Just mounted & static balanced my 30th tire in about five years - saving over $400

UPDATE:

Today I mounted & static balanced my 30th tire in about five years, where
each time I do this easy job, I learn new tricks to make it even easier.

For example, the "drop center" trick that Clare taught me was, by far, the
most critical trick of all. And, this time, I learned that it's a bad idea
leaving the packing tape on the tires as it makes it harder to seat the
bead if the beads are bent inward versus pushed out a bit.

While I've done all sizes from 15" wheels to 17" wheels, these 15" P225/75
Optimo H724 tires have thick sidewalls that make it a bit more difficult
than the 99V passenger car tires to break the 1st bead and seat the 6th
bead.

One mistake I made was to leave the packing tape still on the tires while
they waited for me to find my "round tuit", where the pinching in of the
beads made seating the tire problematic for the few seconds that it takes
to pop the bead into place.

I had to ask a second person to help pull up the upper bead with one hand
and a knee while I pushed up from below with two hands, where another trick
I learned long ago was to adapt an airgun to screw into the Schrader valve
so that filling it with air during the bead-seating process is essentially
hands free.

This mountain eats up everyone's tires, which _never_ get the claimed
mileage (not even close) but I can't use the warranty because I can't prove
that I do all the work myself.

Cost savings at $20/tire = $600 minus about $200 for tools = $400 to date,
but the real value is the satisfaction of being able to do it myself.

Here are some photos, just so you see what it looks like.
o This SUV needs to be taken in for a front-end alignment:
<https://i.postimg.cc/q7t7ZRzj/mount01.jpg>
o Breaking the 1st bead takes a couple of minutes:
<https://i.postimg.cc/26DfF8vq/mount02.jpg>
o The outside edge of the front tires wears too much:
<https://i.postimg.cc/Hx2Fw0dK/mount03.jpg>
o TREADWEAR is said to be 500 (but it won't get that):
<https://i.postimg.cc/1zSWvgCZ/mount04.jpg>
o The tire valves are about 1-1/2 inch long (.453):
<https://i.postimg.cc/sXX4L55b/mount05.jpg>
o I replaced the valves with all-metal valves:
<https://i.postimg.cc/nVNNvLJn/mount06.jpg>
o This home-made adaptor works great to seat the beads:
<https://i.postimg.cc/WzZW9MvT/mount07.jpg>
o Leaving the packing tape on was a bad idea:
<https://i.postimg.cc/DwnjgJY3/mount08.jpg>
o I mounted the "red spot" next to the tire valve:
<https://i.postimg.cc/Pqq6GGj6/mount09.jpg>

For anyone who wants to do it yourself, the tools cost about $200 where I
got most of mine from Harbor Freight, where those tools suck, but they do
the job.

What you need is:
o A dedicated bead breaker (the one with the mounter sucks even worse).
This tool is a pain to use but it breaks a bead in a couple of minutes.
You have to put a board on it because the base is too short.
o A bolted-in tire-mounting tool (you _must_ bolt it down!)
The bead breaker attachment on the mounter is nearly worthless.
o A static bubble balancer
o A set of tire irons (these aren't necessary, but are sometimes helpful
when you have a problem with the 6th and final bead)
o Vise grips - you need them - surprisingly - because the HF mounting tool
handle twists in your hands so the vise grips provide leverage to keep it
from twisting.
o A Schrader Valve Screwdriver (you need this to remove the insert so that
you can quickly fill the tire to set the beads during the final step)
o Dish detergent (everything is surprisingly easy when lubricated)
o Tire marking pen (to mark the inside sidewall after each rotation)
o Wheel weights (to static balance the wheel after mounting)
o Hammer (to tap the wheel weights into place)
o I have a valve-stem removal tool but it's not needed (just use a knife)
o Floor jack, wheel chocks, jack stands, lug wrench, torque wrench (to
remove and replace the wheels from the vehicle)
o Compressor, hoses, chucks, gauges (to seat the bead & fill the tire with
air)

Parts:
o Tires (Costco takes old tires for $1 each, plus sales tax)
o Wheel weights (it seems that 1 to 2 ounces seems to be needed most
o Valve stems (I kind of like the 0.453 diameter 1-1/2 inch steel ones)

On 4/29/19 4:48 AM, Arlen G. Holder wrote:
> UPDATE:
>
> Today I mounted & static balanced my 30th tire in about five years, where
> each time I do this easy job, I learn new tricks to make it even easier.
>
>

I've considered a lot of hobbies to amuse myself while I ride this dirt ball around the Sun but I must admit that tire wrestling is not one of them.Â* But hey, if it blows your skirt up, knock yourself out.

On 4/29/2019 4:48 AM, Arlen G. Holder wrote:
> UPDATE:
>
> Today I mounted & static balanced my 30th tire in about five years, where
> each time I do this easy job, I learn new tricks to make it even easier.
>
>
> This mountain eats up everyone's tires, which _never_ get the claimed
> mileage (not even close) but I can't use the warranty because I can't prove
> that I do all the work myself.
>
> Cost savings at $20/tire = $600 minus about $200 for tools = $400 to date,
> but the real value is the satisfaction of being able to do it myself.
>
Whatever works for you. n the past 15 years I paid to have 8 tires
changed. No payback for me.

Arlen G. Holder wrote:

> o I mounted the "red spot" next to the tire valve:
> <https://i.postimg.cc/Pqq6GGj6/mount09.jpg>

Should I mention that traditionally the red spot is the "high" point of
the tire, and would match with the "low" point of a slightly-not-round
wheel, and the yellow dot is the "light" part of the tire, and matches
with the "heavy" part of the wheel, usually where the valve is? Nah,
that would be mean.

