rithsleeper

My local guys charge 15 bucks a tire to mount and balance. Its pretty fair but it adds up over time. Anyone have luck using a manual system? Im sure they work fine on reg tires but what about out low profile tires with huge beads? Specifically continental scrubs 275/35 18 on stock wagon wheels?

taken19

Funny you ask, I was just talking to the guys at Goodyear about this today. I've spent close to $1000 over the past year or so swapping tires. They told me that slicks can most likely be done by hand.

My new scrubs will be here sometime next week and I plan on giving that a try. I'll let know if I have any luck mounting them. I already have a bubble balancer and can get them balanced pretty well with that. Hopefully I can completely cut out the middle man by manually mounting scrubs as well.

fatbillybob

I have mounted my own tires for years. if fact so many years I'm getting weak. A 50lb wheel tire makes me tired. So I bought a real pro tire machine and spin balancer. Before I used a roger krause racing manual changer and bubble balancer. I still have the roger krause base and a bead breaker that I don't need anymore. So... anyway you can do it manually. At first it is a royal pita because even though you watch the tire monkeys all the time there is a certain technique to it beyond the few steps. Even with a machine you just can't do the few steps and whip a tire off/on. You learn with time to use body mechanics and leverage and work smart not hard. It is kinda like cutting your steak. some guys fork the steak and it shakes all over the place while being cut. Others cut the steak and it doe not move nothing splashes. both get eaten. Which guy do you want to be your back surgeon?

taken19

Fatbillybob,

Got any pics of the manual tools you were using? I'd like any helpful hints I can get. Those guys on YouTube make it look so easy, but I'm positive there are plenty of tricks to help (just as you hint at in your post).

fatbillybob

No Pics. My stuff is scattered all around the garage like my brains.

Yeah biggest trick is to leave the tires in the sun. They get soft your life is nice. I was mounting tires yesterday and got home too late. Sun was going down and my tires where stone cold. I fought those tires yesterday. If nice and soft from the midday sun it would have been easy.

taken19

Great tip, I will have to try it. I ran a real quick search for the tools you mentioned and couldn't find any pics. I'll keep looking.

Thanks for the pointer!

lbs90ZR

I've been using harbor frieghts portable tire changer. It needs moded though, welded studs on it to hold the wheels so it wouldn't scratch them and have to use leather on the steel bar or it will scratch. About 20 minutes per wheel for dismount and mount. But like Billy bob said, the technique needs figured out cause it didn't seem worth it in the learning stages, with the smashed fingers and all. Napa tire mount lube in gallon jug helps too.

NASCAR314

May want to keep an eye on Craigslist for a "Rim Clamp" machine for sale. One that uses 110 volt electric and air compressor and you are set. I have an older Coats RC-15A rim clamp machine I paid like $300 for and it is awesome. Can do "run-flat 19" C6 wheels" and Continental Race Tires without excessive effort. Lots of lube and 3 tire irons help, a typical "flip" of a Continental 305-660-18 race tire takes me about 5 minutes! It's still a good upper body workout, I can't imagine changing these with a manual changer. Mine has paid for itself over and over again. I run it off a regular Craftsmen air compressor. I still suggest practice with old worn out race tires, because damaging a bead is possible, and practice makes perfect.

redvetracr

you guys ever think of buying a second set of wheels?

taken19

Already have a second set. How does that solve the issue of removing used tires and mounting new ones?

rithsleeper

Good info guys i think i might give it a go and still keep my eyes open for a pnumatic one.

Yea that doesnt solve anything.... maybe he thinks I am changing my street tires and race tires around every time I go to the track lol! That would be aweful! Yes, I have multiple sets of rims...

Bill32

I used a manual changer at home for quite a while and did save some bucks.

But, I had 54 slicks sitting outside the shop...........the only local place that would take them was our landfill..........at $4.50 each.

rithsleeper

Well send them to me, we have a big bin at the recycling center around the corner and just throw them in. I refuse to pay a fee to the tire changing place to dispose of then. There is also a bridge around the corner too, just throw them off it...

jlutherva

My experience watching guys change the tires made me aware that rims make a huge difference and some race tires are much harder to mount and seat than others. CCW wheels have a very small relief built into the rim and long barrels which makes it difficult to mount the tires and very difficult to seat the beads. Michelin racing slicks seem to be much more difficult to mount than Hoosiers. One took 350 lb Bubba bouncing up and down on the tire to get the bead to pop out.

Do all you guys balance race tires? I'm considering skipping the whole balance operation to save $$$$. Balancing a scrub with all of the track turds seems silly.

Jim

Sidney004

This is exactly what I use at home to mount all my racing tires. Absolutely no problem but you can bang up and scratch the rims; in my case I don't care. I use a "third hand" tire changing tool to hold the bead position and lots and lots of lube. I've saved money, time with this tool. Flipping tires after each use, changing my mind at the last minute on tire selection. I don't balance my tires either.

This is the Roger Krause mounter:http://rogerkrausracing.com/pages/rk...ingsystem.html
I'm 5'4" and 155# and brute strength is a small part, its all technique and experience. A really good compresser is important because some of these tires like the Michelins or Pirelli don't seat the bead less than 100 psi.

AU N EGL

$15 is fair. I pay $11-12 with balancing too.

race tires should be much easier then run craps.

John Shiels

NY LI is 25-30 per tire minimum.

fatbillybob

That pressure is death! Read the tire sidewall. Bead seat pressure should be under 50psi maybe 40psi. Street tires will need balance. Some race tires too that are heavy like R888. The thin light hoohoo R/A compounds do not need to be balanced but it is nice to balance the wheels. Still it is best to balance both.

rithsleeper

Billybob, not advocating it but 100psi is nothing for these tires. Have you ever blown one? I have on purpose when I had a buddy working at firestone we were shooting the s*** when this woman pulls up and grabs air hose (they have so many ppl ask for air they just put one outside the shop to do themselves.) She hooks it up to a tire and just lets it fill... about a minute later I said, hey is she still filling the same tire? And we confront her and apparently she had just gone until the thing stopped putting air in..... on a gas station its only like 50 psi before it shuts off but here it was hooked to the shop air! She had it well over 150psi and still nothing blew.

After we helped her we got to thinking.... how much till it blew and what would the aftermath be? So after the shop shut down we grabbed an old rim and mounted a tire that was in good shape but some rich dude wanted all new ones when he damaged one. So he replaced all ("because thats what they recommend"). It was an off brand tire but plenty of tread. We put the shop air on it and put it in the mid of the two dumpsters and hid. After like 3 min nothing.... it had 220psi in it (that is shop air) and it was bulged but no blowout. I thought for sure the valve stem would have blown. We were shocked and left it there for about 10 min afraid of it. When we finally got up the courage we went and released the air.

Feeling a bit defeated we grabbed a tire with bands showing and mounted it up. Did the same thing but this time it went at around 150psi after the band exposure bulged and it was quite loud...

I feel confident that a healthy tire will not even come close to blowing at 100 psi. That warning has tons of lee way just like tensile strength of cable. It says 500lbs capacity but tests show it doesnt break till 1500lbs.

Ps: there is a trick that ive seen done to seal beads when a tire is collapsed, where you spray flamible gas in the tire then light it and it pops that sucker right on. Once again not recommended...

Sidney004

You'll never seat the bead on Pirelli DH compound slicks in the sizes we use at those pressures. I know those pressures work fine with Hoosiers but they don't work with the Pirellis. If you've seated the beads on Pirelli slicks under 50 psi, you need to share the secret; I've mounted over 20 of these using a 12 foot hose extention hiding across the room!