Well I had my rims since..... March I think? When i had the wheels put on I kept my steel wheels with the tires on them. I'm planning on using my steel wheels during the winter and use them with some snow tires. Now, winter is still a little while away however I'm going away for two weeks and I figure if they're going on sooner or later; Might as well put them on before I leave, that way I get a little piece of mind knowing my car isn't sitting in front of the house for two weeks on my rims.. or hoping that its still on my rims... I don't live in the nicest neighborhood. Now here's the question... or questions rather. The wheels are just that. They're wheels with the tire on them, not inflated or anything. Look like they were just put on with the tire iron or w.e its called. My question is, can I just inflate them like a regular tire or is there a sealant that goes between the wheel and the tire? My second question is, I'd be driving on them for 2-3 weeks before I get the snow tires on. If they're not balanced would anything bad happen? I don't care about excess wear on the tires since I won't use them for long anyway, but I'm thinking anything to the car? I'd probably be expecting some vibrations right?

 

i don' think you need to get your wheels and tires rebalanced if you just swapping a set for the season. once they are balances, i think they stay that way until you put a new tire on the rim.

as for inflating them when they are not on the rim. i don't think so, because the rim is part of the seal isn't it? it is sealed around the rim, that is why bent rims lose air, beacause the seal is broken.

 

That's what I thought, but when ever I see them put tires on rims they always wipe the rim of the tire with something, I assumed it was some kind of lube to make the tire go on easier but I wanted to double check.

I don't think the balance stays because. 1) I think they took off the weights on the rim. 2) I think the balance would be off since I can almost guarantee the tires arn't in the same exact spot they were before. I'm sure they rotated around the steel wheel, I'm assuming that alone would be enough to unbalance the wheel

 

I just checked the wheels and the weights are still on there. All I need to do is put valve stems on and inflate them. So I'm guessing everything should be good? Don't need to do anything special?

 

well, if they took the weights off the tires, then yeah, they would be unbalanced. but think about this, when you get your oil changed, and have your tires rotated, do you have the tires balanced again? they take each tire off and move it to another corner, do they need to be rebalanced? nope, they are still fine.

so if you just took them off and stored them for a few months, they would still be fine, but if they removed the weights, then yeah, you need to get balanced again. same if you took the tire off the rim, it wouldn't go back in the same place.

 

aright. It looks like all the weights are still there. Would anything bad happen to the car itself over the 2 week period that I'd have the wheels possibly unbalanced for? or just bad vibration? I mean for two weeks I could deal with some vibration while I get the new tires tires in. I'm sure worried about an unbalanced tire maybe messing up the suspension or something.

 

as far as the weights go, i dont think your suspension will be messed up. i could be wrong. as far as the tire goes, does the bead (the part that goes on the rim itself) seal up against the rim? if i does, you can inflate it. I wouldnt want to be very close however. maybe out something between you and the tire just in case.

 

Well I got some valves and tried filling the tire up. First off. I got some valves that you have to force through the hole, they lock in place, weird but seemed to work. I started filling the tire up and it popped into place, the bead I'm assuming that is, in all places except for one. I'm assuming It would just pop in on its own as the PSI rose but I didn't want to risk it. Would it pop into place on its own or would I have to put it in place before hand. If so how would I put it in place?

 

um try filling it to about 40 psi, then stand the tire up and while keeping your hands clear of the bead area, tap it generously with a hammer near the part where it wont seat. if not, i wouldnt recommend airing it up much more than 40. try taking it to a tire shop, they should be able to air it up for free unless they're jerks. whats the tire size btw?

 

right now they're just the stock tC spec tires. 205/55/R16. I'll try airing it up to 40 and see what happens. Yesterday I only got it up to like 25 cuz I wasn't too sure if it was or wasn't supposed to seat properly.

 

I inflated the tires. They both didn't seat properly at first but fell into place at around 30PSI. My god did the tire popping into place make a loud noise. Scared me the first time. I could see why you wouldn't want your fingers in the bead when that happens I filled them up to 31/32 PSI. Gona wait until tomorrow to make sure they're not leaking air then gona throw em on my car. Thanks guys.

 

Way to go! :D Yea i remember when i worked in a tire shop, some of the uber low profile tires sounded like a .50 caliber went off when the beads seated.

 

okay, well seems i got here a little too late. But no, there is nothing inbetween the tire and the wheel when inflating them. that loud pop noise you heard was the bead sealing. its suppose to do that 2ce. one on each side. as to balance and being off weight. the tires will wear unevenly and you might shake a little bit at certain speeds. but besides that you will be fine. let me know if you have any more questions about tires and stuff. i work for bridgestone/firestone so i sorta do that for a living. sorry i have poor spelling but its pretty easy to understand.
-tyler