Mount and Balance Tires at Home: Manual Tire Changer & Bubble Balancer

Tire Changer One Year Update Video with Tips & Tricks https://youtu.be/QND8n_ArNRo?si=XUwyuzHL1dCcrmhl Manual Tire Changing Series: Part 1 - Manual Changer Overview & Mounting https://youtu.be/06Jr9t1CnNQ?si=wvgbwoxDUN1l1LLG Part 2 - Duck Head Modification & Tire Removal https://youtu.be/wXsloeT0QhE?si=4UjZIhoC37FezvoB Part 3 - Mounting & Balancing Tire youtu.be/IX7DvJo7A8E?si=OTW5yzmpjdq7W5tL Part 4 - Repairing Tire Shop Damaged Wheel https://youtu.be/hn0XbHgvnFY?si=Sm4y9yX2i7_zWbcm Part 5 - Valve Stem Replacement Without Tire Removal https://youtu.be/pr4bwIlc69o?si=waOAvduaulSryRZl

You had me convinced right up to "I just used my lathe" to fix the common accuracy issues all these balancers have.

I’ve been doing tires myself, my whole life with a manual bead breaker and an M-60 Micro bubble balancer! Next year I’ll be 60 and see no need to stop 😀😀

I used a bubble balance in 1971 at a Mobile Training Center. It was all we had back then. It worked just fine.

If you want it done right do it yourself. Tire shops can’t even get air pressure right and don’t care about your car.

You didn’t say goodbye to the tire shops, you became the tire shop 😊 👍

I have an old bubble balancer similar to yours. It’s been my experience that I balance tires better than the tire shop. I’m not saying it’s better than a computer balancer but it’s better than a sloppy mechanic with a computerized balancer. The best advice I can give is if the wheel requires much weight to balance use two weights half the size and put them 45 degrees apart centered on where the bubble indicates. If the rims are steel I put half on the inside and half on the outside. I’ve had tires vibrate from the tire shop and checked the balance on my static balancer to find they applied too much weight. Car drives perfect after I balance it. I’m sticking with what works.

One thing I learned and always do when seating the beads. I remove the valve core and use the air hose WITHOUT the quick connect chuck installed...this allows more air at a faster rate to fill the tire. Works great on harder to seat tires.

Hi John. I'm posting this here because it's your newest video and I want to make sure you saw it. I came across your flight school more than 10 years ago and was really helpful to me getting started. I left the hobby about 3-4 years later but just picked it up again about a week ago. Your videos have become really helpful again - about 8 year later. So, I just wanted to say thank you.

I worked at a Sam’s club tire shop going through school. I learned I could get the balance machine down to .05 tolerance vs the default .25 tolerance. So that’s what I did. Btw, my fav story is the time a guy brought his Honda civic in for 4 new tires. By the time he was done paying for it I handed him his keys back. 😂 you should have seen the look on his face. 4 of us at once worked on the vehicle. He was so dumbfounded he couldn’t talk. 😂

use to work in a tire shop and this is a very good tutorial on basic tire changing , i will ad that sometimes you need to remove the valve from the valve stem [more air volume] to get a tire to bead properly , will also ad that if you have never manually mounted a tire before it is a lot of work , until you aquire the skills and know how it can be quite a struggle depending on the tire a lot ...

Very impressive road test indeed ! It is such a great feeling to DIY knowing you did a cleaner ,nicer and probably as ( or more) accurate job than most shops where you cross your fingers they don't damage anything ( which they always do 90% of the time !! I've experienced scratches, leaks, wrong side rotation mounted...) Hmmm, that tire balancing machine at $ 1000 also has me salivating.....but is it Chiniseum quality and durability??? As you said, I have 2 cars with winter and summer tires plus 1 or 2 punctures a year so it is beginning to make sense to own this tire changing equipment !! Thanks again for taking the time to make those videos !

Very well done sir. I was impressed with your video in demonstrating what can be done in my own garage. I worked at a tire shop as a teenager and took for granted having the right equipment.

Nicely done, great example of how easy it can be. I live in the Rocky Mnts and there are a lot of us that have two sets of tires for summer and winter driving. Thanks.

Fantastic video. Thank you! I very much appreciate the thoroughness with which you approached the issues. About forty years ago, I routinely mounted my own motorcycle tires after buying the tires through the mail. No Internet then, lol! I have been curious about doing my own automobile tires, and this video is a huge help. Thanks again.

6:50 I think most people call that protrusion the "duck bill". This has been a great video. I change my own motorcycle tires with a duck head machine that I designed and built but the process is exactly the same. It's amazing how many "experts" out there do videos just like this but have no idea how to properly use the duck head. You nailed it perfectly; the new gold standard on how to do it correctly. But, having said that, a second rim clamp will make it easier. I space them so that they are about 1/3 of the circumference apart with the second one going in just where / when you start to apply pressure to the lever bar.

had a tire shop tell me I needed new rims because the new tires they installed wouldn't hold air for more than a week. The front passenger tire not more than 3 days. I took matters into my own hands, one by one, removed tire, dismounted then CLEANED the rim, elbow grease and a wire brush, remounted, installed back on car... Look Ma- no more flat tires. The amount of old rubber and debris left on my rims was not allowing the bead to seat and seal properly. I've always done my own motorcycle tires - now I'm doing my car and truck. I only had old fashioned tire irons- I now use the Harbor Freight 'special' but I modified it to actually work. Plenty of vids on how to make the HF tire changer 'your own'. Good luck everybody.

When I first started working for a gas station as I was working my way through college bubble balancing was the standard for all new tires. Even the Chevron rep who trained us stated that there is almost no reason to ever have to dynamic balance a tire when you're properly trained on static balancing procedures. You must almost always use two weights separated at at least 12 in or so on the side of the wheel. As one of the practices for static balancing.

Tip: This is something I saw someone else do that you could try. He called it the Y method to balance the wheel. For which you use two small weights opposite the heavy side with the placement of the weights spread so the three points make a Y shape. You can then adjust the weight placement to make it heavier by moving the weights together more, or lighter by spreading the weights. This works since you change the weight's leverage over the heavy side of the wheel by changing the spread.

I started working in shop with dad when about 11 in 1981 and back then we used old school bubble style balance mount with bubble. . .this is kool to watch..little effort,at home, done…thanks for video.