Tyre fitment the good old way..........

Thanks to the guys for their input towards my questions on tyre fitment. I decided to do them myself and I know it’s as easy as taking a piss, but it can be tricky for those that haven’t done them before. So I thought Id post my attempt. Its meant for those of us with limited{but growing} knowledge and experience. Anyway here are the freshly painted rims{little rotating anvil helped when painting} and my nice, still wrapped tyres….first off, a good scrub, I soaked up excess water inside the tyre, after the wash, with a sponge{don’t want it bouncing like a tractor}….I used dish washing detergent and a sponge….its mild and makes a good lube too straight from the bottle…….




You will need 2 tyre levers, I scored mine from a garage sale…you can use anything that will act as a lever, but make sure it doesn’t cut into the tyre bead. But, real tyre levers are best, that special lip is whats needed for making things easier………


I didn’t want to be wrestling around on the ground and scratchin up my rims, so I got an idea….I removed the trailer spare tyre and this made a good mount for the fitment of each tyre…….well the smaller front tyres anyway……..

With the rim mounted, I “dropped” the tyre from above and made sure the rear bead was well down in the rim well…and make sure the outer bead{marked F/front} isnt hooked over with the inner bead…whats a rim well? for the last bit of each inner and outer bead to be manipulated on, the opposite side has to be down in the well, so you have enough to squeeze the last bit of the bead over and onto the rim. Make your way around the inner bead and get it on……sorry dont have pics on getting the inner bead on the rim with the levers{couldnt hold camera}


Heres a pic from behind showing the tire in the right spot....




crappy hand drawn pic showing the method also.........

.then lube the front bead and do the same…I started from the top and worked down each side, with each lever action at position10/2 oclock,8/4 oclock and 7/5 oclock position…..and they slipped on with a fair amount of ease……..years ago, I had a go fitting some tyres by hand and it took hours and hours of wrestling the bastards….little did I know about the wire bead and the rim well …………




My shop dog, “dodge” did his inspection of each completed front wheel. ……fussy bugger, he is.....

also you can see how the tyres need to be pumped up and seated, in this detailed shot. Can you see jesus?hahaha...anyway,.I haven’t fitted the valve stems yet…I can still get at the holes easily enough.


Back to the rears, I ended up with the larger rear tyre outer bead being too hard to fit on the trailer mount as the whole tyre was hitting the trailer guard so………I had a diff sitting on stands nearby to mount the wheel too, worked a treat also…..

My rims came off a new Holden that was being fitted with mags…….$25 each and brand new. The rears are wider and were silver so I hit em with black gloss enamel. Don’t shoot me just yet as I know they aren’t traditional as Im running UFO caps and the rims wont be seen. Anyway, thanks for looking.

 

by the looks of the tires being sothin on the rims it looks like the hard part will be seating the beads.On the machines the have an air blast feature for this, but I've used sarter fluid and a lighter to "explode them on. Not the safest method around

 

i fit and remove all my tyres by hand.
a tip for removing, you need 3 good quality ash wedges, not too long and thin, short and fat pops the bead better.
the way youve fitted them is pretty much how i do it, except i lay mine on a peice of carpet to protect the rim instead.
i agree with hobie it can be difficult to get new, unstreched tyres to seat when youre not running tubes, my preferred method is put a ratchet strap around the tyre and tighten it up so it pushes the sidewalls out til they seal.
but i tube pretty much all of my tyres anyway, and carry a spare tube or puncture kit and a couple of levers instead of a spare.

 

Put a ratchet strap around the tire and ratchet it down. This will cause the bead to sit on the rim so you can air it up. Once the bead is set you can remove the strap and fillit up to the correct pressure and seat the bead. Had to do this fo go-cart tires.

 

cheers for the extra tips....I did see something years ago...I think it was a small tyre tube off something smaller that the guy put around the gap to seal it when pumping up.........the ratchet one sounds good too....but, they have to pump out a fair way.....I will give it a try....gotta get some valves tomorrow...should I use the standard rubber ones or the high tech stainless screw on ones? whats your views fellas?..cheers, Bert

 

How do you go about breakin the beadwith those wedges?......I used to drive over tyres to break the bead.....but I will give that method a miss with these.......

 

A lotta you guys with roadsters that can't fit a spare should be reading this!!
Learn this stuff and carry a tube under the seat, or you'll be as helpless as a soccer mom waiting for the AAA when you have a flat...
And go read "Grapes of Wrath"...tire fixin' covered by one of our best novelists...