ALT-1 Tools Needed to Change a Tire
Changing a tyre after a puncture is one of the easiest pieces of work to do on a car, requiring very little skill or expertise. It is though only an easy job if the correct tools are to hand.
At its most basic level only three tools are required, the jack, the wheel-nut wrench and the spare tyre; items which are normally located in modern cars within a well within the boot. In an ideal world though the list of tools required is slightly longer and a bit more complex.
The jack is required to lift up the car, enabling the flat tyre to be removed and the spare to be put in place. The jack though needs to be positioned correctly, information which is often found in the car’s handbook. These places are normally reinforced, and positioning the jack in a different place could damage the underside of the car. The jacking points might, or might not, be easy to spot simple by looking, but the car handbook makes it obvious.
The removal of a tyre requires the wheel nuts to be removed. These nuts are often hidden behind a hub cap, something which may require a screwdriver or some other leverage to remove.
The wheel-nut wrench may have a thin end on it to help with the removal of hub caps, but many modern ones do not. Instead many modern wheel nut wrenches are extendable, the longer the wrench the more leverage can be applied, something which could be important for extremely tight wheel nuts. If the wrench is not extendable then an extension bar may be required, although it is something that few people would carry in their car.
An increasing number of people are also using locking nuts to ensure that their tyres are more difficult to steal. If changing a tyre though this means that the adapter to remove the locking nut will also be required. Whilst it is possible to remove a locking nut without the adapter, it is not an easy or quick process and often need a garage to undertake the work.
The spare tyre itself needs to be legal, meaning that there is a legal amount of tread on it. Additionally though for safe driving it will also need to be inflated to the correct pressure. This means that a foot-pump and a pressure gauge are required, and again whilst it was once common to carry a pump in the car, it is something that few people do today.
When it comes to changing a tyre the handbrake must be on, but as additional measure it is a good idea to also have a wheel chock to hand, the chock will prevent the car from moving when the tyre is being changed. Other tools which are also useful to have are gloves, as changing a tyre is an extremely dirty job; a torch to help with visibility if changing a tyre at night, and also reflective clothing, to help prevent accidents.
Whilst changing a flat tyre is easy, the ease only comes from having the correct tools, the spare tyre, wrench and jack are essential.
