On 4/29/2023 7:02 PM, Maxmillian wrote:
> On Sat, 29 Apr 2023 19:53:05 -0400, Ed P wrote:
>
>> In recent years I've only had two flats. One was plugged and lasted 4
>> years until it, like the others, was worn. The last one was bout 6
>> months ago. Patched inside, re-balanced. Total was $28 and a half hour.
>
> I don't normally get flats myself, but I was counting the whole family.
> It average to something like one flat a year, which, at $28 would be fine
> but it's more than four times that when they talk you into a new tire.
>
> I don't think your half hour is even close to the time unless you were able
> to drive on the flat tire, as I'd say it takes at least a half hour just to
> remove all the crap in the trunk, remove the spare, figure out where the
> jack is, put it together, remove the old tire, and throw it back in the
> trunk.
>
> Then there's the wait at the tire shop where just waiting on the line could
> be half of that half hour. So unless you live across the street from the
> GoodYear tire shop, it's almost impossible for it to be a half hour where I
> live. The commute alone is an hour.
>
>> I've heard they no longer plug tires as they don't always hold up as
>> well as a patch inside.
>
> The guy showed me a "t-shaped" round patch with a wire in the middle what
> was blue on the inside end and black on the outside end. He called it a
> patchplug as I recall and he definitely removed the tire because he showed
> me the inside of the tire.
>
>> Good luck with your choice but I cannot justify buying equipment,
>> especially since the time the tire was plugged I was 600 miles from home.
>
> If I can save a hundred dollars a year, maybe the "tire press" will be less
> than something like five years or five hundred dollars I'm hoping.
>
> Do they sell a "tire press" for around five or six hundred dollars?
>

Harbor Fright has a tire changing machine that goes for a lot less than
500 bucks . And it works reasonably well . They also sell a motorcycle
wheel adapter kit for that machine . It also works reasonably well .
--
Snag
“Free speech is my right to say what you don’t
want to hear.” -George Orwell

On 4/30/2023 7:45 AM, Snag wrote:
> On 4/29/2023 7:02 PM, Maxmillian wrote:
>> On Sat, 29 Apr 2023 19:53:05 -0400, Ed P wrote:
>>
>>> In recent years I've only had two flats.  One was plugged and lasted 4
>>> years until it, like the others, was worn.  The last one was bout 6
>>> months ago. Patched inside, re-balanced.  Total was $28 and a half
>>> hour.
>>
>> I don't normally get flats myself, but I was counting the whole family.
>> It average to something like one flat a year, which, at $28 would be
>> fine
>> but it's more than four times that when they talk you into a new tire.
>>
>> I don't think your half hour is even close to the time unless you
>> were able
>> to drive on the flat tire, as I'd say it takes at least a half hour
>> just to
>> remove all the crap in the trunk, remove the spare, figure out where the
>> jack is, put it together, remove the old tire, and throw it back in the
>> trunk.
>>
>> Then there's the wait at the tire shop where just waiting on the line
>> could
>> be half of that half hour. So unless you live across the street from the
>> GoodYear tire shop, it's almost impossible for it to be a half hour
>> where I
>> live. The commute alone is an hour.
>>
>>> I've heard they no longer plug tires as they don't always hold up as
>>> well as a patch inside.
>>
>> The guy showed me a "t-shaped" round patch with a wire in the middle
>> what
>> was blue on the inside end and black on the outside end. He called it a
>> patchplug as I recall and he definitely removed the tire because he
>> showed
>> me the inside of the tire.
>>
>>> Good luck with your choice but I cannot justify buying equipment,
>>> especially since the time the tire was plugged I was 600 miles from
>>> home.
>>
>> If I can save a hundred dollars a year, maybe the "tire press" will
>> be less
>> than something like five years or five hundred dollars I'm hoping.
>>
>> Do they sell a "tire press" for around five or six hundred dollars?
>>
>
> Harbor Fright has a tire changing machine that goes for a lot less
> than 500 bucks . And it works reasonably well . They also sell a
> motorcycle wheel adapter kit for that machine . It also works
> reasonably well .

