Studless Tire Replacement (DIY Edition)
In Toyama, most cars have their tires and wheels replaced with studless tires when winter arrives (November/December). *[As of December 9th, in 5 locations within Toyama Prefecture, the total winter tire installation rate is 94%, with 6% not yet installed.]
And it is a customary event to switch back to summer tires in March/April.
Inevitably, this means swapping a total of 8 tires twice a year. My parents' storage shed had a floor jack, and I used to do the replacement myself before I got a Prado. However, since the 2-ton jack could only lift it to about 30cm, I had my regular shop do it for a while. As the labor costs for this have been rising year by year, I resumed doing the tire replacement myself, taking the purchase of a 3-ton jack as an opportunity.
Regarding the work procedureI would like to introduce it.
1.First,things to prepare
Jack (a floor jack is best), cross wrench, 556 (lubricant).
For an MT car: front wheels (pull the side brake, leave the shift in neutral), rear wheels (put the shift in reverse and release the side brake).
For an AT car: I use P & side brake, which is the normal parking state.
2. Jack pointconfirmation
For a standard passenger car, you would place the vehicle's pantograph jack on the "jack-up point" at the edge of the underbody near the center of the body from each tire, but for RV types, I place it on the lower part of the axle side of each wheel. *If you try to lift an RV by placing it on the body side, the suspension will extend, so you won't be able to lift it all the way.
3. Start jacking upand stop once just before it starts to lift. Loosen the wheel bolts slightly. This is because if you loosen them while the car's weight is on the tires, it puts a load on the bolts, which could potentially cause deformation in the worst case. Conversely, if you try to loosen them after the tire is fully raised, it is difficult to turn them because the fulcrum is high if the bolts are stuck, and the turning force is easily lost because the tire is facing upward. Also, a cross wrench or the vehicle's wrench will not fit well and will be difficult to use. It is also desirable to loosen each nut in a diagonal order.
4. Tire replacementRemove the 6 nuts and gentlyslide outthe summer tire to remove it. Be careful not to hit the brake disc, and put your best effort into doing it slowly so you don't hurt your lower back.
5. Spraying lubricantBefore installing the winter tires, spray a little lubricant (556) on the sides of the mounting bolts. This makes tightening smoother and prevents them from sticking when you remove them next time. *Quite important
6. Install so it does not become eccentricThis is the most important point. If a casual shop tightens them all at once with an impact driver, perhaps to save time, there is a possibility of eccentricity (the tire is not centered on the axle and is attached slightly tilted). In fact, after changing them at a mass retailer, I have had vibrations when driving at high speeds and had to reattach them myself. While keeping the tire in close contact with the base, first tighten them lightly indiagonal orderfor one round, and thentighten firmly on the second round.When I had an MT car, I used to tighten the bolts while rotating the tire, but since switching to an AT car, I am even more careful when tightening.
Genuine wheel nuts have washers, providing a larger tightening surface and more secure fixation, whereas aftermarket nuts are tapered, making it easier to center them.
7. Lower the jackOpen the hydraulic valve of the jack and lower it.
8. Retightening Again, tighten them a bit firmly and strongly in two passes in a diagonal order.
9. Removed tires Especially for winter tires (and some summer tires depending on the brand), the rotation direction is fixed, so make sure to keep track of where each tire was installed (front/rear and left/right). When installing them next time, I rotate them front-to-back without changing the left/right side to even out tire wear.
*By the way, both summer and winter tires are 265/65R17; the 95 Prado is 265/70R16, which is reasonably heavy. I have not upsized or increased the wheel diameter. I once bought a used car that had been upsized (275/70R16), and because the tire weight had increased, the shocks wore out quickly (which is natural since the unsprung weight increased). For the next set of tires, I returned to the normal size and also replaced the shock absorbers. In the end, considering everything, normal seems to be best.
The 95 Prado I drove until the year before last was driven for over 730,000 km over 27 and a half years, and I probably drove about 300,000 km on winter tires. For studless tires, I have used four brands: Bridgestone and Yokohama from Japan, and Michelin and Continental from overseas. When it comes to just snowy roads, the performance of domestic tires is excellent, and the grip of BS was certainly good, but for heavy RV-type vehicles, I had the impression that Y company was better. (I used both twice.) However, I often take long trips even in winter, and when it comes to highway driving, the benefits of prioritizing snow performance actually become a disadvantage. They are weak against heat and wear, and they wear out in no time. (BS only lasts one season.) In recent years, I have chosen Michelin exclusively and use them for 2-3 seasons. I tried Continental once when it was a bit cheaper at the time of replacement, but I returned to Michelin immediately because the snow performance was clearly unreliable.
