HOWTO: Change Your Summer Tires to Winter Meats!

[viennatech]

Changing to Winter Tires on your LX Explained!
I have read many posts from people who had a lot of trouble changing tires, working with the tools and whatnot that I felt it worth my while to contribute to the knowledgebase with a semi-yearly chore. Since I live in the snow country it is important to run Winter tires in the snowy season. It is less expensive as well because while I run on the winter's, the summers idle.
What is Required:
21 MM Deep Socket (1/2" Drive Preferred)
Johnson Bar (1/2" Drive Preferred)
Torque Wrench (1/2" Drive Preferred)
Helper (Lots of drive needed!)

My helper today is my 8 year old son who is stronger than he looks!
You'll need some Tires:


I bought mine from the Site supporter AdamC at Eastway Chrysler. I found these awesome Toyo Observe G02 series mounted on Chrysler 17 inch wheels ready to go in this thread: http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?t=41296 He was able to ship them to me and beat every local dealer in price as well as outstanding service!
Obligatory Before and After Pix:

BEFORE AFTER
Steps:
1: Raise Car
Using whatever method you prefer, get the wheel off the ground. I went with a Hydraulic jack and did one wheel at a time. You could use the Factory jack if you follow my method, or if you are famous, you could use a hoist.
To begin, block the wheel opposite to that which you want to remove.

Then have your helper work the jack while you supervise.


2: Loosen those Nuts
Now many people said these nuts were too tight, I mean COME ON NOW!! To quote the famous high school auto shop teacher Mr. Ragde,
"It's not STRENGTH, it's TECHNIQUE!" It's all in HOW you work the wrench and not at all how strong you are.
This is NOT the right way!
Mr. Ragde's Famous Tire Removal System:
To loosen a lug nut most people will try to stand on the wrench, or jump on it or try all sorts of insane techniques that do little to remove the wheel but much damage to their nuts! Here is what WORKS.

• Ensure that the Wheel is "Free" and able to turn in either direction.
• Place your Johnson bar on the first lug nut. You will be using a "Push/Pull" technique so you will want to be standing such that your body is facing the right way. For tires on the passenger side of the car you will face FORWARD. For the Driver's side you'll face the rear.
• Now push the Johnson bar forward (as if to tighten the nut) fairly quickly and allow the wheel to spin, immediately and with force JERK BACK on the bar.
• The inertia of the wheel will spin the lug nut off like it wasn't even on there. My son was able to remove all but 3 of them this time around! (That is after I got him facing in the right direction!)
• The reason this works is that the force created by the spinning wheel is multiplied many fold by the Johnson bar allowing the nut to spin off with ease.

Who needs air tools?
3: Brake inspection FRONT:
After you get the wheel off, you might as well take a look at the brakes for wear and tear, here is what a new front brake should look like


No brembos here but she does stop when needed! You are looking for any deep scoring or grooves on the shiny face of the rotor as well as for the pad thickness.
4: Get them Tires ready!


The correct size tire for the 17 inch crowd is a 215/65R17 Mine are Directional so make sure you get them on the right way!
Mark the old tires so that when you put them back on, you get a free rotation! We used chalk, then we played tic-tac-toe..

[viennatech]

Put your helper to work on the rear wheels while you enjoy your favorite vice.

Sometimes even the helpers, need help. Here is me about to "Jerk" the bar. Smooth like butter.... I had to put the car in "N" to allow the rear tire to spin freely. Allowed me to listen to the radio as well. niiiiice.

5: Lose the clips!
Here is a factory original rear brake setup. Notice the clips on the studs? These gotta go!

Thusly..


We don't need no stinkin clips!
6: Installing the New Wheel Assembly:
Now you need to put on the new tire:

You REALLY need THIS:

Set the torque wrench to 100 FT/LBS and your Mom will thank you, so will your rotors and wheels and maybe even your helper!
7: Lather, Rinse Repeat!
So all in all you repeat the same steps for each wheel and eventually you'll end up with these:

Pretty....
and these:

EVIL.....
8: Verify the Tire Pressures:
Don't forget to check your pressures:

9: Clean up the Rusties before the Rusties clean you out!
Always use a can of this:

To save your mechanic when it comes time to change these:

mmmmmmmm smells good too! You can safely spray Rust Check nearly anywhere you find rust.
10: PROFIT!

Pimpin Ain't Easy.
So when you need to change those tires, forget about paying some wrench monkey to "eff" up your rotors with his crazy air ratchet, do it yourself and know it is done right!
Many thanks to www.lxforums.com for their fabulous knowledgebase, to Adam at Eastway for hooking me up with the sweet winter tires and to all the rest of the internets for making it so easy to find out info about our cars!
Till next time! If you have questions you can Email me viennatech@yahoo.com

[viennatech]

I will leave this archived here: http://www.viennatech.ca/300web/wintertire/
In case there is ever a problem finding the images etc on the forum.