My neighbourhood small garage can patch my tire and then balance it
again for $20. $500 for the machine will be the cost of having 25 tires
fixed by a professional, and you still need to factor in the cost of the
patches and glue if you do it yourself at home. I don't think I will
ever need to fix 25 tires in my lifetime.

On 4/30/2023 6:08 AM, 😎 Mighty Wannabe ✅ wrote:
> On 4/30/2023 7:45 AM, Snag wrote:
>> On 4/29/2023 7:02 PM, Maxmillian wrote:
>>> On Sat, 29 Apr 2023 19:53:05 -0400, Ed P wrote:
>>>
>>>> In recent years I've only had two flats.  One was plugged and lasted 4
>>>> years until it, like the others, was worn.  The last one was bout 6
>>>> months ago. Patched inside, re-balanced.  Total was $28 and a half
>>>> hour.
>>>
>>> I don't normally get flats myself, but I was counting the whole family.
>>> It average to something like one flat a year, which, at $28 would be
>>> fine
>>> but it's more than four times that when they talk you into a new tire.
>>>
>>> I don't think your half hour is even close to the time unless you
>>> were able
>>> to drive on the flat tire, as I'd say it takes at least a half hour
>>> just to
>>> remove all the crap in the trunk, remove the spare, figure out where the
>>> jack is, put it together, remove the old tire, and throw it back in the
>>> trunk.
>>>
>>> Then there's the wait at the tire shop where just waiting on the line
>>> could
>>> be half of that half hour. So unless you live across the street from the
>>> GoodYear tire shop, it's almost impossible for it to be a half hour
>>> where I
>>> live. The commute alone is an hour.
>>>
>>>> I've heard they no longer plug tires as they don't always hold up as
>>>> well as a patch inside.
>>>
>>> The guy showed me a "t-shaped" round patch with a wire in the middle
>>> what
>>> was blue on the inside end and black on the outside end. He called it a
>>> patchplug as I recall and he definitely removed the tire because he
>>> showed
>>> me the inside of the tire.
>>>
>>>> Good luck with your choice but I cannot justify buying equipment,
>>>> especially since the time the tire was plugged I was 600 miles from
>>>> home.
>>>
>>> If I can save a hundred dollars a year, maybe the "tire press" will
>>> be less
>>> than something like five years or five hundred dollars I'm hoping.
>>>
>>> Do they sell a "tire press" for around five or six hundred dollars?
>>>
>>
>> Harbor Fright has a tire changing machine that goes for a lot less
>> than 500 bucks . And it works reasonably well . They also sell a
>> motorcycle wheel adapter kit for that machine . It also works
>> reasonably well .
>
>
> My neighbourhood small garage can patch my tire and then balance it
> again for $20. $500 for the machine will be the cost of having 25 tires
> fixed by a professional, and you still need to factor in the cost of the
> patches and glue if you do it yourself at home. I don't think I will
> ever need to fix 25 tires in my lifetime.

