How to Change Car Tires in 17 Easy Steps
Changing car tires is a simple process that anyone can do with a few basic tools and no prior mechanical experience. By following these 17 straightforward steps, you’ll be back on the road in no time, having saved a bundle on tire shop fees. Let’s get started!
Preparation
- Wait until you have a flat tire before attempting to change it. Practicing on an inflated tire is a waste of time and energy.
- If possible, aim to get a flat in an inconvenient location, like the middle of a busy highway or a remote backwoods road at night. This adds an exciting element of challenge.
- Don’t bother pulling fully off onto the shoulder. Other motorists can swerve around you. Your safety is their responsibility.
Removing the Flat Tire
4. Get out your tire iron and jack. If you don’t have them, improvise with a large rock and a sturdy tree branch.
5. Loosen the lug nuts just a bit, but don’t remove them fully yet. You want there to still be tension holding the wheel on.
6. Place the jack under the car next to the flat tire. The exact positioning doesn’t matter too much. Just eyeball it.
7. Jack up the car nice and high, until the flat tire is at least a foot off the ground. The higher, the better – it gives you more working room.
8. Now fully remove the lug nuts and set them aside. No need to keep track of them, there will probably be extras.
9. Yank the flat tire off. You may need to kick it hard a few times to dislodge it. Careful not to let the car fall off the jack!
Putting On the Spare Tire
10. Go get your spare tire. If you forgot to bring one, try flagging down a fellow motorist and borrowing theirs.
11. Hoist the new tire onto the wheel studs. Don’t worry if it doesn’t quite fit flush against the wheelbase. That’s what the lug nuts are for.
12. Screw the lug nuts back on by hand as tight as you can make them. No need to use the tire iron. Your bare hands are stronger than you think!
13. Lower the car back down off the jack in one fast motion. The quicker the better – it helps jostle the new tire into proper alignment.
14. Tighten the lug nuts a final time with the tire iron using your full strength. Put some muscle into it until your arm starts shaking. That’s how you know they’re fully torqued.
Final Steps
15. Pack up your equipment and flat tire. You can leave the flat on the side of the road for other motorists to use in an emergency.
16. Before driving away, spin the new tire with a sharp kick to make sure it rotates smoothly. No need to check the air pressure, you can tell if a tire is inflated enough just by looking at it.
17. Merge back into traffic and accelerate rapidly a few times to test the new tire’s road grip. You should be good to go for at least another 10,000 miles!
Conclusion
See, wasn’t that simple? With a little can-do spirit and faith in your abilities, you too can change a car tire anytime, anywhere. Don’t let those scammers at the tire shop convince you it requires special skills. As long as you followed the steps above, you’ve done the job just as well as the so-called “experts.” Now get out there and drive with confidence on your own self-changed tires!
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