For those people who swap out their own winter tires

[954RR]

What is the fastest and best way to change out or own winter tires without having to buy a jack, jack stands etc. How does the scissor jack work that comes with the car, heard it’s pretty crappy! If I buy a jack does it have to have a special plate to lift from behind the wheels? TIA

[Pocket Sprocket]

You buy a better jack and jack up each corner of your car one at a time, take the wheels off, then put the new wheels on.
Why do you have to lift from behind the wheels?
A better jack will save some energy/effort.


Or you could use 'the force.'

[zacm7]

that little jack in truck will do a fine job but for under 100 bucks you can get one of those nice ones and its a lot easier then getting down on the ground and cranking the little jack...just go buy one use it and take it back to crappy.

[Flashmonkey]

Hydraulic jack is the absolute fastest way to get this done. I'd also recommend an impact gun. You can buy electric ones, but make sure you hand tighten it a little after, as the nuts may come loose.......ask me how i know.

[thumpit]

It really depends more on what kind of car you are lifting. Once you decide to use a dif jack and jacking location than your car's owners manual says, you have to know where you can lift and where not to. A lot of alignment/literal damage can be caused by lifting in the wrong place.

And depending on where you can lift, determines the type of jack you buy. There are some jacks whose wheels stick out too far and you caN't get close enough cuz jack wheel rubs car tire. Or whatever.

Take two SUVs for example. A Nissan X Trail and a Honda CRV. The CRV is relatively easy to use most scissor jacks if they have a small flat platform lift-point. Not so with the X Trail. It uses aluminum knee action lower control arm and is strong by design to support the car, but not when you start concentrating the psi all in one place. Plus the angle of attack is steep, so hard to get far enough out to the tire without touching the tire and yet not have jack try to slip back up the control arm.

Now if you drive a 4x4 truck with live axles front and rear (think earlier Jeep CJs) then it is dead simple to find a good lift-point right under the axle.

If you do use a hydraulic floor type jack, make sure u use wood blocking in a good spot. Some jacks have a perfect place to lay a block in under the lift ramp. Others it is too sloped and if the jack failed, will spit the block of wood out.

I would first say what car you have.

[eastcoast_gsx]

Forklift.

[mikbusa]

What is the fastest and best way to change out or own winter tires without having to buy a jack, jack stands etc. How does the scissor jack work that comes with the car, heard it’s pretty crappy! If I buy a jack does it have to have a special plate to lift from behind the wheels? TIA

It really depends on the type of car to determine jacking points. Never put any part of your body under the car when it's on the jack that comes with the car.

Even a cheap set of jack + stands ($45) is better than the OEM jack - http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/AutoTools/CreepersJacksStands/PRDOVR~0091061P/Motomaster%2B2-Ton%2BTrolley%2BJack%2B%2526%2BStand.jsp

It's a worthwhile investment.

[FiReSTaRT]

A hydraulic jack will do the trick and you can get'em relatively cheap. An electric impact gun will make the job go faster, but I see it as an unnecessary expense if you already have a good tire iron. Make sure you loosen the nuts/bolts (depending on your car) a bit before lifting the wheel.

[954RR]

It really depends more on what kind of car you are lifting. Once you decide to use a dif jack and jacking location than your car's owners manual says, you have to know where you can lift and where not to. A lot of alignment/literal damage can be caused by lifting in the wrong place.

And depending on where you can lift, determines the type of jack you buy. There are some jacks whose wheels stick out too far and you caN't get close enough cuz jack wheel rubs car tire. Or whatever.

Take two SUVs for example. A Nissan X Trail and a Honda CRV. The CRV is relatively easy to use most scissor jacks if they have a small flat platform lift-point. Not so with the X Trail. It uses aluminum knee action lower control arm and is strong by design to support the car, but not when you start concentrating the psi all in one place. Plus the angle of attack is steep, so hard to get far enough out to the tire without touching the tire and yet not have jack try to slip back up the control arm.

Now if you drive a 4x4 truck with live axles front and rear (think earlier Jeep CJs) then it is dead simple to find a good lift-point right under the axle.

If you do use a hydraulic floor type jack, make sure u use wood blocking in a good spot. Some jacks have a perfect place to lay a block in under the lift ramp. Others it is too sloped and if the jack failed, will spit the block of wood out.

