I took the 124 out on the highway for the first time today. I only drove about 5 miles down the road, but I got the car up to 65-70mph for most of that stretch. Seems like I did a good job on the mount and balance of the tires. There was no shimmy or shake, very smooth. The car rides really well on the new tires and looks better too.

Additional HF bubble balancer tool thoughts:

This is the second set of tires I mounted and balanced here at home. The first set were Hoosier radials for auto cross. I figured I never really got a chance to feel any possible vibrations on those, since I only used them on the parking lot.

I used the HF bubble balancer on both sets and was a little concerned that the little bubble was lying to me. I have found that the "light spot" will move an inch to a few inches if you take the wheel off the balancer and put it back on. With both sets, I just tried multiple times until I felt somewhat comfortable that it was repeating the weight placement within an inch.

I have come up with a method to the madness after two sets: Balance a wheel/tire combo by laying the weights along the rim lip where the bubble indicates. Set that wheel/tire aside and do the same for the other three (don't knock the weights off when moving to and from the balancer). Now go back thru the set seeing what the HF balancer says on a second (and possibly third) pass of sticking each tire/wheel combo back on the tool.

This more systematic method seemed to produce more consistent results than my original method of repeatedly putting the same wheel/tire on and screaming WTF the bubble was over there 5 seconds ago!!!! :mad2:

 

[Red Bull 78]

One Last Tip

When working with Chrome, Mag or Alloy wheels, it's better to mount from the Backside. Cover the Tire Changer with Shop rags, that way you don't scratch up the Shiny Side. Where it get's "touchy" in most wheels have a 90 degree step on the Front side and an angled slope to the rear, to clear the Brake Rotors or Drums This makes it a bit tougher to get the "wiggle room" you need to get the bead over the rim.
When you're paying big bucks for cool rims, a little extra effort and a lot of Soapy water, to lube the tire & rim is usually worth it.
It's been awhile, but I seem to remember some Custom Rims did have a 90 degree step down on the backside, just for this reason. It all depends on the Off-Set of the rim, too.