Dismounting tires at home: Who's done it?

[98 svt]

I picked up a set of polished 17x9/10.5 AFS Cobra wheels and they have junk tires.
I've gone to the tire shops 10s of times, but I wanted to try it at home just for shits and giggles.

I got 1 tire off in about 20 minutes, but the next ones I think I could do in about 10 min/each.
I took my Sawzall and cut the tire off the wheel, leaving about 2" of tire left around the wheel with the bead.
Next, I grabbed my Dremel and a fiberglass cutoff wheel and cut through the 2 beads. The bonus is, the tire was now in 3 pieces and easily dropped into the trash barrel. It was a bit labor intensive, but I could do the other 3 tires.
That said, I'll probably just take them to the tire shop and have them do it.

I'm wanting to hear any ideas that have worked for you guys. There's a bunch of methods on YouTube, but I'm wondering what worked for you. I thought this may have some fun stories/ideas.

 

[LS WUT]

Yes I’ve done it at home, I have an electric bead breaker, and manual breakers as well. It’s a pain in the ass to be honest. However some tire shops down here don’t touch chrome wheels. They decline to do it. I normally do it with someone holding the other side down.

 

[365 Saleen]

The only wheels I have dismounted and mounted tires at home were the double beadlock rims on the racecar. Even then it was a PITA.

 

[Bronze123]

Worked at a tire shop for many years. It can be fun and repetitive work. Dicey things including: beading up tires to 140psi. Well beyond the recommended 40psi on any tire machine. Somehow having a employee install a 14.5” tire on a 14” rim. That was a bad workers comp claim. And playing with literal fire, resulting in a few Ricky Bobby moments.

Never tried anything by hand, outside of 19.5 or 22.5 tires. Been spoiled by a tire machine.

 

[4rd Toys]

I've done it a few times over the years but with harbor-freight tire/wheel tools...
225/70R14
275/40R17
295/45R18
295/40R20
305/40R23

It's easier with two bodies involved... still sorta of a pain though... it can be done.
I never attempted this by myself though...
I also used large pieces of scrap carpet to prevent scratches to the wheel/rim.

Plus, call me crazy, but I had to once use one of my trucks to drive over to "pinch/press" a tire enough to break the seal to the rim... yeah it's dangerous... but it worked.

 

[roy_1031]

I use to change big rig tires (22.5”) by hand as it was way faster by hand than using the machine.


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[muscleatsrice]

I had to change a tire once late one weekend. We used our fork lift fork to break the bead. It worked lol.


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[Thorpz]

I use a hi-lift jack to break the bead under the Jeep bumper and have 4 ft tire "spoons" to get the tire off the wheel .... I would not use this method on a wheel I cared about though.

 

[rotor_powerd]

I lay the wheel/tire on the ground and run up on the sidewall with my truck to break the bead. Obviously won’t work on anything low profile but for anything else it works like a champ. I have beadlocks on all of my quads and side by side so they are much easier to mount/remove.

 

[93Cobra#2771]

Thankfully, I've got a good friend that owns a quick lube and does tires there as well. Has a no-touch machine and everything. I've fiddled around enough with motorcycle tires to know I don't enjoy doing it without the right equipment. Plus, I'm an old fart and I'd rather pay my friend to do it since he's as particular about my stuff as he is his stuff.

 

[Blown 89]

Karting tires are a pain in the ass, I couldn't imagine doing a car tire.

 

[rotor_powerd]

Karting tires are a pain in the ass, I couldn't imagine doing a car tire.

The bigger the wheel the easier they are, assuming you have enough sidewall to work with