I would first say what car you have.

03 Civic, Thx

[AGAVE]

There is nothing wrong with the scissor jack, especially in your own flat driveway.
The car has 4 location points designed to accept the scissor jack, look for them on the siderails. The slot on the jack fits onto the rail.
Most people use these jacks incorrectly.
Block a wheel so the car doesn't move.
Break the wheel nuts loose 1/2 turn before you jack it up.
Having one of those cross style lug wrenches helps, or mount the socket on your drill just to spin the nuts off/on again.
You only need to get the tire 1" off the ground to swap em.
Put a jack stand or something big under the car for safety.
Snug the bolts up, let the car down and torque the wheel nuts.
Don't over tighten aluminum rims.

[ajdomi]

It really depends on the type of car to determine jacking points. Never put any part of your body under the car when it's on the jack that comes with the car.

Even a cheap set of jack + stands ($45) is better than the OEM jack - http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/AutoTools/CreepersJacksStands/PRDOVR~0091061P/Motomaster%2B2-Ton%2BTrolley%2BJack%2B%2526%2BStand.jsp

It's a worthwhile investment.

I have this exact same one. Works perfectly for my car, and my heavy azzz van

[954RR]

There is nothing wrong with the scissor jack, especially in your own flat driveway.
The car has 4 location points designed to accept the scissor jack, look for them on the siderails. The slot on the jack fits onto the rail.
Most people use these jacks incorrectly.
Block a wheel so the car doesn't move.
Break the wheel nuts loose 1/2 turn before you jack it up.
Having one of those cross style lug wrenches helps, or mount the socket on your drill just to spin the nuts off/on again.
You only need to get the tire 1" off the ground to swap em.
Put a jack stand or something big under the car for safety.
Snug the bolts up, let the car down and torque the wheel nuts.
Don't over tighten aluminum rims.

If you buy a regular jack can you get or do you need an adapter to fit the scissor slot?

[jforzag]

I Use the equipment at my yard, i pull my car into the heated garage, grab the impact gun with 3/8 socket raise her up on one side, and do it two wheels at a time, and within 20min im done and all i have to do is add air.

I have done it with my 07 civic as well as 09 g5
^nice and small and light wheel's and tires are key lol

[Yamaha_Gurl]

A boyfriend is the best way to get it done! A good one at least

[daught]

Honestly, does anyone have an electric impact gun that breaks loose lug nuts? I found them all to be worthless, so I just loosen them with a breaker bar and use the drill with a 1/2 adapter.

[FiReSTaRT]

Honestly, does anyone have an electric impact gun that breaks loose lug nuts? I found them all to be worthless, so I just loosen them with a breaker bar and use the drill with a 1/2 adapter.

I do. Even on a car that's been sitting in the guy's driveway for a couple of years. Got me a cheap extra set of rim for my poor li'l Mazda (may she R.I.P.). Some el-cheapo Chinese fleabay special with 1/2" drive. I mostly bought it for working on the bike, but it came in useful for the cages.

[GSPLover]

I just use the little jack that came with the car. I also have a torque wrench to tighten to spec. Takes about 15 mins per side.

[AGAVE]

If you buy a regular jack can you get or do you need an adapter to fit the scissor slot?

Depends how nice the paint is on the siderails
I took a piece of 2x4 and ran it through the table saw to make a slot, voila.
Floor jack is handy, much more stable, use the jack stand for safety still.

Honestly, does anyone have an electric impact gun that breaks loose lug nuts? I found them all to be worthless, so I just loosen them with a breaker bar and use the drill with a 1/2 adapter.

This is dependent on the vehicle and the quality of the hardware.
My subaru, no problem, anything will remove the nuts.
My dirty old Buick, no way, you need to break the nuts free.
Sure the impact will remove them eventually, but its faster to do it the way you are, the drill is quick and efficient.

For those of you that have nice rims, torque them properly.

[AGAVE]

Here's a contest for those that haven't installed their winter wheels yet.

Use video cam to document your rim swap, use any tools you want, fastest guy wins!!

It's pure hell outside and i'm willing to do it, despite the temperature and conditions.
I should have put those damn wheels on last week....

[FiReSTaRT]

I just left mine on as I 95% 2wheeled it during the part of the summer that I spent in Canada. Only caged it when it rained.