Latest edition to the garage
 

2020 model. Seem to cost about $14,000 new. Paid $2,500. Anyone else have a tire machine? Happy to have it, or don't use it enough?

Sorry. Hit submit before the picture finished uploading.

Back in the 80's a friend of mine had one.

I don't have one. Thought about buying one after spending $180.00 to
have 4 tires reversed on rims (OWDL put outside, wheels off car) and balanced.
Even at $2500.00, I'd need to do that on a weekly, if not daily basis.
So I guess, I'm in the don't use it enough category :sadangel:

Wait, What? Are you Marty McFly?

OP, That's a lot of tire moving. I've got a big shop too, but even that doesn't seem useful enough to justify the real estate. What the plan to get it off the trailer. Back under the car lift?

Just get a friend that owns a shop.

I have a manual tire changer and Nomar equipment works pretty good.

*addition

I’ve owned a LOT of tools over the years, including welders, plasma cutter, large air compressor, air over hydraulic tube bender, and lots more. Never thought about a tire machine that takes up space and rarely gets used.

Very nice. I don't know a darn thing about them.

What I do know is during my flying days, I transported a total of 5 guys from various dick towns and truck stops out in the sticks to the hospital with crushed fingers and hands from tire changers.

Be safe!

BALLER!!

Yes, I ratchet strapped it to the car lift arms, lifted it, drove the trailer out from under, then lowered it to the ground with the lift. Worked great. It weighs 650 lbs.

I have a little over 3000 square feet of garage space and another ~500 square feet of storage. I can afford the space. Although I certainly agree its limited, I still have a decent amount unoccupied. Its not like I'm kicking anything more useful out of the garage to fit this.

I have 51 tires in service right now and at least that many amoung my family that this will benefit. And its not just about mounting new tires. I have a couple alloy wheels with bends I want to try to straighten, but that can only be done with no tires mounted. I also have a couple TPMS issues I think will be much easier to resolve when I can service them myself.

If I need the floor space for something more important, or just hate it, I should be able to sell it for what I paid at any time. Experience gained.

Hmm, now that I think about that I've got 36 tires in service if I count 4 spares. Does it balance tires too?

You did your shop with a door on the gable ends, IIRC. That helps a bunch with wall space which is at a premium for me. I put 4 doors on front and 2 on back to catch a breeze, which is all for naught since I just put in an HVAC.

Have fun with it!

Not in my garage (unless you count a kart tire machine) but yes at the shop...

Mounting tires sucks.

I can't imagine ever getting enough use out of one to have it at home.

Are you getting or already have a balancer?

I cant see the need for one of these, even at that price. Hell, I can get a lot of tires mounted and balanced for $2500 at a shop and not have to get dirty...:yesnod:

Nope. Buying a balancer next.

I could have paid mechanics to fix a lot of problems for what I paid for my garage and all the tools in it. I don't even, "need" most of my vehicles for that matter. I could have bought a new shitbox with a warranty and never get my hands dirty. I choose to get my hands dirty and do it myself.

If I had the floor space, I would have one. With my fleet of cars, I like to mount and balance my own, as well as do my own wheel alignments. I may be old and grumpy, but I know I'll do a better job than a 20-year old with a hangover.

I got a reasonably modern Coats balancer, but its an economy model without runout or road force measurement. Its designed for speed and its easy to use.
Paid $1300.

First I installed new tires on my utility trailer. Then I fixed a couple bent wheels on my Accord. They are 17" cast aluminum factory wheels. I took one from .200" runout to .050" and the other from .075" to .030". I did this by dismounting the tire, using the balancer and a travel indicator to find the low spot on the wheel, stick a bottle jack inside the wheel, heat the bent spot with a torch, then pump up the bottle jack. This actually worked great. The car had a very slight shake at around 70mph. Now its gone. Next up is fixing a couple TPMS sensors on the truck.

Our race club is in the market for brand new mounting and balancing machines. We have the cash, but have to solve where to store it. :willy: