Tire Change, Equipment, and Method with Dinamitek

Dinamitek presents a guide on everything you need to know about changing tires.

The first thing that comes to mind when it comes to tire changes is, "When does the obligation to change tires expire?"

The rule for the health of your tires and for the safety and optimal management of your vehicle is to remember the OP rule, that is , winter tires are used from October to Easter, while the other half of the year you must use summer tires.

This general guideline may not be sufficient given current legislation and the risk of incurring penalties if the transaction is completed late, so it's a good idea to carefully check the deadlines.

There are two exceptions , we will mention them briefly:

All-season tires are suitable for year-round use, but are recommended for small cars that travel few kilometers.
When a tire's speed rating equals or exceeds that specified in the vehicle's registration document, it can be used year-round.

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Changing tires involves 3 cost items

Buying rubber
Assembly
Custody

Let's move on to explaining how to change tires, leaving aside some tips for reducing the last two costs, replacing the per-job fee with the purchase, once and for all, of simple DIY equipment. Considering that labor costs on average range from €30 to €70/€80 and storage costs of €40, it might be worthwhile to equip yourself to do it yourself.

There are 3 types of solutions for tire storage :

the trolley where the tires are stacked, where the space is vertical,

the shelf that takes up space horizontally,

the shelf that is placed on the side leaves all the floor space free;

It is important to note that wheel changes can be done independently, while tire changes are a task that requires the use of specialized machinery found in the workshop (if you need to mount the tire on the rim, you must go to a specialist).

To proceed with the replacement of the wheels you need to:

a hydraulic jack

a wheel nut wrench

a torque wrench

To summarize the procedure, you must leave the car ready, parked on level ground, with first gear engaged and the handbrake on:

Loosen the wheel nuts with the car still on the ground . After loosening the nuts on the last wheel , raise the car with a trolley jack. The hydraulic jack is a simpler and more stable solution than the simple emergency jack, the one you have in your car to use if you get a flat tire while driving.
After jacking up the vehicle, remove all the wheel nuts, remove the wheel, and replace it with the correct season's wheel. For safety, place the newly removed wheel under the vehicle as a shock absorber in case the car slips off the jack.
Once the wheel is inserted, the car is lowered to be able to tighten the nuts.

Remember : always loosen and tighten the nuts with the car on the ground.

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This is all about pure technology. However, some precautions must be taken into account to correctly mount the wheel and equip the vehicle for safety: road holding, braking, fuel efficiency, and tire wear depend on how the wheel is mounted.
When changing wheels you must take into consideration:

the direction of rolling

the tightening torque

When installing the wheels, you need to swap them around; the ones that were the front ones last season will become the rear ones the following season. To do this, it's a good idea to mark them when you remove the wheels.

As soon as you've finished changing your tires, go to a service station to check whether you need to restore the correct air pressure.

Obviously, when the seasons change, you can only fit new tires without buying new ones if the previous year's tires are still in excellent condition, are not worn, and comply with the relevant regulations.

To be usable, tires must have a minimum tread depth of 1.6 mm and be no older than 8 years. Over time, the rubber compound hardens, the tread no longer wears, but the wheel loses its grip for the winter season, which is the main reason for seasonal tire changes. The tire's "birth date" is printed on the surface, along with other essential information, such as: