The Ford Barn - View Single Post

tubman · 06-30-2018, 07:52 PM

Just as a matter of course, I have found that the larger the wheel diameter, the easier manual mounting and dismounting of tires is. The 14" tires on our old minivan were a real struggle, but the 15" Coker Classics I mounted on the '51 were a much easier task. I bought a pair of 16" winter tires for my pickup and was dreading mounting them because of their larger size. The went on easily. I think it has something to do with the larger the wheel size, the less percentage the bead has to stretch to slip over the rim. I have never worked with any, but have heard 12" trailer tires and even 8" wheelbarrow tire can be a real bear. I have never worked with 17's, but I expect they would be easy-peasy, especially with their small section dimensions.

(I have an el cheapo Northern Tool tire machine that didn't work at all out of the box. After I made a few modifications, it works quite well for me.)

06-30-2018, 07:52 PM	#12
tubman Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys Posts: 10,312	Re: mounting tires Just as a matter of course, I have found that the larger the wheel diameter, the easier manual mounting and dismounting of tires is. The 14" tires on our old minivan were a real struggle, but the 15" Coker Classics I mounted on the '51 were a much easier task. I bought a pair of 16" winter tires for my pickup and was dreading mounting them because of their larger size. The went on easily. I think it has something to do with the larger the wheel size, the less percentage the bead has to stretch to slip over the rim. I have never worked with any, but have heard 12" trailer tires and even 8" wheelbarrow tire can be a real bear. I have never worked with 17's, but I expect they would be easy-peasy, especially with their small section dimensions. (I have an el cheapo Northern Tool tire machine that didn't work at all out of the box. After I made a few modifications, it works quite well for me.)