How To Mount and Balance A Tire -EricTheCarGuy

I often get asked how to mount and balance a tire with tools at home and the truth is that's WAYYY too hard. It's much better and easier to use the equipment that was designed for it. In this video I show exactly that, how to use the proper equipment to mount and balance a tire. It's not terribly exciting but I do show some things that are necessary when performing this work on an aluminum wheel. You MUST clean the bead area before you mount a new tire onto an aluminum wheel or else it will forever leak at the bead. I say this because all too often I see a tire that leaks air that's just been installed where the rim was not cleaned. Enough of my soap box. Also this video only covers the 'basic' tire mount and balance. When it comes to low profile or large tires it's a bit more complicated. As far as tires go these are pretty easy and straightforward.

I'd like to thank my friend Scott Armstrong for his assistance and for letting us film in his garage. If you're in the Cincinnati area and looking for auto repair work I suggest you contact him as he's a heck of a mechanic.

Armstrong Automotive: 513-939-3903

Stay dirty

ETCG

Due to factors beyond the control of EricTheCarGuy, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information.  EricTheCarGuy assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. EricTheCarGuy recommends safe practices when working with power tools, automotive lifts, lifting tools, jack stands, electrical equipment, blunt instruments, chemicals, lubricants, or any other tools or equipment seen or implied in this video.  Due to factors beyond the control of EricTheCarGuy, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result.  Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not EricTheCarGuy.

[fredwiles]

Something to note as being a mechanic: when breaking the tire seals, always be mindful of where the valve stem is, because some wheels, especially on new cars, have sensors that connect to the inside rim. If the machine arm hits that sensor, chances are, mits going to be crushed and 99% of the time damaged. To prevent this, keep the valve stem at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions, to break the seal on both sides of the tire and to keep the sensor as far as possible from the tire.

[NullHad]

Me being a tire guy myself, I really appreciated how thoroughly he cleaned the bead of the wheel before mounting the tire, however, I ALWAYS go a step further and bead seal the wheel after cleaning it. I found that the soapy water solution I use for lubrication can enhance the rate at which the wheel corrodes. So the bead sealer not only seals the bead of the wheel to the rubber, it seals the clean surface of the rim and helps fight corrosion.

[g.b]

Thank you, finally one of the few videos that explain how to in detail! just got a job at a tyre fitting store and just wanted to have a good understanding great video

[Ttrizzi]

For some reason these machines were my favorite part of Auto school. thanks for the nostalgia Eric!

[golfmanmatt]

As someone who mounted and balanced tires for 2 years, it's nice to see someone actually clean the lip of the rim for once. Beware of the cheap tire places because the kids working there mostly are never taught this ending up in rims leaks. He is right that bead sealer is crap. It's like trying to polish a turd.

[dadmezz]

Thank you Scott and Eriic. This brought back memories balancing tires with a dynamic balancer which had strobe lines indicating somewhat were the weights went....and bubble balancing for two piece truck ringed rims....widowmakers.

[RedVision]

Noticed the 12min+ video length and was about to abort.. glad I didn't there wasn't much filler, and turned out to be just what I was looking for. Great video.

[AlexGreenwoodUkulele]

Hehehehe the idea behind the dots, usually there's a yellow and a red. The yellow is the lightest point of the tyre, the red is the heaviest.

You're meant to balance just the rim alone to find where the light spot is. Then you put the red dot (the heaviest point of the tyre) at the lightest point. If you don't want to balance the wheel, the yellow dot should be placed around the valve because it's a logically-heavier spot of the wheel; It's strengthened to make up for the hole in the metal and has the valve sat there.

Remove tyre. Clean wheel rim. Place rim on balance machine and check wheel balance values. Mark lightest/heaviest spots of the rim with caulk/crayon. Place rim on tyre machine and mount tyre, lining up the dots as needed. Heavy rim spot wants the light tyre spot and vica-versa.

[vladrifescala]

very helpful video for a new tire technician, Eric is one of the most professionally skilled and helpful technician. God bless you guys.

[isellfoodstampz]

Great to know there's a good mechanic in my area, thanks for pointing me his way Eric.

[irvin]

I just love how Eric is so excited lol

[faffaflunkie]

Wow- that Scott's a pro- glad to see that they still exist in a sketchy industry like _auto-repair._ Good upload.

[addythebattydaddy.x]

This video is really helpful. I have a test today in my auto shop class on how to mount a tire. Thanks Eric!

[andys]

As a tyre technician, nothing felt more satisfying than a perfectly balanced wheel.

[fatrat]

Great video Eric. Really shows exactly how the pros change a tire. It's too bad that most shops wont allow people to see how the work is done. Nice that through you people can see exactly what is being done to their vehicles. And to be able to make informed choices about who will work on their cars and trucks.

[jgizzy]

Scott's a pretty cool guy, I will look into that 'Slippery' spray he used that seems way better than using my lard bucket.

[CraigArndt]

I had Yokohama Avid's on my 2001.5 Passat. They were the best tire I've ever put on a car. Long life, quiet and handled like a dream. Eric, you'll love them. I had Blizzaks for winter. Similarly, the best SUV tire is the Bridgestone Duelers, great wear, relatively quiet and for someone that goes off-road, they do great in mud and snow. Good vid bud.

[kashwar]

Love this video. Very helpful dude, thanks for sharing the knowledge.

[WhiskeyOnFire]

I just started as a mechanic student at a technical institute. And this helped me out alot instead of some of the jibber-jabber my textbook say. Thanks!

[manuelmagana]

Super chill video great info thank you both! I don’t know anything about tires & just learned a whole lot just by this video specifically why I seen weights on side of tires 😮