Tire fitting: when to change shoes
Very soon, drivers will once again be lining up at tire shops to “change the shoes” of their car by spring. Regardless of whether this is your first spring driving or not, an annual tire change is always like the first time. Therefore, you should never lose vigilance during this process.
In anticipation of the mass replacement of winter tires with summer tires, we have prepared tips that will help you understand whether you have contacted a high-quality tire service, how professionally they will treat your car and how you can save on the annual replacement of tires for your car.
Tip #1: Monitor the temperature
There are several opinions on the temperature at which it is necessary to change winter tires to summer ones. However, listening to them is dangerous, since the weather is unpredictable. A week-long thaw may unexpectedly give way to frost and ice. And there will definitely be bad luck for those who hastened to “change their shoes.” Wait until the warm weather sets in completely. This minimizes the risk of snow or ice.
Tip No. 2. Don’t worry about winter tires deteriorating when driving on ice-free roads.
This advice is relevant for those who prefer studded winter tires. Don't worry that the studs will quickly fall out if you drive for a long time on asphalt without ice and snow. In this case, they will simply go into the tire. And you won’t have to drive on bare asphalt for so long. This period from the beginning of the thaw to the final establishment of comfortable weather for the transition to summer tires takes only two to three weeks.
Tip No. 3. Choose a trusted car service
To “change the shoes” of your car, you shouldn’t go to the first tire shop you come across. We don’t argue, perhaps masters with “golden hands” work there. But you probably don't know that. And if they are not such a pro at all, you will find out after the wheels start knocking while driving and they will need additional balancing. Choose the car service that you have already visited, or one of those that can be recommended by drivers whose opinions you listen to.
Tire fitting: making your life easier
When doing tire fitting, try to make your life as easy as possible.
Tip #4: Get in line by phone
The peak of the car “change of shoes” season is characterized by long lines in front of tire workshops. To avoid wasting time in line, find out in advance the phone number of the mechanic to whom you will entrust your car. Call and let us know that you want to come at a time that suits you. In other words, delegate to him the authority to take your turn.
Tip No. 5. “Change your shoes” without leaving the office
This option is suitable for the busiest young ladies. Nowadays, mobile tire fitting service is popular. The cost is slightly higher than at stationary points, but there is a significant time saving. The mechanic can come either to the office or to the house. They work efficiently, all the equipment is in the truck.
Tip No. 6. Use discount cards from friends and colleagues
Many tire shops provide their customers with discounts on discount cards. If someone from your circle wouldn't mind lending it to you, use it. The price of the issue is usually small - up to 10%. However, the word “discount” always warms the soul. And besides, you will go to an already proven tire shop, where no unpleasant surprises will arise.
Tire fitting: technical aspects
You made life easier for yourself before the tire fitting procedure, now your task is not to complicate it for yourself after “re-shoeing”.
Tip No. 7. Pay attention to technical nuances
The equipment in a tire workshop can tell a lot about the professional level of its workers. Make sure that all the wheels of your car are removed at once, and not one by one. The fact is that if one of them is slightly worse than the others, for safety reasons you need to put it on rear axle. If a mechanic works with each wheel separately, this method of creating a comfortable ride becomes impossible.
The machine used to balance wheels must stand on a concrete base and be screwed to the floor. Otherwise, it will wobble and show incorrect measurements.
When changing tires, the one you brought to the service station should be packed in plastic bags and placed in the trunk of the car.
Tip #8: Ask for a receipt confirming the work was completed.
This way you will protect yourself from any misunderstandings that may arise when installing car tires. Loose or twisted bolts on the rims, low or high atmospheric pressure in the tires will make themselves felt when driving. In order not to spend your money on eliminating the problem, declare your right to free service. If mechanics disagree with you, remind them of consumer protection laws.
Tip No. 9. Ask about the work guarantee
Any self-respecting auto repair shop will provide a guarantee on their work. If within a week the “rebooted” car behaves incorrectly, you can return to diagnose the problem. And if it was caused by mechanics, they will fix it for free.
Tip #10: Provide proper storage winter tires
After your car changes winter tires to summer tires, you need to take care of the wheels that will await the new snowy season. They need to be stored in plastic bags in a dry place, which will ensure a longer period of use in the future. A balcony, garage or basement is suitable for this.
