Tire condition is critical to vehicle safety. Tires wear out or fail for many reasons, not just because of manufacturing quality. Proper inflation, wheel rotation and balancing, exposure to sunlight or chemicals, road conditions & operating temperatures all contribute to tire wear.
Tire changes are best accomplished at a professional shop due to the expense of wheel balancing and tire changing equipment. The top of the line balancers and changers are made by Corghi. Wheel Products by McCourt also make wheel balancers and tire changer tools. Some popular models are the Corghi CORET66MWL140, which has the built-in wheel lift, the CORHD600 for Heavy Duty Truck, and the COREM8540. The COREM43 or the WPM-S210 wheel balancers are great economy models for the smaller automotive repair shops, and the WPM-S110 and the CORA9220TI are excellent tire changers. Specialty tire shops normally prefer the CORAG52L, CORET66MWL140 professional high quality machines. Many Corghi and Wheel Products by McCourt can change and balance Motorcycle Wheels / Tires also.
Tire inflation should be checked weekly, if not more often. Chrysler, Audi, Volvo, & GMC may have slightly different mileage requirements for balancing wheels than Mercury or Jeep, and even heavy duty trucks like International, Sterling or Freightliner. Some people find it convenient to have their wheels rotated and balanced at every other oil change.
A typical experience involves jacking the vehicle and removing the wheels. Jacking can be done with a floor jack, like the OTC1717, and then put on jack stands, like part number OTC1772B. Some shops use full vehicle lifts. Wheels are removed using hand tools or pneumatic tools. Ingersol Rand makes the ING-IR231C, which is a very popular tool to remove automotive wheels with. Then the wheels are put on the tire changer machine, and the rubber tire is removed. After the wheel is cleaned and inspected, the new tire is installed, inflated, & put on the wheel balancer machine. The wheels are rotated very quickly and the computer in the machine indicates the position and the weight required. The mechanic or technician then installs a balance weight to the wheel and repeats the process until the wheel is properly balanced. Then the wheel is installed back on the vehicle. Then the jack stands are removed and the vehicle is lowered, or the vehicle is lowered and removed from the lift.
These procedures are normally done at a tire specialty shop but most repair shops will have a wheel balance and tire changer machine. The COREM43 or the WPM-S210 wheel balancers are great economy models for the smaller automotive repair shops, and the WPM-S110 and the CORA9220TI are excellent tire changers. Specialty tire shops normally prefer the CORAG52L, CORET66MWL140 professional high quality machines.
