Who needs a spare tire if you have WD40 around?

sballard · 07-29-2009, 01:54 PM

Amazing trick with WD40 and a lighter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_aoDYA4bvY

pete3799 · pete3799's Garage

I'd sooner think he used starting fluid.
That's what we used to use when seating big (semi) truck tires.

DRACO A5OG · DRACO A5OG's Garage

Whoa, that's crazy shiznet

rnln · 07-30-2009, 12:36 AM

alright, so we should keep a can of wd40 in the car all the time?

DRACO A5OG · DRACO A5OG's Garage

Only if you have a spare regular tire, but how do you press the tires on the rim?

sballard · 07-30-2009, 05:40 AM

Granted it doesn't patch the hole but pretty amazing way to inflate the tire.

Paulporsche · 07-30-2009, 05:56 AM

Hold my beer and watch this...

dad911 · 07-30-2009, 06:08 AM

Inflating large tires is dangerous enough with air, no reason to add pyrotechnics to the mix:

Formerly Steve Wilkinson · 07-30-2009, 07:14 AM

I don't get it. What good does that do if you get a leak big enough that your tire comes off the bead? All you do is re-fit the useless tire to the bead. Might as well leave it where it was, at least you've accomplished step one of a tire repair.

I suppose it's useful for serious off-roaders like the people in the video, who run tires at five and 10 psi and occasionally knock them loose from the beads, but that's about it.

KCTarga3.2 · KCTarga3.2's Garage

Never done this, but have heard that this is a good trick for mounting the tire (setting the bead). However, I think you would still need some way of getting the tire up to the correct pressure. Also, I've read that there is a chance that the flammable liquid/gas will stay in the tire - just a warning for the next person that changes it.

Just You Tube "redneck tire mounting" - looks like most of them have inhaled more lighter fluid than used it to mount tires.

ljowdy · 07-30-2009, 07:48 AM

This method of mounting a tire is more previlant with off road tires and with dunebuggy paddle tires.

Since these tires are run at very low pressures, they will, on occasion, break loose from the bead. That's why more and more low pressure tires are mounted with bead locks.

It's not WD 40 but engine starting spray commonly known as Ether that's used to cause the explosion and thus a rapid expansion of air inside the tire and forces the bead back onto the rim.

I've done this a couple of times to get my dunebuggy paddle tires mounted back on the rim.

The video of the guy that set the tire on fire probably used gasoline as the residue of the fuel was present on top of the tire.

Talewinds · Talewinds's Garage

Yup, like stated above, it's not WD40. I've tied it several times with WD and it just doesn't work. Gotta use something more combustible, like starting fluid.

fastfredracing · 07-30-2009, 08:52 AM

I used to rent commercial space from a trucking company, and that is exactly how the seated the bead on every truck tire that they changed. I never did have the nads to try it myself, ( I have a tire machine) but I watched them do hundereds of tires like that. Brave men indeed

beepbeep · 07-30-2009, 09:15 AM

Hmm...it seems to be slightly picky regarding the amount of WD40:

unclebilly · unclebilly's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Formerly Steve Wilkinson

I don't get it. What good does that do if you get a leak big enough that your tire comes off the bead? All you do is re-fit the useless tire to the bead. Might as well leave it where it was, at least you've accomplished step one of a tire repair.

I suppose it's useful for serious off-roaders like the people in the video, who run tires at five and 10 psi and occasionally knock them loose from the beads, but that's about it.

Steve,

I have done this lots. It is good when you have a tire that had gone flat and is off the bead from sitting or whatever. Also, it you mount up your own tires (my dad has the bead breaker from my grandfather's garage from the 40s to 60s), sometimes this is the only way to set the bead on a narrower tire on wide rims or if you have had tires stacked for a while.

On my Carerra parts car, I tried this several times on the right rear tire (and burned all the hair off of my hand) before I realized that the rim was cracked on the inside...

The trick is to get compressed air in there before the hot air from the combustion cools off.

unclebilly · unclebilly's Garage

Oh, and always use starting fluid. Spray it into the tire then run a line out on the sidewall. Light the sidewall and stand back and wait for the 'WOOOF'.