I'm thinking about going in with a friend to buy a tire changer and a balancer.. but since I'm not an expert in this field, I have no clue if what I'm looking at is a good deal or not..

I'm currently looking at Ranger RX950 and Ranger (Bent Pak) DST-1000.

Any info or experience with changers would be greatly appreciate it.. Lately, I'm sick of paying $70 to change out tires (2 tires) and worrying about people scratching the tires..

 

The only thing I know is that you gotta play to pay. The shop I go to uses a $15k machine.

There has to be a good bmw or porsche shop by you that can do a good job at the right price. I always check the bmw forums when looking for info like that.

 

It would be very hard for someone that has never mounted a tire to mount a 35 or 30 series tire without damaging the tire or wheel. With the 15k machines, all you do is set up the machine and the machine will do all the hard work. It takes out all the thinking.

The hardest thing about mounting a low pro tire is the upper bead. In order to mount a tire, the upper bead of the tire has to stay below a certain point on the wheel, usually where the diameter is smaller than the wheel(the bead of the wheel). Thats how you can mount a 17 inch tire on a 17 inch wheel. But on a low profile tire, the side wall is short and stiff and does not stretch much. When you mount the tire, the upper bead will want to pop out off the wheel and will not want to stay below the bead of the wheel. The higher end machines have have a built in helper arm that pushes down on the tire as you mount it.

The machine that you are looking at does not have a helper arm. So the person mounting the tire will have to use two pry bars. With the left hand you keep the tire below the bead of the wheel, and the right hand is to keep the tire going under the bead. Than the left foot steps on a pedal that rotates the wheel clockwise. As the wheel rotates, you have to move the pry bars counter-clockwise so that the tire stays below the bead of the wheel. But when you do this sometimes the leading edge of the tire pops out of the wheel, so as you mount the tire, it unmounts it self. If you had two people, the other person acts as the "helper arm" that keeps the tire down as you rotate and mount the tire. Sometimes when your left and right hand are at direct opposite ends of the wheel its hard to apply pressure downwards and sometimes the pry bars end up flying up in the air, usually barely missing your eye.

I use a similar machine at work as the one that you are looking at. Its possible to mount low pro file tires if you know what you are doing. Its not easy, but its doable. Especially if your rims are "reverse mount" wheels. Where the tire is mounted with the wheel up side down, so you will never damage the face/lip of the wheel.


You can compare what you are looking at vs the more expensive units, the most important things is the helper arm, or " Upper Bead Assist Roller"
https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/p-14518-18032.aspx

And you will also need a really big air compressor to bead and unbead the tire. If you have the space and can get it dirt cheap, go for it. I guess you are looking at used equipment, so ask the guy to show you how to use it.

 

if you're mounting tires that are going to be stretched (like a 235/40 on a 18x10), they're usually pretty easy to mount on a machine like that.

but like rx7will said, without the hydrolic arm to help push the bead of the tire down, 'normal' fitting low profile tires are VERY hard to mount... esp. with higher performance tires that have stiff sidewalls.

 

rx7will, thanks for that feedback... Looks like it would be better for me to just get someone else to do the work I was just thinking about it as I have several sets of wheels and tires I need to change out.. But by your description, Its better that I spend $500 on changing tires than 15k??... Unless you think Ranger R26ST would do the job?? If so, I might still go in and get one of those..

I need to mount tires ranging from 215/45s, 225/45s, 275/35, 285/30s, 295/30s, 315/30s...

 

I looked at Ranger as a cheap alternative to COATS but have to say that the ranger doesn't have as strong a motor and also the mounting head is not teflon so can potentially damage a wheel.

These were the 2 reasons why i'd spend the extra few grand and get the COATS or CORGHI stuff.

Rishie

 

Rishie,

What model of Corghi do you have?

 

I have no experience with the ranger stuff, i only showed a pic of the ranger R26ST to show the helper arm. The R26ST should get the job done. The machine that i use does not have a teflon head, but it has a little plastic linner on the head. On the bottom of the line machines, you have to be very careful and mount the tires slowly. Its a lot of stop and go.

How much are you getting the machines for.

 

I actually have all Hunter equipment.

TC3500 and GSP9700 with road force

However with today's crazy sidewalls i'd prefer to get something that has

additional drop arms to help fold the tire when mounting.

The hunter is nice cause it appears to conserve some space but the other ones i feel are truly SINGLE MAN OPERATION, don't need multiple tire bars.

 

Well I was charged $18 to put on 225/45 R17 Kumho's on a 17" wheel, and get it balanced too ($9 to mount, $9 to balance) at Discount Tire. I think that's a pretty good deal, and in the long run you're gonna have to change your tires thousands of times before the equipment starts to pay off.

 

ive used both of the machines your looking at countless times.. and they are very easy machines to use, but like they said, its not teflon and has a great possibility to ruin a rim, ive watched that machine mess up a few good wheels.

 

After listening to all of you, i've decided that its not worth the money to buy a cheap machine.. Thanks again for all your comments and advice. This is why I love this forum

 

$70 for 2 tires? Over here they charge $11 dollars a tire to mount/unmount. They sure are ripping you off over there.