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Tire Mounting Question

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Old 04-21-12 | 02:20 PM
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SCShawn
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Default Tire Mounting Question

Heres the deal, I finally had time to mount some tires on some wheels that I had laying around. I usually go to a local tired shop and they let me mount the tires on myself. So I go to mount the tires onto the wheel and it just won't fit.
I dont really know the terminology to use, but on the inside of the wheel there is a gap to fit the tire on and then you set the bead and it will seal around the wheel. This one seems to be so much smaller then my other wheels.
What I am asking is, do I need some kind of special machine to fit tires onto these wheels?
I have some pictures and circled what I am talking about in red. The first one is for reference to show some typical wheel.


This is the wheel I am trying to put tires onto. Notice that the "gap" is no where near are big.

Old 04-21-12 | 10:35 PM
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Drop center... chances are you tried to mount the tire with the face of the wheel pointed up perhaps? If so, flip the wheel over, make sure you install the clamp protectors to prevent it from scratching the face of the wheel...

What type of tire machine are you using? We use Hunter TC7030's, but any "rim clamp" style machine should work just fine - it takes a lot of practice to successfully mount a low profile tire on a large diameter wheel... I've been doing it a long time and it is quiet easy once you figure out the little tricks... a second pry bar can be helpful, a third hand on the tire machine can be a huge help as well... Craziest tire I ever mounted was a 345/25-20 on a 20x13. It was on a wheel similar to what you have there with a very narrow drop center - some custom wheel manufacturers do that because of particular styling they are going for on the lip and barrel shaping...
Old 04-22-12 | 04:03 PM
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Originally Posted by mitsuguy
Drop center... chances are you tried to mount the tire with the face of the wheel pointed up perhaps? If so, flip the wheel over, make sure you install the clamp protectors to prevent it from scratching the face of the wheel...

What type of tire machine are you using? We use Hunter TC7030's, but any "rim clamp" style machine should work just fine - it takes a lot of practice to successfully mount a low profile tire on a large diameter wheel... I've been doing it a long time and it is quiet easy once you figure out the little tricks... a second pry bar can be helpful, a third hand on the tire machine can be a huge help as well... Craziest tire I ever mounted was a 345/25-20 on a 20x13. It was on a wheel similar to what you have there with a very narrow drop center - some custom wheel manufacturers do that because of particular styling they are going for on the lip and barrel shaping...

Ah thanks for the help. Yeah I was trying to mount them with the face up. Most likely I am going to take it to some generic tire mounting shop and have them do it for me. I am usually on my own when I mount tires.

Do you think if I changed the tire to a larger profile it would be easier? these are 225/45/18, and the wheel is only 8" wide. I figured it was a perfect fit.
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