Tire changer and wheel balancer manufacturers are adapting to the latest trends to help your service business keep up.

In the tire and wheel business, style often comes before serviceability. As you know, large, low-profile tire and custom wheel sizes continue to proliferate. That’s bad news for the independent tire dealer who hasn’t invested in the right equipment yet still must service these sometimes hard-to-handle tires and wheels.

But, with the right knowledge and planning, you can turn an equipment investment outlay into a moneymaker.

Fortunately, tire changer and tire/wheel balancer manufacturers are responding to these trends by developing new machines that can handle today’s more sophisticated combinations. For the tire dealer, however, there’s more to it than just buying new equipment.

The latest tire and wheel combinations are forcing dealers to reevaluate two aspects of their tire service business in particular ®“ equipment and training. These units have not only become bigger, more expensive and harder to handle but also more susceptible to damage during servicing. So, servicing must be more precise.

"Stiffer sidewalls present a greater risk of sidewall damage and bead distortion when changing the tire," says Kevin Keefe, group marketing manager of tire service products for Hennessy Industries, headquartered in La Vergne, Tenn. "From our end, this drives the need for equipment and adapters to handle these trends."

Though investing in the latest equipment to handle today’s tough jobs can help tire dealers keep up, that alone won’t suffice. "The business owner purchasing the equipment has to commit to training," says David Scribner, product manager of brake lathes, tire changers and balancers product lines for St. Louis, Mo.-based Hunter Engineering Co. Knowing this, several equipment manufacturers offer training and reference materials with their equipment.

McCourt Industries, the exclusive supplier of Corghi Wheel Service Products, offers independent tire dealers regular cluster training, in which several store employees are trained in one location anywhere in the U.S., on its equipment. In addition, McCourt has established two training facilities ®“ one located at its headquarters in Akron, Ohio, and another in Anaheim, Calif.

"Training is very important with the new tire changers and balancers because it’s a new concept in changing tires," says Chuck McCourt, president of McCourt Industries. "It saves on comebacks, and you have fewer problems with equipment when you train people correctly."

"Everything is custom and chrome and heavy," Scribner adds. "This is problematic from a service standpoint because technicians who have been used to changing (traditional-style) tires have to go through a steep learning curve.

"Some dealers flat-out refuse to service these types of tires and wheels," he says. "They either don’t have the proper equipment or haven’t made a conscious effort to train people properly. It’s a two-fold problem."

Damage Control

On the equipment side, tire changers must be capable of handling 20-inch and larger wheels, according to Hunter’s Scribner. "Wheels that are mainstream on the market today are upwards of 24-26 inches in diameter," he says. "Those are larger diameters than the wheels on tractor-trailers. And, people are putting them on their SUVs."

Large wheels are difficult to service, especially when combined with very-low-profile tires, says Scribner. "These compatibility issues have not been sorted out yet. As a tire changer manufacturer, we’re scrambling to catch up."

Unlike conventional changers with rim clamp mounting arms, Hunter’s TC3500 tire changer has a floating, three-point articulated mounting arm, which eliminates swing-arm obstruction when servicing wide wheels and tires, the company says. The changer also features a mechanical bead pusher for mounting and demounting stiff, low-profile tires and can service ultra-low-profile tires and run-flat designs, according to Hunter.

The general trend to stiffer sidewalls (as in run-flat designs) has also led to the development of pneumatic bead assist (PBA) devices, according to Mike Alusick, worldwide product manager of undercar products for Technical Automotive Group, marketer of John Bean automotive wheel service equipment. "The key is getting the tire bead into the drop center where the diameter is smaller," he says. In John Bean brand PBA-equipped changers, "a roller pushes the sidewall into the drop center of the wheel pneumatically, making it easier to stretch the bead over the demount head and giving the operator an extra set of hands," says Alusick.

According to Hennessy, its Coats 9024E tire changer features a pneumatic drop center arm that can flex stiff sidewalls and swing-in rollers that help hold heavy tires.

Adding to the difficulties larger, low-profile tires present, conventional tire changers were originally designed for servicing steel rims. "More than 70% of vehicles sold today have alloy wheels," Keefe points out. "People spend billions every year buying custom wheels and tires to personalize their vehicles."

Damage to these expensive wheels ®“ which range in cost from $300 to $2,500 each ®“ can strip a tire dealer of thousands of dollars in profit. Untrained employees, improper procedures and the wrong equipment can result in a bottom-line nightmare.

To help prevent costly damage to tires and wheels during mounting and demounting, rim protection enhancements ®“ especially in clamps and tire tools ®“ are more common. Hennessy’s Coats 9024E tire changer, for example, features a rim protection package, which includes clamp, lift tool and bead loosener socks, duck-head booties and controlled rotation to prevent scratching or marring of expensive alloy wheels. In addition, the 9024E’s cam-operated bead loosener ensures contact with wider wheels at the proper angles to minimize the risk of wheel damage.

For its part, Hunter’s TC3500 tire changer features a polymer mount/demount head and tulip clamping system with rubber-protected pads that allow the wheel to shift during service without bending or damaging the rim.

