After the bead is broke, which on these new style small diameter, low profile radials, in not exactly easy without a bead breaker, this is how i prepare to remove the tire. The single most important thing about removing/replacing tires on the rim, is to KEEP THE BEAD IN THE WELL, OR NARROW RADIUS OF THE RIM, OPPOSITE OF WHERE YOU ARE WORKING. That is the function of the wood blocks shown here. Tire changing without a regular machine, is basically a 3 or 4 hand operation,,you have to improvise for the missing hands. Note lever wired down so i can go to work adjacent to it..

With large dia., narrow tube type tires you lever the bead over both sides of the rim, the turn the rim 90 degrees to the tire an pull it out..Unless you are a gorilla, dont waste you time doing it that way with these wide low profile tires. These modern tires are easist to remove by levering both beads over the SAME rim edge. Here I have the first bead over the rim,,juiced up the correct friction surfaces real good, this required reaching inside, flipped it over and from this position, I pulled the rim out by hand..

After cleaning the rim, both inside and out, I find the true heavy spot of the rim. On this one, it is about 30 degrees from the valve stem. Your tire shop will just put the alignment marks at the vavle stem. Just to check, it took 9 grams to balance this bare rim. This is something most shops cant afford to take the time to do..Note rim finish is not compromised,.

After double checking the direction of rotation, marked on the tire, then juicing up the correct friction surfaces real good, I simply pushed the first bead on the rim without the levers.. My experience with these new low profile radials, the second side off and the first side on, is easy. And the first side off, and the second on are difficult. Much of this difficulty stems from protecting the rim from permanent tool marks.

See the red dots. As marked at the factory, this is the light spot of the tire. I have lined them up with the TRUE HEAVY SPOT, not the valve stem, where your tire shop most likely puts them. These dots are supposted to be opposite rim light spot. The idea is for the weight variance of the tire and rim to cancel each other. The last Dunlop I mounted had a yellow ring ink stamp for this purpose. Some new tires have no balance marks. Others with balance marks, are not marked accurately.

Second side on. Note wood blocks keeping bead in short radius of the rim. If everything is correct, it should not take a great deal of lever force to get that last little bit of bead on(or off). I never have, but I suppose you could bend the rim or damage the tire using long levers and not using the proper technique. For rim protectors I use pieces of garden hose, I dont see how the store bought ones could work any better. It is possible for them to end up in the tire, so I put cable ties in them just incase I had to fish them out.. I use dish soap and water for the lubricant, havent had a problem with it in 35 years.

Before adding weights. Factory marks were close but not perfect, this is why my rim true heavy spot is not straight up or down. My rim heavy spot is heavier than the tire heavy spot. This tire was made with great precision. Here's how I know, earlier I determined my rim heavy spot was 9 grams, it took 4 grams near the tire heavy spot(or opposite the rim heavy spot) to balance this tire/rim,,so the tire heavy spot was only 5 grams, not bad for for an item of this configuration that weighs about 10 pounds..Anyway, I have just installed a new MeZ4 for a total cost of $121. After tax and all, at the dealer this would cost nearly $200..Note un-marred condition of rim finish. You dont have to be some sort of genius to do this, but it is an aquired skill. To learn this skill, take your time and dont be in a hurry until you have figured out the technique.

This is something your shop cannot afford to take the time to do, clean the inside of the rim,, if you do it every tire change, its easy..Why do it? makes for an easier tire change, less chance for a minor air seep at the bead seating area...no scientific data, only experience, but i have found my tires hold their pressure for a longer time by doing this,,

For the time being, Dunlop uses this yellow ring stamp for the alignment mark, dont let other marks on the tire confuse you.