https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=tire%20machine

On 4/30/2023 11:26 AM, Bob F wrote:
> On 4/30/2023 6:08 AM, 😎 Mighty Wannabe ✅ wrote:
>> On 4/30/2023 7:45 AM, Snag wrote:
>>> On 4/29/2023 7:02 PM, Maxmillian wrote:
>>>> On Sat, 29 Apr 2023 19:53:05 -0400, Ed P wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> In recent years I've only had two flats.  One was plugged and
>>>>> lasted 4
>>>>> years until it, like the others, was worn.  The last one was bout 6
>>>>> months ago. Patched inside, re-balanced.  Total was $28 and a half
>>>>> hour.
>>>>
>>>> I don't normally get flats myself, but I was counting the whole
>>>> family.
>>>> It average to something like one flat a year, which, at $28 would
>>>> be fine
>>>> but it's more than four times that when they talk you into a new tire.
>>>>
>>>> I don't think your half hour is even close to the time unless you
>>>> were able
>>>> to drive on the flat tire, as I'd say it takes at least a half hour
>>>> just to
>>>> remove all the crap in the trunk, remove the spare, figure out
>>>> where the
>>>> jack is, put it together, remove the old tire, and throw it back in
>>>> the
>>>> trunk.
>>>>
>>>> Then there's the wait at the tire shop where just waiting on the
>>>> line could
>>>> be half of that half hour. So unless you live across the street
>>>> from the
>>>> GoodYear tire shop, it's almost impossible for it to be a half hour
>>>> where I
>>>> live. The commute alone is an hour.
>>>>
>>>>> I've heard they no longer plug tires as they don't always hold up as
>>>>> well as a patch inside.
>>>>
>>>> The guy showed me a "t-shaped" round patch with a wire in the
>>>> middle what
>>>> was blue on the inside end and black on the outside end. He called
>>>> it a
>>>> patchplug as I recall and he definitely removed the tire because he
>>>> showed
>>>> me the inside of the tire.
>>>>
>>>>> Good luck with your choice but I cannot justify buying equipment,
>>>>> especially since the time the tire was plugged I was 600 miles
>>>>> from home.
>>>>
>>>> If I can save a hundred dollars a year, maybe the "tire press" will
>>>> be less
>>>> than something like five years or five hundred dollars I'm hoping.
>>>>
>>>> Do they sell a "tire press" for around five or six hundred dollars?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Harbor Fright has a tire changing machine that goes for a lot less
>>> than 500 bucks . And it works reasonably well . They also sell a
>>> motorcycle wheel adapter kit for that machine . It also works
>>> reasonably well .
>>
>>
>> My neighbourhood small garage can patch my tire and then balance it
>> again for $20. $500 for the machine will be the cost of having 25
>> tires fixed by a professional, and you still need to factor in the
>> cost of the patches and glue if you do it yourself at home. I don't
>> think I will ever need to fix 25 tires in my lifetime.
>
> https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=tire%20machine

Thanks for the link, but it's a lot of work taking the tire off the car,
prying it open, patching the puncture, and then putting the tire back
together and onto the car (minus the balancing). I haven't encountered
enough tire punctures in my life to justify saving that once in a blue
moon $20 expense to get someone else to fix it for me.

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 30 Apr 2023 09:08:14 -0400, ? Mighty Wannabe
? <@.> wrote:

>Snag said:
>> Harbor Fright has a tire changing machine that goes for a lot less
>> than 500 bucks . And it works reasonably well .

Maybe you're strong and an average person would have trouble with part
of the removal procedure?

Also, the one in the link had to be bolted to a concrete floor, right?
Maximilian should consider that.

>They also sell a
>> motorcycle wheel adapter kit for that machine . It also works
>> reasonably well .
>
>
>My neighbourhood small garage can patch my tire and then balance it
>again for $20. $500 for the machine will be the cost of having 25 tires

The hand machine was only 55 to 174. OTOH, the pneumatic one listed
first is 2300 (I said 1000 or more. Definitely more.)

>fixed by a professional, and you still need to factor in the cost of the
>patches and glue if you do it yourself at home. I don't think I will
>ever need to fix 25 tires in my lifetime.

Despite the difference in price, I too don't think it's worth removing
tires from rims at home, especially since most flats can be fixed from
the outside.

As an aside, the used tire store I go to now includes balancing, but at
stores where it was separate, I stopped doing it and never had any tire
vibration. Another improvement over the years must have been in the
innate balance of tires.

On Sunday, April 30, 2023 at 3:33:30 PM UTC-4, Ed P wrote:
> On 4/30/2023 2:44 PM, Gronk wrote:
> > rbowman wrote:
> >
> >> On Sun, 30 Apr 2023 09:07:31 -0600, Gronk wrote:
> >>
> >>> I've noticed people who have never done something are always the ones
> >>> saying that it can't be done. We need to ask someone who has done it.
> >>>
> >>> Whoever posted those videos shows that it can easily be done at home.
> >>
> >> Very few of the videos show when the project turns to shit. You know,
> >> when your entire vocabulary has been pruned down to 'Fuck! Fuck!
> >> Fuck!' as you beat on the tire with a 5lb hammer trying to get the
> >> fucking bead to seat.
> >>
> >> I've noticed the people who have never done something tend to be over
> >> optimistic.
> >
> > People promoting it often make it sound a little bit easier than it is.
> > People deprecating it always make it sound a lot harder than it really is.
> >
> > Usually they're just justifying why _they_ would never do home repairs.
> > You have to wonder why they are on a home repair newsgroup after all.
> Tires are auto, not home repair.
> Few here can justify the cost of equipment to do it properly.
> In the past 8 years I bought 4 tires, had one repaired. No way I can
> justify buying the equipment and doing the labor. It would be a big
> loss compared to investing that money and paying labor as needed.
>
> Just because you can, does not mean you should.

