How To Install Your Tire And Wheel Package

May 8, 2011

Installing new wheels and tires is one of the most common upgrades auto owners make to their cars and trucks.

These installation packages usually consist of larger wheels and tires.

This can improve appearance and performance. With a few tools, you can easily install a tire and wheel package on your vehicle.

It usually takes only minutes to install tires and wheels on your vehicle; but remember, they’ll probably be on for 3,000 miles or more, and will roll over a million times before it’s time to rotate them.

To make those miles as pleasant as possible, you need to install your new Tire and Wheel Package correctly.

1. Lift the vehicle at all four corners and lower it onto jack stands, working on one side at a time

If you do not want to support the vehicle on jack stands, you can use the floor jack to remove and replace one wheel at a time with the new wheel and tire package.

Once the wheel and tire is installed, you can lower the vehicle and move onto the next wheel.

2. Loosen the lug nuts on all four of the current wheels with a lug wrench. You can also use a socket and a ratchet to loosen them.

When removing lug nuts or bolts, never use powered impact wrenches of any type. It’s best to carefully remove lugs with a four-way wrench or a socket on a breaker bar. An impact wrench may damage the lugs.

3. Finish removing the lug nuts on the wheels. Slide the wheel off of the hub. Clean any dirt and debris off of the hub mounting surface with a rag before installing the new wheel.

4. Slide the new wheel onto the hub. Thread on the lug nuts or lug bolts and tighten them with the lug wrench. Repeat for the remaining wheels.
NOTE: Do not force your lug nuts or bolts on with a wrench. They should be able to be turned by hand.

5. Put your vehicle’s transmission into neutral and turn each wheel by hand while making certain that the outer edge of the disc brake caliper doesn’t touch the inside of the rim or that the side of the caliper doesn’t come into contact with the backside of the wheel or the wheel balancing weights.

6. Lower your car to the ground and finish tightening the lug nuts with a torque wrench to the manufacturer’s recommended wheel bolt torque setting. This will vary depending on the make and model of your car.

7. Drive the car for several miles. Park it and recheck the lug nuts to make sure that they are properly tightened. If any are loose, tighten them to the proper settings.