Thanks!

If anyone is looking for a writeup on something else, let me know! I'm always looking for some new projects.

OH and I work for beans!

[Tbird100636]

A note, you don't have to remove the rotor clips to do the swap, but if you do remove these clips BE CAREFUL!!! They usually break apart differently everytime, and the piece you're not holding with the side cutters usually goes flying in random directions. One random direction is towards your eyes!!! Use eye protection when pulling these off.

[firetech]

Does anyone know if 17" rims will fit on a 2005 RWD R/T that originally came with 18"'s or will they interfere with the brake calipers. I have found a set of new 17" rims and tires and I would like to use the rims for snows.

[gn300]

Easier to loosen the lugnuts when they are on the ground!

Less chance of moving the car off the jack!

[linkdx_245]

Easier to loosen the lugnuts when they are on the ground!

Less chance of moving the car off the jack!

That the only way I knew how to do it

Posted via LXFMobile

[gn300]

Why bother removing the retainer clip if you arn't removing the rotors?

[Jontoad]

Why bother removing the retainer clip if you arn't removing the rotors?

most aftermarket wheels don't have clearance on the back for the clips and if you don't take them off the wheel will not be flush with the hub. this can create vibrations or wheel off's. the only reason the clips are on there in the first place is for assembly reasons when the car is being made and so rotors don't fall off on people on the assembly line.

p.s. if you go to a good shop the guns are regulated below 60ft lbs in right hand gears and full power in left hand gears and can not F up your rotors. torque guns being bad for cars is a big miss conception. the only people F-in up there rotors are the people who don't regulate the guns correct in there garage at home or mom and pop shops that don't have corporate regulations. the guns pre torque to 60ft lbs which could never hurt anything and then you follow with a torque wrench set to manufacturer specs. which on our cars is 110ft lbs torqued in a star pattern with an open hand on the wrench to prevent snap torquing.

[viennatech]

Easier to loosen the lugnuts when they are on the ground!

Less chance of moving the car off the jack!

Saying this statement proes you have either not tried the technique or you did not have the right tools. Removing the lugnuts with the tire on the ground is one of the hardest ways on both you and the car.

Try the Mr. Ragde snap technique and I promise you'll be amazed at how well it works for even the most stubboren bolts. That and you won't be crying when the wrench snaps and hits your leg from standing on it trying to remove tired "the old way".

I have never lost a car off a jack using this method, mind you i use a proper jack and stands as shown in the writeup!

[Super T]

Saying this statement proes you have either not tried the technique or you did not have the right tools. Removing the lugnuts with the tire on the ground is one of the hardest ways on both you and the car.

Try the Mr. Ragde snap technique and I promise you'll be amazed at how well it works for even the most stubboren bolts. That and you won't be crying when the wrench snaps and hits your leg from standing on it trying to remove tired "the old way".

I have never lost a car off a jack using this method, mind you i use a proper jack and stands as shown in the writeup!

On a newer car (LX) you can get away w/ this, but lemmie tell ya, I wasn't about to bust the nuts () on my Cutlass w/ the tire off the ground. Also, not a lot of people have a 3' breaker bar

Side note: Don't jack the car from front-n-center on the lower radiator core support, especially if the belly pan is there - it can/will slip and take out the support, your radiator, and potentially your trans cooler, fascia, and arm or head...

[JCC300C]

Easier to loosen the lugnuts when they are on the ground!

Less chance of moving the car off the jack!

2 things

1. Any Real garage will force all techs to either have special (calibrated) guns for putting tires on, or require you to use those Torques sticks that prevent you from going over factory specs.

2. I think the spinning tires thing is cool, seems to be working off the"objects in motion......" theroy but inreality I have never seen it work once on a tought bolt.
Jack the car upuntil slack is taken off the suspension, but the tire is still firmly on teh ground. If you have a 3 foot breaker bar you are all set, grow some ball$ and just pop them off. Doing it with the tire in teh aire just seesm ass backwards, then again I have oly been doing this for 14 years.

[Sounbwoy]

Reviving this thread to add my .02 cents. Having had to put the spare on for the first time yesterday, I strongly recommend that everyone have a breaker bar or a torque wrench or a power driver or a combination thereof in the car as a part of their tool kit.
They make it SO much easier and quicker to raise and lower the car since the jack uses the same size nut as the lugs..The only time I touched that jack handle was when I took it off the jack itself.