How-To "Tip:" For DIY Tire Changers
Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2018 7:26 pm
I suppose that most of us here have our tires replaced professionally. Makes sense but some of us are either too cheap or too independent or too pig headed or masochistic or I don't know what, and for these latter I post this little piece of information.
Before I continue I have to say that even more important than the tip I am about to give is this one: Always use Murphy's Oil Soap to lubricate the rim and edges of the tire.
This morning I changed the front tire that came stock on my 2013 PCX. These tires, IRC, are stiffer than the devil's willy. I struggled and struggled and finally got the tire off. I had had enough for a while so I decided to go out in the car for a while and come back to put the new tire on when I got back. On a whim I took the new tire and rim out into the front yard and left them in the sun, vaguely remembering something from one of the videos I had watched detailing a procedure for tire changing I had seen some time ago on Youtube. The video presenter said emphatically that the temperature of the tire made all the difference. When I came back 2 hours later I found that he was right.
As soon as I put my car away I went over to the tire and found that the rim and tire were hot from sitting 2 hours in direct midday sunlight. So, I started to work. In 10 minutes I had the tire on the rim. It was just as heavily built as the tire I had removed 2 hours earlier but apparently having been sun heated made this tire more elastic.
Take from this what you will, but for me, it was a minor revelation. I will never again change a cold tire. Never, either, will I try to change tires min seasons other than high summer.
Before I continue I have to say that even more important than the tip I am about to give is this one: Always use Murphy's Oil Soap to lubricate the rim and edges of the tire.
This morning I changed the front tire that came stock on my 2013 PCX. These tires, IRC, are stiffer than the devil's willy. I struggled and struggled and finally got the tire off. I had had enough for a while so I decided to go out in the car for a while and come back to put the new tire on when I got back. On a whim I took the new tire and rim out into the front yard and left them in the sun, vaguely remembering something from one of the videos I had watched detailing a procedure for tire changing I had seen some time ago on Youtube. The video presenter said emphatically that the temperature of the tire made all the difference. When I came back 2 hours later I found that he was right.
As soon as I put my car away I went over to the tire and found that the rim and tire were hot from sitting 2 hours in direct midday sunlight. So, I started to work. In 10 minutes I had the tire on the rim. It was just as heavily built as the tire I had removed 2 hours earlier but apparently having been sun heated made this tire more elastic.
Take from this what you will, but for me, it was a minor revelation. I will never again change a cold tire. Never, either, will I try to change tires min seasons other than high summer.