Our situation...auto-centric family with race cars, trucks, trailers, sports cars and utility cars. Between my herd, 30 or so vehicles.
We have long thought having the ability to mount and balance tires would be nice but we don't want/need anything huge or complicated.
I doubt there is anything that would take care of my tractor, bus or motorcycle, but if there is a silver bullet...
If you are me, what do you choose? Looking forward to hearing experiences.
I have noticed that one effect of Covid is there are no cheap tire swaps any more. Full price locally used to be $15 per tire. Now, that is approaching $30 per tire. With $25 each making it $100 per set, I really wish I had the space to dedicate to having my own tire changer/balancer. It seems easy to recoupe the $1,000 as well as the convenience factor.
In reply to John Welsh :
Same here. We have one local shop that is a bit reasonable but he is creeping. I should have done this years ago. It is time.
The creep in price is also due to the average tire size increasing and nearly everything having alloy wheels now. A 185/60r15 on a steel wheel is much easier and quicker to do than a 245/40/18.
Hunter is the top of the line equipment, but it's not cheap. Coates stuff is fairly solid.
Look for a used older tire machine. I have a Coates 30/30 that I picked up at an auction dirt cheap. Along with a bubble balancer , I have mounted and balanced many tires with no issues.
I have also found that it's harder to find places that will mount used rubber. I'm looking at a couple used changer/balancer setups right now and would really like to pull the trigger, but the space issue is what makes me think twice.
Seems like you could even pick up a few bucks on the side offering lower prices than shops for tire changes.
In reply to wae :
True on the harder. I just had a set of 4 mounted. The shop, who I had not used before, resisted. I rebutted with, how will I ever get my summer tires remounted? He agreed but said he might still turn them down if they are "too crappy."
I wouldn't mind having tire machines, but before I committed I'd be sure I knew where I could dispose of old tires and the associated cost.
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
Around here, it is a ticket a tire at the landfill, which is a couple of bucks per.
On MP, found a Coates 40-40 for $550 about 2 hours away...on the PA line. Hunting.
In reply to Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
This could add a new dimension to shop days.
So being without knowledge, will an older Coates machine work for 40 sidewall race tires? Just making sure.
In reply to MrFancypants :
Or, a way to lure the unwary to my shop for an extra set of hands.
They'll handle up to 19" wheels, you'll want to make sure that it has (or that you can still source) the adapters for the arms to use alloy wheels on it.
Regarding stiffer sidewalls, some good non marring pry bars to assist will with dismounting, for seating the compressor going to 300psi should create all the boom needed.
I came to say Toyman has a thread about buying a tire machine. Couldn’t do a search I have two dogs wanting to go for their walk.
I bought a set of machines from Ebay 5 years ago. They have mounted several hundred tires at this point. Everything from race tires to 34" mud tires. I've been very happy with them.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/e-bay-tire-machines/128843/page1/
In reply to Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
I have old school tire irons for the really old car. But you present an issue...my compressor maxes out at about 130psi
In reply to Rons :
I had a feeling that existed, and my apologies. For whatever reason, my search functionality on this site is not very successful. Or I am more likely doing something wrong.
In reply to jh36 :
The search function here has always been a little flaky. No issues, we like running our mouths/fingers.
Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:They'll handle up to 19" wheels, you'll want to make sure that it has (or that you can still source) the adapters for the arms to use alloy wheels on it.
Regarding stiffer sidewalls, some good non marring pry bars to assist will with dismounting, for seating the compressor going to 300psi should create all the boom needed.
300psi seems about double what is normal, and triple what air tools are rated at...
Streetwiseguy said:Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:They'll handle up to 19" wheels, you'll want to make sure that it has (or that you can still source) the adapters for the arms to use alloy wheels on it.
Regarding stiffer sidewalls, some good non marring pry bars to assist will with dismounting, for seating the compressor going to 300psi should create all the boom needed.
300psi seems about double what is normal, and triple what air tools are rated at...
The highest pressure I've needed to seat a bead was 90 psi. That was a stiff sidewall on a cheap wheel. I called the tire manufacturer before a dumped that much pressure in the tire and they said it wasn't a problem. IIRC, that was a set of Toyo tires on some off brand cast wheels.
And when they seat it sounds like a gunshot.
Toyman! said:Streetwiseguy said:Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:They'll handle up to 19" wheels, you'll want to make sure that it has (or that you can still source) the adapters for the arms to use alloy wheels on it.
Regarding stiffer sidewalls, some good non marring pry bars to assist will with dismounting, for seating the compressor going to 300psi should create all the boom needed.
300psi seems about double what is normal, and triple what air tools are rated at...
The highest pressure I've needed to seat a bead was 90 psi. That was a stiff sidewall on a cheap wheel. I called the tire manufacturer before a dumped that much pressure in the tire and they said it wasn't a problem. IIRC, that was a set of Toyo tires on some off brand cast wheels.
And when they seat it sounds like a gunshot.
That's good....back in business. I don't think I would invest in something with that sort of pressure. I've always regulated at 125 or so at the tank and dropped the line pressure from there.
Toyman! said:In reply to jh36 :
The search function here has always been a little flaky. No issues, we like running our mouths/fingers.
Thanks. I mainly work on my phone. I've wondered if the desktop experience might work better for searching.
In reply to jh36 :
Searching on GRM? I do most on my computer and it really isn't that good. I doubt doing it on your phone could be much worse.
BUT, if you are searching for stuff on FBM, the computer is significantly better.
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