Advise on removing original tires from rims

[DMC-Ron]

Greetings. I'm a new Delorean owner. I am totally amazed at the information available on this DMCTalk site. Just an exceptional amount of knowledge and information. It is reassuring to see the support among Delorean owners. Please excuse me if I ask questions that are too basic or have been covered in other threads. I have read a lot of the topics but it would take quite a while to read everything. Thanks in advance for your patience with a newbie.

The car is pretty original and low mileage. It starts and runs well, so at this point I feel fortunate.

The first order of business is the tires. After following the discussions, I chose to stick with the original tire sizes (abet with two different manufacturers). I now have the new tires and I've started the process by removing the original front tires. By the way, I was quite surprised that the lug nuts weren't totally frozen. In fact they came off much the same as any normal car. Now the tire was stuck and took some coaxing to break loose. Anyway, here are my first questions and concerns:

Obviously, I want to protect the original tires. I may want them at some point in the future. I want to get them off the rims undamaged. I also don't want the rims (which look brand new) scratched or scraped. I'm concerned about just taking them to a franchise tire center. What suggestions would you have? Who can I trust to do the job carefully? Also, this is the middle of winter and I'm speculating that I want the original tires warm and pliable when they are stretched over the rim. I can think of several methods to keep the tires warm right up to the point they get removed from the rims, but I'm wondering if I'm just overthinking this. Has anyone had issues when they replaced their 33 year old tires? Were you able to salvage the originals? Finally, regarding the rims: Are there any concerns with scratching or scraping the rims when using a modern tire changer found at most tire shops? Any issue with the center emblems having been there for 33 years?

I appreciate and look forward to your suggestions and stories.

Sincerely,
Ron

[Christian Dietrich]

You can have whoever use a spray lube spray down the rim/tire bead and carefully use the tire machine to loosen up the bead off the rim also while appling the spray lube to carefully break it away from the rim. Its not that big a deal. Used to do this many years ago when i worked at a GM dealership and breaking tires off of custom rims off of speciality tires like slicks and such.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

[Bitsyncmaster]

I also had one very corroded bead area on one of my rims. It would hold air for only a few days with the new tire. I had to have the new tire removed and then I cleaned the rim beads with an abrasive type wheel that you use in a drill. That cleaned up the beads to look like new. You may want to have your old tires removed and clean up the rims before you have the new tires installed.

Also, insist on stick on wheel weights. The standard clip weights will damage the aluminum.

[powerline84]

Also on my front rims that I changed to tires on a machine lately myself I had to use tire snot liberally to seal the bead. If you take them to a store they should already know to do today but you can give them a heads up.

[David T]

Also on my front rims that I changed to tires on a machine lately myself I had to use tire snot liberally to seal the bead. If you take them to a store they should already know to do today but you can give them a heads up.

Any place that has a modern tire machine should be able to remove and install tires without damaging the paint. The old tires are worthless unless you intend to participate in a concours judging. As mentioned you may have to have corrosion removed in the bead area but that won't show after you put the tire on. Replace the spare too. On that you really do need to use bead sealer. Replace the wiper blades. Flush and replace ALL fluids. Replace the struts. Plan on replacing all of the coolant hoses, seals and gaskets. Expect to rebuild/replace the brake calipers and master cylinder, if a 5-speed the clutch hydraulics too.

[Drive Stainless]

Also, insist on stick on wheel weights. The standard clip weights will damage the aluminum.

Costco's tire center appears to be using the clip-on weights.

[David T]

Costco's tire center appears to be using the clip-on weights.

To use Costco you must be a member and you have to buy the tires from them, they will only install their own tires, not ones a customer brings in.

[DMC-81]

Welcome Ron and congrats on the purchase! :)

Down here at least, I found that a franchise tire center (and glass, alignment, etc shops) wouldn't touch a DeLorean for liability reasons. So, I sought out an independent custom/classic shop that was well reviewed for quality work. I got the shop owner to do the work and specified that I wanted him to take his time and be careful. He was totally willing to do that and he did a great job removing the old tires and installing my new ones while I watched. Even with my other cars, I require an experienced tech to do the work. If they won't let me watch (if appropriate), I decline the service. (live and learn)

As they did work on custom wheels, they had plastic sleeves for their tools to protect the rims. I removed the center caps and cleaned the inside of the rims really well before taking them in. The cleaning helps the sticky weights adhere better rather than relying on a quick wipe by the installer.

I understand your reasoning for keeping the NCTs. I would do the same. I would clean them well with just soap and water and store them out of sunlight and extreme temperatures.

Cheers,

[Patrick C]

I understand your reasoning for keeping the NCTs. I would do the same. I would clean them well with just soap and water and store them out of sunlight and extreme temperatures.

Cheers,

I would clean the tires, then use a good tire shine protectant on them, and then store them in black garbage bags to seal them and prevent UV light and ozone damage to the rubber.

[Iznodmad]

Find a local owner to you and ask where they take their DeLorean for tire work. I'm fortunate to have a local independently owned tire shop 3 miles from my house that loves classic cars. The shop owner is a car enthusiast and always treats my DeLoreans with the greatest care and respect. Lots of local owners use him too.