Are you ready to change from winter tires to summer tires? We hope so. Now all that remains is to wait for the right weather so that your car knows that summer is coming.
An integral part of any road transport are tires, without which it is impossible to imagine normal and safe driving. Therefore, it is very important to replace on time summer option for winter and vice versa, to ensure maximum safe driving in any weather conditions and road surface. Next, we’ll talk in more detail about in what cases and how you can change your tires to winter ones yourself.
The main reasons for changing tires.
— Damage or puncture of a tire is common cause, when the car owner needs to replace the car tires. It is not recommended to continue driving with a damaged tire. This may lead to emergency situation on road. If your tire gets punctured, you can call a tow truck, a mobile tire service, or try to change the tire yourself. To do this, you need to have a backup option, as well as everything necessary tools. If you do not have certain knowledge and skills, it is recommended to use the services of mobile tire fitting. This will guarantee safe movement.
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— Significant tread wear is another common reason when a tire needs to be replaced. 1.6 mm is the maximum permissible minimum, which cannot be exceeded. Otherwise the bus will not be able to provide required level clutch with road surface.
— Load, temperature conditions, storage conditions and driving style directly affect the condition of any tires. To avoid unexpected punctures and cracks, it is recommended to constant review tires in order to promptly identify possible damage in the future.
- It is also worth remembering that directional stability car installation affects various types tires Therefore, it is recommended to trust only specialists in selecting tires for your vehicle.
- In addition, it is mandatory seasonal replacement tires to ensure reliable grip on the road surface in all weather conditions.
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To change tires, the price in Moscow is the lowest in the mobile tire service “Puncture”.
How to “change the shoes” of cars yourself?
- First stage.
If you have certain knowledge and skills, the process of changing a tire is not as complicated as it seems at first glance. For this you need reverse side Place the disc on a prepared surface covered with waste cloth. The rubber and disc should be wetted with soapy water to facilitate the tensioning process. new tire. It is not recommended to use oil; a soap solution will be sufficient.
- Second phase.
We place the tire on top of the lubricated disk, and pressing evenly on its surface, we try to pull it onto the disk. In this case, only part of the tire will fit onto the rim, so you will also need to use a hammer and a pry bar. In this case, you need to act very carefully so as not to damage the surface of the tire.
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- Third stage.
It will take approximately no more than two hours to replace the tire. In this case, it is necessary to ensure the tightness of the connection so that air does not get between the boundary and the tire rim.
To resolve this issue, you must do the following:
— We use a tire instead of a compressor, inflating it with twice the normal pressure. This is only possible if you have a spare wheel. Otherwise you need to look alternative ways.
— We ignite the fuel in the middle of the tire. The tire will inflate due to the vapor. This will allow you to properly tension it onto the disc.
For a car, winter does not begin on December 1, but at the moment when the air temperature drops below 7 degrees Celsius. At this point, tires made from a rubber-technical mixture for use in hot weather begin to harden. Consequently - braking distances car increases sharply (depending on weather conditions - from 40 to 200%). In addition, a car with summer tires skids in corners and may slip at the start: it’s time to change your shoes. We learned how a driver can avoid making mistakes.
The massive road accident that occurred on the first cold morning of this year, October 19, eloquently speaks about the consequences that driving on summer tires at temperatures below zero can lead to. After overnight frosts, the road in the morning was covered with a thin crust of ice. Some drivers continued to drive in a “summer style”: briskly maneuvering, trying to squeeze through the traffic. However, the adhesion coefficient summer wheels with the road on such a surface decreased by 4 times - as a result, a collision of 9 (!) cars occurred.
And the chain accident began with the fact that the culprit of the accident skidded at low speed, and he flew into oncoming lane. Fortunately, only the iron was damaged. But if the same thing happened at a speed of even 60-70 km per hour, the consequences would be tragic.
Conventionally, winter tires can be divided into two groups. Firstly, the tires are of the Central European type, designed for asphalt roads that are regularly cleaned. Secondly, Arctic tires (other names - Scandinavian, Nordic), created specifically for snowy and icy roads. The difference between them is the hardness of the material. Thus, Arctic tires are soft (from 50 to 55 Shore hardness units - this parameter is stamped on the tread), which is only twice as hard as chewing gum.