+1

And it's not like the equipment is just a special wrench. The equipment
is big and bulky, needs to be bolted to floor and then you either have to unbolt
it and store it or leave it there. And you can't do dynamic balancing with the
minimal equipment either. When you can get a tire mounted and balanced
for $25, not something I'm going to do. And I do a lot of my own work on cars.

On Monday, May 1, 2023 at 9:12:47 AM UTC-4, RonTheGuy wrote:
> On Apr 30, 2023, Bob F wrote
> (in article<news:u2nhb7$177f$1...@dont-email.me>):
> >> As for excuses, at my age I no longer crawl under cars.
> >
> > At 74, I am a little slower at it at worst.
> I am about the same age and I also find it "less fun" to be lying on the
> ground removing an oil filter bolt, but I still do it because of two great
> values, the first being you get better quality oil at a lower price, and
> the second being the satisfaction that you know the job is done right.
>
> There are other benefits such as the time savings (an oil change is just
> about the quickest job that can be done on a car - even vacuuming it takes
> longer) and convenience of doing it when you want it done, but the main
> reason is better oil at a better price & the satisfaction of doing it.

I've yet to see a case where an engine failure or other problem could be
attributed to the oil, as long as it was the correct type for the car and the
oil was changed at the proper intervals. I get a good laugh on the car forums,
the gearheads that are buying expensive synthetic oils for their BMWs, then
changing it every 3000 miles. They change the transmission fluid, differential
fluids, etc every 10K miles too. Makes them and the companies selling the
stuff feel good.

>
> If someone doesn't want to do it, they will always make up a million
> excuses for why they don't want to do it - which is what they do.

You don't need an excuse to choose to not do your own oil changes.
There are advantages, like not having to collect the oil and take it somewhere
in your brand new car to properly dispose of it, keeping a dirty oil pan
container around I suspect many of the DIY
types just pour it in the back woods. And it's not like it's real expensive paying
for an oil change, I see prices here all the time that aren't much more than
what it costs for oil and a filter. I've done it both ways at various times.

On Monday, May 1, 2023 at 9:45:12 AM UTC-4, RonTheGuy wrote:
> On Apr 30, 2023, rbowman wrote
> (in article<news:kb8uub...@mid.individual.net>):
> >> The hand powered tire changer probably needs to be bolted to the floor
> >> to work well.
> >
> > Be sort of amusing if it wasn't. Of course that assumes you have a floor
> > to bolt it to, or space in the garage.
> That HF tire mounting tool seems to have holes pre-drilled for that.
>
> Do you have concrete outside anywhere you can impact drill a hole in for
> those lead things you pound into the hole and then you can screw in a bolt?
>

Yes, how about the front stamped concrete sidewalk?

On Monday, May 1, 2023 at 9:38:29 AM UTC-4, Gronk wrote:
> rbowman wrote:
>
> >> Third hit is also $112 but that's before any promotional deals.
> >> https://simpletire.com/brands/cooper-tires/cs5-grand-touring
> >
> > iirc, that's about what I paid at Tire-Rama -- mounted.
>
> At today's prices, a hundred dollar tire is downright inexpensive!
>
> Simple Tire runs so many deals their discounts are like spam in your inbox
> though, so you will often get that same tire for 25% off (usually you have
> to buy four of them at a time to get the discount, which is why I said
> previously that you get one tire free for every four tires that you buy).
>
> Also you can find less expensive tires with better specs if you know how to
> buy tires, but most people don't know how to buy tires so they buy what was
> already on the car as that's the only tire they know anything about.
>
> Most people, I've noticed, are afraid to take a risk so they only buy the
> one tire brand that they feel comfortable with. Some people, like me, are
> willing to take a risk, so what I do is find a tire with a better spec at a
> lower price and I buy it.
>
> But most people are too afraid to step off the dock into the unsteady boat.

which is why I said
previously that you get one tire free for every four tires that you buy).

