DIY Tire Mounting Questions
 

I have had new tires sitting around for about a week or two now and need to get them mounted. I want to powdercoat the rims, so it involves taking off the rim, removing the tire, powdercoating, and then having the tire put back on. And then doing it again. I dont really have the time when the shop is open to get it done there. I noticed a tire removal machine at harbor freight and was wondering how feasible it would be for someone with no prior experience being able to mount the tires correctly without damaging the rims. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. It wouldnt be that big of a deal but the 911 is my only car so this would allow me to do everything at night or on sunday when i have time.

Which machine? They have both manual and Pneumatic units.

The tire machines of today don't touch the rim. The manual one you are looking at is like the machines of old where you use a bar to roll the tire onto the rim. This bar rides directly on the lip of the rim. I'm not saying that you necessarily will scratch anything, the tire guys I worked with when I was in college could use those old machines w/o scratching.

These machines (I wonder why they call them machines when all it consists of is a base, post and hold down) are perfect for racers. How are you going to balance your wheels?

post a link to said tool.

Don't even think about it if you have deep 6s or earlier Fuchs with a similar profile! It's very difficult to mount tires on those wheels even under the best of circumstances.
-Scott

Here is a link to the machine (stand and rod), I didnt think $35 was too bad.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=34542

I was going to take it in to the shop for balancing/alignment as soon as I got a day when I could go without a car.

Why is that? You put them on the machine face down, right?
Actually, there are a few wheels that need to have the tires mounted from the backside.

Zeke-
The profile of the deep 6 wheel in the area between the rims is such that the center of the tire, in the course of being mounted, can not be moved very far past the center of the wheel without a lot of force. The late 6 resolved this by creating a broader depression between the rims. The depression allows the beads of the tire (the first step in the mounting procedure) to be placed closer to the center of the wheel. This results in less force being required to pop the remainder of the bead past the rim. Yes, they are easier to do face down, but with a conventional tire machine (the type that pries against the rim) it is still difficult. I had 2 tires ruined by a local shop that did not have the correct machine. The correct machine is the type that does not touch the back rim during mounting.

Hope that makes sense. It is quite difficult to describe!
-Scott