We recommend wheels of the first type for residents of a metropolis, where the roads are cleaned and sprinkled with salt, that is, the car mainly moves through slush. But if you need to often travel between a big city and a suburb, then it is better to choose Arctic wheels. Due to their softness, they do not harden and cling well to ice (in driver's slang, such wheels are often called “Velcro”).
A protector for “our” winter. Must include transverse clearances, wide longitudinal grooves, and the height of the pattern elements is about 8-10 mm. Moreover, without thorns. Such wheels are designed for driving around the city, where snow is, at the very least, removed from the roads.
After you have determined the driving conditions, pay attention to the tread pattern: a high-quality winter tire should have a lot of rectangular checkers, small stripes (lamellas), due to which the winter tire holds the road better (as if clinging to the slightest irregularities with the lamellas).
Tire depth also matters. Although some experts advise buying wide wheels, but from many years of experience, for city driving I advise you to take narrow and high ones - according to the laws of physics, such a tire puts more pressure on the surface, and therefore its handling, braking distance and acceleration characteristics are much better. Due to bad roads Choose a tire with the deepest possible tread to increase ground clearance.
THE DIFFERENCE IS IN THE RECIPE
The slats are made of rubber
Absolutely all global concerns that produce tires produce cheap, medium-priced, and expensive models. At first glance, wheels of the same size differ slightly. However, the difference between expensive and cheap tires is colossal, even if the tread pattern is similar (or copied).
It's all about the rubber composition. The fact is that a car tire is made of several dozen components: natural and synthetic rubber, soot, silica, all kinds of chemical additives, the content of which varies depending on the mixture recipe. The most expensive component - rubber - is quite expensive. Therefore, in cheap tires they try to use it to a minimum - such tires feel like oak, plastic, and have an irritating odor.
It's not always worth paying for spikes
On the market, these types of tires are sold under Chinese, Turkish brands, as well as from some factories in the CIS countries. It is interesting that for their level the price is quite high - for one wheel of 14th radius they ask for about 500 UAH.
Let us note that for tires of normal quality (manufactured under European and Japanese licenses at factories in Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Russia) they ask for about 100-200 UAH. more, and, judging by numerous tests, their quality is many times higher.
By the way, studded options are a third more expensive than regular ones. But you should only buy them if you live outside the city.
WINTER TIRES DO NOT ALWAYS SAVE
Weather. During the winter, driving conditions can change many times
Even if the car is re-shod in the most expensive tires, it’s not worth driving just as recklessly as in summer. The fact is that there are no universal tires for winter - each model is designed for certain operating conditions, and they can radically change several times during the season. For example, a driver purchased tires for driving on ice and deep snow, and suddenly there was a thaw outside and I had to drive through the slush. So every time you choose safe speed it is necessary to take into account absolutely all factors that can affect safety (this is also required by traffic regulations).
3 NUANCES OF CHANGING SHOES
Technical process. In good workshops, wheels are tightened by hand. Photo by G. Salai
Despite the fact that today tire shops can be found on every corner, and there are still no queues of people wanting to change summer tires to winter ones, we advise you to approach the choice of a workshop responsibly.
Don't wear your shoes where you bought them. Most workshops not only provide service, but also sell tires. At first glance it is convenient. I arrived with summer ones, bought them, immediately changed them and even offered to leave the summer ones in storage until spring. However, my friends had several cases when the seller gave them crooked tires (such a defect cannot be seen by the naked eye), but the tire fitter “did not notice” this defect and installed unbalanced wheels. The result is problems with controllability and noise. And the cause of the problems could only be found out when visiting another tire shop.
Look at the machines. It is impossible to perform balancing on poor equipment, so take a careful look at the tools of the masters. So, the balancing machine must be installed on a concrete pad and securely fastened - otherwise its readings are just numbers from the ceiling. And on the feet of the tire beading machine there should be special plastic pads to avoid scratches on the rim. By the way, the master is obliged to wash the wheel before balancing, otherwise dirt can lead to errors in the equipment readings - when there are long queues, the masters often forget about this in a hurry.
Be careful, air gun. Craftsmen can unscrew and tighten nuts using pneumatics. But tighten it only by hand. Otherwise, you can make a mistake with the wheel alignment, which will affect the chassis.
WHO IS ALL SEASON TIRES SUITABLE FOR?
Ukrainian car dealerships now continue to sell so-called all season tires(with a mark on the cord All Seasons). For the consumer, purchasing such wheels is quite attractive - in the spring there will be no need to change shoes again.