If you buy 4 and get one free .that that is 5 total for 25 percent savings. If you buy 3 and get the 4th free it is 33 percent

On 5/1/2023 4:22 PM, Thomas wrote:
> On Monday, May 1, 2023 at 9:38:29 AM UTC-4, Gronk wrote:
>> rbowman wrote:
>>
>>>> Third hit is also $112 but that's before any promotional deals.
>>>> https://simpletire.com/brands/cooper-tires/cs5-grand-touring
>>> iirc, that's about what I paid at Tire-Rama -- mounted.
>> At today's prices, a hundred dollar tire is downright inexpensive!
>>
>> Simple Tire runs so many deals their discounts are like spam in your inbox
>> though, so you will often get that same tire for 25% off (usually you have
>> to buy four of them at a time to get the discount, which is why I said
>> previously that you get one tire free for every four tires that you buy).
>>
>> Also you can find less expensive tires with better specs if you know how to
>> buy tires, but most people don't know how to buy tires so they buy what was
>> already on the car as that's the only tire they know anything about.
>>
>> Most people, I've noticed, are afraid to take a risk so they only buy the
>> one tire brand that they feel comfortable with. Some people, like me, are
>> willing to take a risk, so what I do is find a tire with a better spec at a
>> lower price and I buy it.
>>
>> But most people are too afraid to step off the dock into the unsteady boat.
> which is why I said
> previously that you get one tire free for every four tires that you buy).
>
> If you buy 4 and get one free .that that is 5 total for 25 percent savings. If you buy 3 and get the 4th free it is 33 percent

You need to turn your head upside down so you can think the other way
'round.

If you get 4 and pay for the price of 3, then you are getting 25% off.

On Monday, May 1, 2023 at 4:58:43 PM UTC-4, 😎 Mighty Wannabe ✅ wrote:
> On 5/1/2023 4:22 PM, Thomas wrote:
> > On Monday, May 1, 2023 at 9:38:29 AM UTC-4, Gronk wrote:
> >> rbowman wrote:
> >>
> >>>> Third hit is also $112 but that's before any promotional deals.
> >>>> https://simpletire.com/brands/cooper-tires/cs5-grand-touring
> >>> iirc, that's about what I paid at Tire-Rama -- mounted.
> >> At today's prices, a hundred dollar tire is downright inexpensive!
> >>
> >> Simple Tire runs so many deals their discounts are like spam in your inbox
> >> though, so you will often get that same tire for 25% off (usually you have
> >> to buy four of them at a time to get the discount, which is why I said
> >> previously that you get one tire free for every four tires that you buy).
> >>
> >> Also you can find less expensive tires with better specs if you know how to
> >> buy tires, but most people don't know how to buy tires so they buy what was
> >> already on the car as that's the only tire they know anything about.
> >>
> >> Most people, I've noticed, are afraid to take a risk so they only buy the
> >> one tire brand that they feel comfortable with. Some people, like me, are
> >> willing to take a risk, so what I do is find a tire with a better spec at a
> >> lower price and I buy it.
> >>
> >> But most people are too afraid to step off the dock into the unsteady boat.
> > which is why I said
> > previously that you get one tire free for every four tires that you buy).
> >
> > If you buy 4 and get one free .that that is 5 total for 25 percent savings. If you buy 3 and get the 4th free it is 33 percent
> You need to turn your head upside down so you can think the other way
> 'round.
>
> If you get 4 and pay for the price of 3, then you are getting 25% off.

If you get 4 and pay for the price of 3, then you are getting 25% off.

If I buy 3 at full price and the next is free that free one was 33.
10, 10, 10, free. The cost of 1 of 3 is one third.
If I paid 10, 10, 10, 10 and get a rebate for 1 it is 25.