Change Tyres Checklist

To change tyres of your car, you need to make sure you have the following:

• A spare wheel with inflated tyre

• A screwdriver

• A wheel brace and tyre jack

• A clean rag

• A warning triangle

Change Tyres – Safety first

First things first, before you even think of changing tyres, you need to make sure that you are safe. If a puncture has happened then it is important to drive slowly whilst trying to find a place to put your car out of danger. You should then switch on your hazard lights, apply the handbrake and turn off the engine. It is also important to make sure to select the reverse gear in your car if it is a manual or ‘park’ if your car is an automatic.

Once the car is parked and in a safe location, you can place your warning triangle 50 meters behind your car (if possible). This will help warn any drivers that you are a hazard before they get to you.

Change Tyres – Preparation is key

If you have any passengers with you, make sure that they exit the vehicle and move safely away from the road. Make sure that all luggage is removed from the boot if it is obstructing access to the spare tyre. From here, you can check to make sure that the tyre is inflated and that the tyre jack and wheel brace are also okay to use.

Take these items out of your car and look at the vehicle handbook for detailed instructions and any additional information when its time to change tyres.

Change Tyres – Getting Started

Now you are safe and prepared, you can remove the plastic wheel trim. You can then loosen the wheel nuts. To do this, turn the wheel brace half a turn in an anti-clockwise direction. Sometimes this can be stiff and difficult to turn, you can use your body weight on the brace to make it easier to turn. 

Change Tyres – Jacking up the car

The next step in the process is getting the old tyre off the ground. To do so you will need your tyre jack from the checklist. You will need to go into your vehicle handbook to find the correct lifting position for your car. 

Please note that this position can be different for every car so it is important to consult your vehicle handbook. If you jack the car at the wrong point it can collapse and cause damage to your car.

You can then raise your car slightly off the ground , you can push the spare wheel under the body of the car to make sure that it doesn’t slip.

Change Tyres – Removing the wheel

Continue to raise your car until the wheel is just clear of the road. You can unscrew the wheel nuts and put them in a safe place (pocket, bag etc.) so you don’t lose them. While taking your time, you can then remove the wheel from the car. Please bear in mind that it will be dirty and also quite heavy so make sure to take caution when doing so.

Change Tyres – Fitting the tyre

Now, you can fit your new wheel on your car. Make sure that your new wheel is the right way round and placed onto the car’s chassis. Begin putting your wheel nuts back in with diagonal pairs. Tighten these until they are finger tight and place the old wheel flat under the raised sill of the car as a safety cushion.

Change Tyres – Lowering the car down

After fitting your new car tyre, you now need to get the car back on the ground safely. Lower the car using the jack until the tyre touches the ground. You can then lightly tighten the nuts using the wheel brace and also remove the old tyre from under the car. One everything has been tightened and removed, you can lower the car onto the ground.

Change Tyres – Finishing touches

You can fully tighten the wheel nuts again using a diagonal pattern, so as not to distort the wheel, put the equipment back in the boot, and refit the plastic wheel trim. Ideally these wheel nuts will need to be checked so as each wheel nut is tightened to the correct torque setting, ensuring they are tightened to the correct tightness.

Congratulations! You have now successfully replaced your car tyre. If you want to get your car serviced to reduce the risk of this happening and to get your wheel nuts Torques to the correct setting or if you want a new set of tyres, make sure to contact a member of the team at Motorserv UK.