FROM EUROPE. You can buy such wheels, but only if you will not drive in very coldy. The fact is that, according to its characteristics, these are ordinary summer tires, intended for sale in countries where there is no winter in our understanding - 5 degrees below zero is considered terrible cold (such wheels are brought to Ukraine by “gray” dealers, buying them cheap during the sales season ). According to tests of a number of foreign publications, such wheels can easily withstand slush, but during snowfall and on ice their efficiency drops sharply.
There are also a number of all-season tires designed for vans and small trucks. This equipment does not drive fast, and re-shoeing is not economically feasible.
ONSHI TIRES. In our country, tires developed back in the Soviet Union as all-season tires are still sold - they are produced by CIS enterprises. Interestingly, they are in steady demand - they are bought by drivers of Zhiguli, Niv, Volga, and Moskvich vehicles. But no tragedies occur: usually such people either do not drive in winter or only drive short distances.
Vladislav Bovsunovsky
With the arrival of spring, more and more owners of personal vehicles are beginning to think about the process of replacing tires on their cars. Like regular shoes, car tires have features that allow them to be used at certain times of the year.
Application is not the right type leads to additional expenses for the car owner's financial resources or can lead to the creation of dangerous conditions on the roads.
Differences and Features
The main difference between both tire options is the different technology used to create rubber shoes for cars. Winter tires feel great at low temperatures, but during hot weather conditions they tend to soften. This feature can lead to loss of control over the car in the warm season, which means it will create a dangerous situation on the roads, which can lead to casualties. When the temperature rises, the service life winter version tire coverage is noticeably reduced. This type of rubber breaks down quickly in warm weather conditions, especially when the vehicle hits potholes or the vehicle goes over obstacles.
Summer tires for a car have completely opposite properties - when low temperatures the tire surface becomes very hard, which leads to bad grip with road surface. Even on clean road Such tires behave very poorly in noticeable cold weather. Driving a car on summer tires on an icy road very often leads to disastrous consequences, which can be accompanied by loss of life or large financial waste associated with serious repair work Vehicle.
When and how to
Each vehicle owner replaces winter tires with summer tires, according to his personal beliefs. There is no specific time when this procedure should be carried out, so every car enthusiast can do the replacement car tires at any time convenient for him. It is recommended to replace winter tires with summer tires when the night air temperature is constantly positive. Shift too early car tires may lead to the need to drive a vehicle during traditional morning frosts, which is not conducive good control over the car.
Replacing car tires is a fairly simple process - at the station Maintenance this procedure It takes no more than half an hour of free time, and such a process is quite inexpensive. However, many car owners prefer to replace winter tires with summer tires themselves. Of course, you can install demi-season tires on your vehicle, but this option has several significant shortcomings. First of all, this is the price, which is significantly higher than that of conventional analogues. The second disadvantage is that this version of tires does not have full positive qualities winter and summer tires. That is, a demi-season tire in winter and summer has lower technical characteristics than traditional rubber options for various weather conditions.
If a car owner has the opportunity to completely change the wheels of his vehicle, then replacing shoes will not require much effort and waste of personal time. To carry out all work, you must have a tubular wrench at your disposal. suitable size and a car jack. The nuts on the wheels of the car are unscrewed until the body of the vehicle is raised, then the vehicle is raised to the required height and the process of replacing car shoes is carried out. The wheels should be secured in a cross-shaped manner, which is again done with a full load on the new element car.
Even with this simple process all safety precautions must be observed: the car must stand on a flat and solid surface, be installed on hand brake, and is additionally secured with shoes. If you cannot find sufficiently hard ground, you should place a wide enough board under the jack support to reduce the pressure force generated by the car.
Some vehicle owners do not use additional wheel assemblies in their everyday life - in such cases they have to carry out tire fitting. This process is also not a particularly complicated procedure, although most people try to perform it in service organizations. For those who do not know how to bead a wheel themselves, here is a description of this process.
This procedure will require two special blades for installation. The wheel rim is pre-lubricated with a regular soap solution, then the tire is torn off using the wide ends of the blades. seat. This will require a certain physical effort to squeeze the rubber material from the metal base. Changing a tire occurs in the reverse order using the same tool, moving it around the perimeter of the car wheel.
