Question: Is it possible to mount your tires at home? If so, how?

-- Side note, I do realize they would still need to be balanced.

 

No. I don't think you are strong enough to hold the wheel down and stretch the tire around the wheel. Also, have you ever tried to break a bead without a machine? I once watched a couple of morons use a long piece of wood and try to drive a truck onto it to break the bead. They finally go it, but it did take them a while. Those of us that were watching got some good laughs though. I would recommend you have a proper shop do the job.

 

ive changed my own tires for a while now. If you suck at it, it will take you a while, but after the 2nd one, they will only take 10 minutes per tire. Its pretty simple stuff. PS, lube like wd40 works good on the the bead

 

Piece of cake, do it all the time (tired of having tires/wheels torn up by some . . . ).

First you need to understand what the drop center is and how it comes into play. Look at a bare wheel between the two bead seats. This is the area that the tire covers.

Notice how a section is smaller in diameter (drops down) then the rest of that area. That is the drop center.

Lay the wheel flat on the ground with the side that the drop center is closer to facing up. Start the tire onto the rim from that side. Once the tire is on enough push the bead of the tire into the drop center. This will allow the tire to continue to be pushed over the rim. Repeat for other tire bead.

Now for some tips: a spray bottle with soapy water helps move the bead over the rim (wipe off when done), use a piece of carpet or cardboard under the wheel to prevent scratches, don't use any tools such as screwdrivers, your feet (with sneakers) work very well, give the tire some time to stretch as it moves over the rim, don't forget new valve stems.

The above is for alloy wheels only, if you have standard steel wheels the corner shop is your best bet (although the above does work on those also).

RBob.

 

way back in the 70's i worked in a garage that mounted tires by hand, we used tire spoons (big pry bars basically) and a mini sledge. we got a lot of work from people buying mags and not wanting tires mounted on a tire changer machine.

 

you guys actually mount modern low profile (50 series or lower) performance tires by hand???

 

I would have to say it depends on the tire. I've done many, many tires by hand, split rim, semi tires, car/truck tires. I can't imagine installing the 245/45R16 GSC's on my car. It was a royal PITA using a machine. If you are running 215/65R15's then you should be able to do it, with the proper tools. I used to use a bubble balancer for quite a few years without many vibration problems--you get them them fairly cheap if you really want to be a DIY type person.