Let’s be real here: Changing a tire is intimidating. Sure, it’s a “practical life skill.” Yes, you could find 100 YouTube videos breaking it down. Still, unless you know, like really know all the tools you need and all the steps you’re going to take, fixing a flat is... a lot. Especially if you’re not someone who feels particularly confident, strong enough to carry tires or encouraged to ask questions about cars.
“The hardest part of the job is getting the [spare] tire out of your trunk, because there are not a lot of tricks that you can use,” said Bogi, an auto technician and owner of Girl Gang Garage in Phoenix, Arizona, and who teaches car tech courses to groups of women and non-binary people. According to Bogi, who goes by her first name, the spare tire can be heavy and may be in a cumbersome position to try to get out on your own.
“For pretty much the rest of the job, you can use tricks to utilize your leg and body strength instead of trying to rely on arm strength.”
Bogi is passionate about getting drivers to understand their cars. She recommends getting familiar with your car’s manual, as well as the tire-changing tools that may come with your vehicle, such as a spare tire, a jack and some sort of wrench. Once you have all the tools, Bogi recommends practicing changing a tire in a driveway or parking lot.
“It is recommended that people like take off their tire and put it back on again in their driveway when they don’t have anything wrong with it,” she said. “Once you proved to yourself that it really isn’t as difficult as you thought it was when you do have to do it, it’s much easier and you’ll have that confidence there.”
Cheyenne Ruether , a master autobody technician and host of TV’s science-based construction show “Backyard Ballistics ,” said that doing your own tire rotation is a great way to rehearse all the steps you’ll also need to change a tire.
“Practice makes perfect,” Ruether told HuffPost. “The knowledge and ability to get yourself out of a pickle will save you a lot of time, money and stress or having to pay back favors to friends coming to your rescue!”
And if you do practice in your driveway and have some trouble, Robin Johnson, owner of Georgia Auto Solutions in Conyers, Georgia, suggests you take a breath and keep trying.
“If you’re finding yourself struggling, do not feel bad. You are not an idiot,” Johnson said. “Professionals make it look easy, but until you actually get that jack, put it together, find a lift point on the vehicle [and change the tire], it’s not easy. Don’t get discouraged if it is a challenge for you.”
To help you on your tire-changing journey, Bogi, Ruether and Johnson break down everything you need.
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Bogi also noted that most cars come with some sort of basic tire-changing tool, but if your car is used and didn't come with one or if your tool is cheap, you should ensure you have a bigger, high-quality four-way lug wrench or tire iron with you at all times.
"The tool that's used for breaking the lug nuts loose, they've gotten increasingly flimsy over the years; they just don't give enough leverage," she said. "I recommend either getting a four-way or a tire iron because you can use both your leg strength and your arm strength kind of simultaneously to break the bolts loose."
"If you give me a lever long enough, I'll move the world, right? It's all about physics," she said. Place it horizontally on the car, so the arm of it isn't standing straight up, the tool is sitting horizontally to the ground, and then just literally [stand on it]. If you need to curse at it, yell at it if you have to. Use your physical body weight and force to break the bolts loose."
Johnson said to be sure to read the jack's instructions (if you're using an existing jack, check out your car's owner's manual) and practice putting the parts together and lifting your car in a driveway or parking lot. She also urged finding your car's lift points (also in the manual) to know where the jack needs to go to ensure you're lifting the car safely.
"I won't say you have to get mechanic gloves or a high-quality grade," Johnson said. "The yellow gloves you use or wash dishes, you can get those. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. I would not spend more than a $1.50 on a pair of gloves to keep in my car."
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