[Mark D]

My main concern when I had tires replaced on my car was letting some random tire tech drive my car and whether or not they would properly support it on the lift, or have a lift low enough to get underneath my car. I ultimately decided to put my car on jack stands myself in my garage, remove all the wheels myself and take them in to the shop separately in another vehicle. I had the correct size tires shipped to my house and provided them along with the wheels and tires off the car. Sites like tire rack and discount tire also allow you to drop ship tires directly to the installer of your choice, or you could just buy the tires at the local shop doing the tire swapping.

As others have suggested, clean the insides of the rims really well and specify that you want sticky weights only. The hammer on style weights will damage paint on the lip of the rim and they look pretty bad in general anway. Any competent tire place should be able to remove the old tires and install new ones without damaging the paint on the rims and install sticky weights to balance.

There are other non-DeLorean specific sites that have lots of info on how to properly store your old NCT's for safe keeping, but as others have said it pretty much involves storing them in a cool, dry, (but not too dry) place out of the sunlight. Putting each tire in its own black plastic bag and storing them in a basement seems to be a good way to go.

[David T]

My main concern when I had tires replaced on my car was letting some random tire tech drive my car and whether or not they would properly support it on the lift, or have a lift low enough to get underneath my car. I ultimately decided to put my car on jack stands myself in my garage, remove all the wheels myself and take them in to the shop separately in another vehicle. I had the correct size tires shipped to my house and provided them along with the wheels and tires off the car. Sites like tire rack and discount tire also allow you to drop ship tires directly to the installer of your choice, or you could just buy the tires at the local shop doing the tire swapping.

As others have suggested, clean the insides of the rims really well and specify that you want sticky weights only. The hammer on style weights will damage paint on the lip of the rim and they look pretty bad in general anway. Any competent tire place should be able to remove the old tires and install new ones without damaging the paint on the rims and install sticky weights to balance.

There are other non-DeLorean specific sites that have lots of info on how to properly store your old NCT's for safe keeping, but as others have said it pretty much involves storing them in a cool, dry, (but not too dry) place out of the sunlight. Putting each tire in its own black plastic bag and storing them in a basement seems to be a good way to go.

By now it really isn't going to matter how you store the NCT's. Their "Best By" date is LONG gone. I would hesitate storing anything in plastic in a basement because the dampness and darkness will promote mold. If you feel you must keep and store them just keep them dry and out of sunlight in a cool place.

[DMC-Ron]

Wow! Thanks for all the tips and advice. It's reinforcing to know that some of my concerns were legitimate, and reassuring to hear that this is not super tricky if I’m selective in whom I pick to do the work while incorporating your suggestions. Christian - Good suggestion regarding using lube on the tire and rim. I’ll make sure the tire service is aware. Bitsyncmaster - I hadn’t considered making it a two-step process, but I could have them remove the original tires, take the rims and clean them up, then bring them back to mount the new tires. I didn’t know about the stick-on balance weights. Now I will insist on them. David - Thanks for the reminder that there’s a lot of items to address on a low mileage vehicle. I’ll certainly be looking at all the fluids right away. Other items will be taken step-by-step. Dana - Good tip on seeking out custom/classic shops. I will see if I can contact some folks that organize the classic car shows in my area to get their suggestions, or as Iznodmad suggests, I’ll try to find some DeLorean owners in my area (I’m in Oregon by the way, near Corvallis). Patrick - what tire shine/protectant do you recommend?

Thanks to everyone for the help.
Ron

[Morpheus]

https://www.goldeagle.com/sites/default/files/styles/product_detail_main/public/303-Products-Aerospace-Protectant_0.png?itok=kg4SN2zS

<$14 on Amazon. Friend of mine is a professional detailer and he swears by this stuff.
https://www.amazon.com/303-30313-CSR-Protectant-Trigger-Sprayer/dp/B00KN0UOEE/ref=pd_lpo_263_bs_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=BVK6F09158XF3JT2VQ59

[mluder]

Hi, Ron.

Welcome from another Oregon owner... I'm in the Portland metro area though so I can't help with local recomendations. You might try reaching out to the Pacific Northwest DeLorean Club. We have members all over the PNW and it's possible one is near you.

BTW - I also use this - the Aerospace Protectant. Haven't tried it on tires but I have used it on my hoses in the engine bay and black parts of the fascias... Gives them a nice deep shine. Don't get it on the stainless if you can help it. It causes the appearance of dark wet spots (not permanent) that are a bit of a bugger to get off.

Cheers
Steven


https://www.goldeagle.com/sites/default/files/styles/product_detail_main/public/303-Products-Aerospace-Protectant_0.png?itok=kg4SN2zS

<$14 on Amazon. Friend of mine is a professional detailer and he swears by this stuff.
https://www.amazon.com/303-30313-CSR-Protectant-Trigger-Sprayer/dp/B00KN0UOEE/ref=pd_lpo_263_bs_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=BVK6F09158XF3JT2VQ59