On Monday, April 29, 2019 at 1:04:26 PM UTC-5, Sanity Clause wrote:
> Arlen G. Holder wrote:
>
> > o I mounted the "red spot" next to the tire valve:
> > <https://i.postimg.cc/Pqq6GGj6/mount09.jpg>
>
> Should I mention that traditionally the red spot is the "high" point of
> the tire, and would match with the "low" point of a slightly-not-round
> wheel, and the yellow dot is the "light" part of the tire, and matches
> with the "heavy" part of the wheel, usually where the valve is? Nah,
> that would be mean.

But do you spray a little bit of flamable fluid inside the tire and stand back and throw a match at it? That is fun.

On Mon, 29 Apr 2019 11:05:44 -0700, Sanity Clause wrote:

> Should I mention that traditionally the red spot is the "high" point of
> the tire, and would match with the "low" point of a slightly-not-round
> wheel, and the yellow dot is the "light" part of the tire, and matches
> with the "heavy" part of the wheel, usually where the valve is? Nah,
> that would be mean.

Hi Sanity Claus,

I appreciate those comments, where, if you have a cite that backs up your
belief system, I think it would be useful to all, as Usenet is designed to
be a potluck picnic where each person adds value where they can.

Without further cites, I'd just note offhand that we have a looooooooong
thread on a.h.r, as I recall, on this topic of exactly what the red and
yellow spots mean, which can be _different_ for each manufacturer (and
which aren't always there).

For example, we've covered that the marks are generally most useful for
brand-new wheels (where the original match mounting marks are still
visible), and we've covered why the light spot is still generally the valve
area (all else being equal, of course), even though there's an "additional"
valve there, simply because the plug of missing steel is generally heavier
than the rubber & brass valve despite the very many old intuitive wives
tales to the contrary.

I'm all about facts, where we've looked at the cites in the past to
conclude that, in the absence of match-mounting marks on the wheel, the
best course for a starting point mount at home is the red spot goes next to
the valve if you have a red spot, and if you have only a yellow spot, as I
recall, it goes opposite the valve (but I'd have to dig up the cites to
doublecheck on that as most tires I've mounted have both the red and yellow
so I only use the red mark as my starting point).

In summary, if you can back up your belief system with a cite, I'll read
it, and if you want, I can dig up cites that back up my belief system since
my belief system is never imaginary - my belief system is _always_ based on
actual facts.

If facts show I need to _change_ my belief system, then I'll change it.
o But at the moment, the facts show the red dot goes next to the valve
(for stock steel wheels, and for most manufacturers' tires)

If you have facts that show otherwise, please cite them so we all benefit
from every post.

On Mon, 29 Apr 2019 20:00:32 -0000 (UTC), Arlen G. Holder wrote:

> If facts show I need to _change_ my belief system, then I'll change it.
> o But at the moment, the facts show the red dot goes next to the valve
> (for stock steel wheels, and for most manufacturers' tires)

I'm always beholden to facts as I abhor imaginary belief systems.

Since I'm allergic to the intuition of old wives tales, but also since my
memory is not even close to perfect, I looked up the cites again, even
though I haven't read them in years, where it must be noted that the only
perfect cite will be one from Hancook, which I didn't find, so we have to
go on what we can find.

This is what Yokohama says about tire match mounting & balancing
<https://www.yokohamatire.com/tires-101/advanced-information/match-mounting>
"To facilitate proper balancing, Yokohama places red and yellow marks on
the sidewalls of its tires to enable the best possible match-mounting of
the tire/wheel assembly. There are two methods of match-mounting Yokohama
tires to wheel assemblies using these red or yellow marks:

Uniformity (red mark)
"If the point of minimum radial run-out is not indicated on a wheel
assembly, the weight method of match-mounting should be used."

Weight (yellow mark)
"When performing weight match-mounting, the yellow mark on the tire,
indicating the point of lightest weight, should be aligned with the valve
stem on the wheel assembly, which represents the heaviest weight point of
the wheel assembly. "

This is exactly what you said, and the exact opposite of what I had said,
so I appreciate that you bring up that my memory was faulty.

Moving on for confirmation... I'll tackle a couple more hits & respond, but
I wanted to THANK YOU for bringing up the point that my memory was faulty,
which I APPRECIATE greatly!

I'm always beholden to facts as I abhor imaginary belief systems.

On 4/29/2019 1:48 AM, Arlen G. Holder wrote:
> UPDATE:
>
> Today I mounted & static balanced my 30th tire in about five years, where
> each time I do this easy job, I learn new tricks to make it even easier.

Avoid static balancing at all cost.

"sms" > wrote in message
...
> On 4/29/2019 1:48 AM, Arlen G. Holder wrote:
>> UPDATE:
>>
>> Today I mounted & static balanced my 30th tire in about five years, where
>> each time I do this easy job, I learn new tricks to make it even easier.
>
> Avoid static balancing at all cost.

That’s overstate, its better than nothing.

On Thu, 2 May 2019 03:53:46 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:

>>> Today I mounted & static balanced my 30th tire in about five years, where
>>> each time I do this easy job, I learn new tricks to make it even easier.
>>
>> Avoid static balancing at all cost.
>
> That¢s overstate, its better than nothing.

LOL You just HAVE to auto-contradict. It's better for you than saying
nothing at all, you abnormal 85-year-old senile cretin!

--
Richard addressing Rot Speed:
"**** you're thick/pathetic excuse for a troll."
MID: >