So I've purchased a set of 265/40/18 Bridgestone Potenza RE-11's for my rear. I went to our local car shop to get them installed... Well to make a long story short, 3 hours later we still have not gotten the tires installed and seated on the wheel.

So this is my plight...the tire bead that seats on the wheel will not fully seat itself. There is one little spot that WILL NOT pop out, regardless of what we tried and applying 90 psi to the tires. I'm just wondering if anyone has ever run into this problem with their tires before, or what kind of suggestions you have.

I've got the stock 8" wide rims (non track), I had made the suggestion to the guys at the shop to seat the tire as much as they can, fill it with a bit of air, then drop the car down and roll it around to see if it will pop the bead out.

If one of you tire mod's could chime in too please!

 

Thats some sidewall.

Ive seen a few extreme methods to get tires mounted.

1. 80+ psi like you said.

2. Spraying starting fluid into the valve and then lighting it on fire.(It worked but I wouldnt do that ****.)

3. Filling it up with 35-40 psi and driving it around the parking lot.

Good luck

 

We had the same exact problem with my RE11's. We just put about 70-80psi in it a few times, used some more lube each time, and eventually after we let it sit for 10 seconds on the 4th try, it seated. It was a PITA though.

 

Hmm...Well I called one of the "expert" tire places near me, and they said they had a cheetah to help mount it, so we'll see.

BTW how do you like your RE-11's? They hold up to their reviews?

 

Maybe wider/proper width wheels will help

 

got my re11s installed without any hiccups . isnt 265 on a 8" wheel is a little big ? once the tire is on you will love it , its like a road magnet even in the rain .

 

Yea it grabs the road like it is glued to it. Straight line acceleration traction is awesome as well.

 

I had the RE050's which were the stock tire and to me were very noisy. I switched to Sumitomo's HTR Z3's which I'm very satisfied with. How are the new RE-11's as far as road noise?

 

Yes, 265 on a 8" wheel is quite big, it's the biggest size if I remember and I'm actually a little nervous about how the tire wear is going to be with them on. We'll see how it is. My roomate has 275's on the 8.5" track wheels with no problems so far. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

The basic problem is the tires is too wide for the wheel. Leave the tire sit out in the sun for a hour or two. It might get hot enough to stretch and relax a bit.

 

It's 19 degrees Farenheit here, the sun won't warm it up at all. But not to worry, I'm returning the tires and getting a smaller tire size. I'd rather not deal with the heart ache of finding a place to do it, and having that much excess tire hanging off the wheel.

 

I wasn't sure where Whiteman was. Right now, there's probably no place that's warm enough to do that trick.

 

Indeed

 

Very wise choice..

 

re-11s are my fav tires ive had. and they look pretty nice on. stick to the road great and not a whole lot of noise.