Rabbit Season! Duck Season!

No, it’s tire season. Specifically, time to remove the snows and install the performance. So this post isn’t about lamps, home improvement, or carpentry, but I feel like posting. 🙂

I have a second set of wheels so I do the work myself. I love my Mini Cooper, and this gives us a chance to bond while I pretend that I’m a mechanic (which I’m not!). Many of you may shriek when you see my technique (sounds like a line from “Rocky Horror“), but it works for me and I’ve never had issues.

Specifically: I swap two wheels at a time by centering the floor jack in the middle / side of the car (with a 2×4). I place jack stands under the jack points and lower the floor jack for safety when I’m working.

My list of tools for this project:

Floor Jack: 1 1/2 ton, old, donated by a friend years ago
Jack Stands: (2) Craftsman 9-50182 2-1/4 Tons Jack Stands
Impact Wrench: DeWALT DCF889B 20V 1/2″ High Torque Impact Wrench
Impact Socket: 17 mm (DeWALT DWMT19249)
Lug Wrench: 17 mm (shipped with the Mini)
Torque Wrench: Craftsman Microtork 44593, 44594, 44595 (too old to find online)
Air Compressor: Porter-Cable C2002 6-Gallon Pancake Air Compressor
Air Compressor Hose and Accessories: Rubber, Heavy Duty
Tire Pressure Gauge: Mini 82-12-0-150-931
Kneeler Board: Goldblatt G06966: Yes! Save your knees! And I can trust a name like “Goldblatt” when it comes to knees.

I had a few challenges this time around. The tire store mounted my snows last time (since they were new) and they over-tightened the lugs quite a bit! Except for the wheel locks, of course, which they appeared to hand-tighten. They also discarded my labels so it was impossible to rotate. I had to hammer the end of the lug wrench with a sledge to unfreeze the over-tightened lugs; I’ll be shopping for a new lug wrench and/or extender later today, and calling the store tomorrow.

But all’s well that ends well, and I’m happy that I was able to spend some quality time with my 2008 Mini Clubman S 🙂