Can you take a tire off a wheel by yourself?

[vancouverbc]

my 205/60r15 radial is warn on the outer edge. i want to take tire off and turn it around so the warn edge is hidden. i don't see the point of rotating tires because the warn edge will always be on the outside. anyway, is it easy to take a tire off with a tire iron and put it back on? I want to patch a small leak as well.

are most radials unidirectectional? i don't see anything on my tires that would suggest they are unidirectional

[Exar-Kun]

it's easy if you have 7k worth of equipment:

a tire mount/dismoutning machineand:a balancer

otherwise, get a shop to do it.

[j-z]

you can. but it will be a PITA. ive seen it done before, so i know it can be done without an expensive tire mounting machine. although those things are really fun to use.

[SmithSR]

Until you've seen a tire blow up in front of you, you know nothing.

Please, please take your tires to a shop.

[egan]

hahaha, i just saw watched a old (92 ish) drift tengoku where this guy took off and replaced his own tires using just a jack stand and 2 tire spoons. he started when the sun was out, and ended when it was dark.

if you really need me to explain it i can, but it does look like a pita. for all the hassle i would recommend taking them to a shop, expecially since these are for driving tires. if you were replacing drifting tires that you were gonna burn up in a night, things would be different. good luck!

[spoolthis]

It's not that big a deal to do your own tires. The problem lies with aluminum rims. You'll have them beat all to Hell even trying to take precautions.

[Altiman94]

take it to a shop. You'll be sorry later. Your only talking about 15 dollars worth of labor

[Dori Dori]

If your tires are worn, replace them. Chances are, if you're running on worn tires, the tire shop won't even mount them for you.

[SmithSR]

If you've never read this, you should.

WARNING: Serious or fatal injury may result from: Tire failure due to under inflation/overloading - follow owner's manual or Tire Information Placard in vehicle. Explosion of tire/rim assembly dueto improper mounting. Never inflate beyond 40 psi to seat beads. Only specially trained persons should mount tires. Mixing Bias tires with radials on the same vehicle. Mixing different tire sizes.Follow manufacturer's recommendations. Exceeding the legal speed limit is neither recommended nor endorsed.

[SmithSR]

Warning: Tire changing can be dangerous, and should be done only by trained persons using proper tools andprocedures established by the Rubber Manufacturers Association. Failure to comply with proper procedures mayresult in incorrect positioning of the tire, tube or wheel assembly, causing the assembly to burst with explosive forcesufficient to cause serious physical injury or death. Never mount or use damaged tires, tubes or wheel assemblies.

http://www.yokohamatire.com/pd...3.pdfread about match mounting

[SmithSR]

Here's a site who's author is bitter about having his tires mounted at a tire shop. He's had some bad luck it seems. He advocates mounting your own tires, but check out his disclaimer!!!

read on:

Warning: Although tire mounting maybe a simple procedure, myself, nor Hybrids.jp, recommends attempting to install tires without any previous experience. If you have never installed tires on wheels I recommend you have someone qualified to do so, mount the tires and wheels.

http://honda.hybrids.jp/jl02/diy/