Choosing summer tires for a car
Rubber, like regular shoes, has a large amount different types, which have their own characteristics and technical characteristics. An analogy would be appropriate here: a person wears sneakers primarily for sports or personal convenience, while shoes are more intended for creating an image and wearing them at receptions or going to work. Also different kinds car tires are designed for different uses.
Summer car tires can be road or high-speed. If the first option fits the standard driving process, then high-speed tires are installed on sports vehicles or by fans of high-speed road travel.
There are three types of tread patterns on car tires:
This option copes well with driving in bad weather conditions in summer time years, for example, when driving on wet roads. The disadvantage of this tire option is the lack of long term operation of the product and the impossibility of installing it on the opposite side vehicle;
2. Symmetrical tread pattern.
Advantage of this type is a long service life and quite good specifications products;
3. Asymmetrical tread pattern.
It has the main positive features of the first two types of car tire tread pattern.
For short-distance urban travel, the second type of tire is an ideal option. Car owners who make long journeys along highways usually use a directional tread pattern as the most suitable for this process. For lovers drive fast The ideal option is to purchase a third type of car tires, since it is most suitable for this type of vehicle driving.
For lovers extreme driving you should purchase wide-profile tires, as they cope better with dangerous situations on roads and have a long service life. If you like leisurely driving and are used to saving your cash, then narrow-profile tires are your ideal choice.
When choosing between standard and low profile tires It should be taken into account that the second option shows good stability car, while significantly reducing the comfortable state when driving the vehicle. In addition, this version of summer tires costs much more than traditional tires and has a significantly shorter service life.
Conclusion
In the end I would like to mention her one important factor When choosing summer tires, you should carefully read the markings on the tire and know the technical characteristics of your vehicle. Different variants tires have different speed limits and possible load on each wheel of the car. Very important element when choosing tires, the load and speed indexes are used, which are located on the surface of the tire in one place. For example, the designation "90T" means that maximum load per vehicle wheel should not exceed 600 kg, and speed mode limited to 190 km/h.
http://avtofactovic.ru/zamenit-rezinu/ — link
Replacing tires on a VW Passat B3 with your own hands
A couple of years ago, when I had a crappy jack, I personally changed a wheel on a car only in forced cases.
The jack had a handle that had to be turned for a long time, first in one direction to raise the car, and then in the other to lower it.
To replace winter tires with summer tires, I took the car to a tire shop, fortunately, they charge money for this service like a god.
Well, at one fine moment I decided that I could no longer live without a rolling jack.
Immediately after the purchase it turned out that in the jack cylinder low level oils I had to add a spindle or something similar to it, and it still worked.
Returning to replacing tires: it has now become considered normal to have two sets of wheels, one with winter studded tires, and the second with summer tires.
Why do you need winter and summer tires?
The tread of summer tires is less deep, and the tire itself is harder than the winter tire; the contact area between the rubber and the road is small, and the car spends less power to overcome friction, but at the same time has sufficient grip on the road surface, and, accordingly, can develop higher speed, optimally using fuel.
And in winter, especially on ice, the friction between the tires and the road is not enough, and for normal driving you need tricks like deep tread, soft rubber and metal spikes.
When I was a child, people either didn’t have studded tires at all, or were forced to trim their tires twice a season, and most didn’t have cars and walked. Or maybe I have incorrect memories from childhood about this side of the life of motorists?
Returning again to replacing tires, now finally: now I change the wheels myself. This is easy to do, especially if you have a good jack, good key and a VW Passat B3.
I start by laying out everything I need next to the car and putting on household gloves. Then I take it off the wheel decorative cap and using a wrench I loosen all four bolts securing the wheel.
You can’t unscrew them completely yet, even if you really want to.
What is good about the Volkswagen Passat is that the bolts can be unscrewed easily and quickly; you only have to apply force to move the bolt out of place, and then you can twist it with your fingers.
After the bolts are loosened, you need to jack up the car.
A rolling hydraulic jack is the most convenient for this purpose, in my opinion.
When the wheel is already hanging freely in the air, I finally unscrew the bolts and remove it.
Summer tires can be stored away from now on.
I reinstall the wheel with winter tire and screw it on.
Then I lower the jack and put a decorative branded cap on the wheel.
I change three more wheels in the same way. After replacing them, the car is ready for use winter road. On the way to the city you will need to stop by a tire shop and check the tire pressure.
