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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Wheels and Tires Forum Sponsored by The Tire Rack > Changing RFT at home?



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      12-27-2012, 11:34 AM   #1
rayoflight82
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Changing RFT at home?

Is it possible to change my own regular tires into winter tires or must they go to a mechanic? What tools will I need if I do it myself (with assistance, of course!) LOL

Thanks!
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      12-27-2012, 11:43 AM   #2
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Please tell me you are not sirious... LOL
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      12-27-2012, 11:43 AM   #3
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I am???
I guess it's not possible???
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      12-27-2012, 11:45 AM   #4
GoRomeo
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LOL everything is possible but its not worth it since you can probably go to a tire shop and have them do it in 10 min and for 10 dlls. Thats how much I paid to change mine last time...
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      12-27-2012, 11:46 AM   #5
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10 bucks?! Where?
I've been paying 200 bucks these past few years
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      12-27-2012, 12:02 PM   #6
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Wow 200? for all 4 u mean right? I just changed my 2 rear tires and paid 20 bucks to change them with recycle fee included. I know i got a deal since the owner Ben hes cool.

It was here in San Diego close to the border to Mexico. Its called San Ysidro. I found a great tire shop there. Its called Superior Tires. The owners are cool and have a few BMWs too... I will go back to change the 2 front ones soon
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      12-27-2012, 12:06 PM   #7
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Hmm, I don't know what to do.
I know someone who is able to change the winter tires on other domestic cars (Mazda, Cadillac, Fiat, etc). Is a BMW any different?
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      12-27-2012, 12:06 PM   #8
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You can take a hacksaw to remove the RFTs off the wheels.
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      12-27-2012, 12:10 PM   #9
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LMAO
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      12-27-2012, 12:13 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rayoflight82 View Post
Is it possible to change my own regular tires into winter tires or must they go to a mechanic? What tools will I need if I do it myself (with assistance, of course!) LOL

Thanks!
Dunno -- how much of a magician are you? If you are Gandalf-class, then sure, no problem.

OTOH, if you are more like Skeeve, I'd go have it done at the shop, lest you wind up with 4 huge onion bagels instead of tires...
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      12-27-2012, 12:13 PM   #11
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You can take a hacksaw to remove the RFTs off the wheels.
LOL TRUE!! then i ll buy them from you...I need one...
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      12-27-2012, 04:03 PM   #12
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Hello all, I just joined E90 post and need to get my 3 posts in so I can PM and create my own thread.

I assume OP hasn't been changing wheels, just tires. My suggestion is to buy some cheap winter wheels for the winter tires and then you'll be able to quickly and easily change them yourself at home. (the cost of the wheels will pay for themselves quickly at 200 per change)

Thank you for letting this be my FIRST E90 post!
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      12-27-2012, 04:28 PM   #13
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You can take a hacksaw to remove the RFTs off the wheels.
make sure the hacksaw is the same color as your wheels, else you will have a hard time adjusting
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      12-27-2012, 07:42 PM   #14
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You'll need to take it to a shop to remove the tire. The shop will also need to balance the wheel&tire so you don't get vibrations while driving.
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      12-27-2012, 11:14 PM   #15
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buy one of these

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E90 330i - E90 335i - E92 335i
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      12-28-2012, 10:07 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rayoflight82 View Post
Is it possible to change my own regular tires into winter tires or must they go to a mechanic? What tools will I need if I do it myself (with assistance, of course!) LOL

Thanks!
O.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rayoflight82 View Post
10 bucks?! Where?
I've been paying 200 bucks these past few years
M.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rayoflight82 View Post
Hmm, I don't know what to do.
I know someone who is able to change the winter tires on other domestic cars (Mazda, Cadillac, Fiat, etc). Is a BMW any different?
G.
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      04-13-2013, 11:08 PM   #17
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It is possible. You have to buy your own tire machine.
I'm looking to buy one, but the ones that can change runflats and low profile tires are expensive - about $3000.

You can get a manual tire changer from HF, but it will only work up to 16in rims and difficult to do runflats.

You can also buy a standard tire changer for about $1000 and make it work with runflats but you're going to have to be a little ingenious on pulling the bead over the lip of the rim w/o damaging your tires.

I'm going to purchase a standard tire changer and weld an arm to help with removing runflats. It'll probably cost me about $800 for the tire changing machine.

I'll keep you guys updated if I am able to do it.

Gary

Last edited by garyhgaryh; 04-16-2013 at 04:39 AM..
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      04-14-2013, 12:48 AM   #18
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http://www.nissantechmate.com/equipm...0&s=401&p=1906
http://www.nissantechmate.com/equipm...00&s=405&p=942

hope you have 20 grand, these are the equipment a dealer will use, they will do the job correctly and not damage the wheels or tires
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      04-14-2013, 07:31 AM   #19
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What you need to do is get another set of wheels, mount/balance your tires onto the new wheels, and only then can you do this at home safely.
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      04-16-2013, 04:41 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BillionPa View Post
http://www.nissantechmate.com/equipm...0&s=401&p=1906
http://www.nissantechmate.com/equipm...00&s=405&p=942

hope you have 20 grand, these are the equipment a dealer will use, they will do the job correctly and not damage the wheels or tires
You do not have to invest that much to be able to do runflats at home.
You can get all the equipment easily for $5k (for tire machine and balancer).

BTW, for those who have gone to non RFT, are you using the TPMS?

Gary

Last edited by garyhgaryh; 04-16-2013 at 05:05 AM.. Reason: TPMS question added
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      04-16-2013, 01:40 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by garyhgaryh View Post
You do not have to invest that much to be able to do runflats at home.
You can get all the equipment easily for $5k (for tire machine and balancer).

BTW, for those who have gone to non RFT, are you using the TPMS?

Gary
Yes, you need the TPMS on the wheel regardless.
With 4 cars in the garage, I am looking forward to get an inexpensive tire changer. DT charged $16 for TPMS kit alone per wheel each time they remove the tire.
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      04-18-2013, 12:30 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by koolit View Post
Yes, you need the TPMS on the wheel regardless.
With 4 cars in the garage, I am looking forward to get an inexpensive tire changer. DT charged $16 for TPMS kit alone per wheel each time they remove the tire.
Take a look at the HF tire changer. It's $799 on sale, but I'm sure I can devise a tool to make runflats work.

I'll be ordering it later this week and will let you know if I can change runflats successfully at home.

BTW, I got about 8 cars at home so it's well worth it for me to invest in a tire changing machine. With four cars, you definite should get one.

Gary
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