Modern tire changer designs, according to Alusick, can effectively put a tire and wheel assembly together while avoiding cosmetic damage. Though initial investment in these machines can be relatively high, Alusick points out that damage to a single expensive wheel can equal half the cost of a changer equipped with PBA.

And, the risk of damaging delicate, expensive tire/wheel assemblies is higher than ever, according to some. "With a standard tire changer, if you are not very careful, there is a strong possibility ®“ in fact, a better-than-average possibility ®“ that you are going to scratch the wheel," warns McCourt.

McCourt introduced Corghi’s Artiglio Master tire changer in the U.S. in late 2001. The Artiglio Master, though capable of handling rim diameters up to 26 inches, does not use a mount/demount tool at all, according to McCourt. Instead, an automatic demount head fits into the tire, lifts it straight up without stretching it and simply peels the tire off, minimizing wheel damage. McCourt classifies this procedure as the next stage of tire changing ®“ touchless technology.

"We are doing everything in our power to help tire changers keep the difficult tires in the drop center of the wheel," says McCourt. "Long term, changers will have to do away with the mount/demount tool and give the technician a larger margin of error."

McCourt is currently working with some of the major tire companies on techniques for changing run-flat tires. "We’ve already made adapters for our old tire changers that can handle Michelin’s PAX System tires," says McCourt. Shorter sidewalls, support rings, and the overall "optimized" architecture of PAX tire and wheel systems result in improved steering and handling, according to Michelin, but those same characteristics also result in more complicated mounting and balancing procedures.

Hennessy, too, is working on enhancements, adapters and upgrades to support the continuing evolution of the PAX system and other run-flat technologies. And Hunter offers PAX upgrade kits for its TC3500, TC3250 and TC3100 tire changers.

A Delicate Balance

In addition to being more prone to mount/demount damage, large, heavy tire/wheel combinations, when combined with today’s lighter vehicle bodies and stiffer suspensions, result in a greater tendency for ride-induced vibration. Experts say dynamic balancing is essential for today’s high-performance tire and wheel packages. And, tires mounted on alloy wheels can go out of balance almost immediately if the tire slips on its rim. "If the wheel isn’t exactly round and balanced, the assembly vibrates," notes Scribner.

Hennessy’s Keefe estimates that approximately 60% of vibration complaints are caused by mounting or balancing errors and that the average direct cost (labor and materials) of each service comeback is $50. Therefore, today’s equipment must be able to diagnose problems before they occur.

Hennessy’s new Coats-brand XR1800 wheel balancer signals the technician when there is a problem affecting balance quality. "Low-profile tires, stiffer frames and tighter suspensions, closer brake tolerances and other factors mean that there are more ways for vibration to cause customer complaints," says Keefe. "What we’ve done with the XR1800 is provide the industry with a machine that not only does routine balancing jobs effectively but signals the technician when a tire or wheel is going to need extra attention."

Hunter’s GSP9700 wheel balancer comes equipped with a Road Force Measurement System which, the company says, detects non-balance, radial-force-related vibrations caused by construction variations in the tire and wheel. A loaded road roller on the GSP9700 applies up to 1,400 pounds of force against the wheel and tire assembly to measure their combined uniformity. This "simulated road test" samples the entire footprint of the tire, and the sidewall, for variations.

The GSP9700’s vibration control system can also identify and separate wheel runout from tire runout, according to Hunter. The system then calculates the contributions of the wheel and tire to potential vibration and presents the operator with instructions on how to correct the problem.

Cosmetic Concerns

Though important, diagnostics isn’t the only focus of modern-day wheel balancing equipment. "The whole industry is moving toward beautification," says McCourt.

Alusick adds that current wheel styles result in a particularly challenging problem for technicians: balancing a tire/wheel effectively while also accommodating the cosmetic aspect of weight placement.

Technologies have been developed to address this dilemma, too. Hunter’s DSP9600 wheel balancer, for example, includes a "split spoke" hidden-weight placement feature that automatically locates the best spot for adhesive weights on custom wheels. Likewise, the Model 1500 wheel balancer from Richmond, Va.-based Accu-turn offers a hidden-spoke program that recalculates weight amounts, allowing technicians to hide the weights behind the spokes.

"Modern balancers have features that automatically calculate the best (weight) placement aesthetically," says Alusick. "The ALUs mode (on new John Bean balancers) calculates automatic positioning of the weights on the inboard side of the wheel."

According to Alusick, the latest John Bean wheel balancers go one step further by offering a spoke-mode feature, which places the weight cosmetically while still achieving a successful balance.

Reducing the Learning Curve

Overall, Alusick says balancing technology is moving toward "less interpretation by the technician and more by the equipment," and for good reason. As noted earlier, the slightest service misstep today can result in costly damage to customers’ wheels or vibration problems. As accuracy becomes more critical, technicians must possess more knowledge. But, as you know, skilled, long-time tire technicians can be hard to come by, especially when turnover is an issue.

In addition to the cluster training mentioned earlier, McCourt Industries can also arrange to bring training ®“ and equipment ®“ to the dealer via mobile training units, traveling classrooms that contain all the necessary equipment to train employees and do demonstrations.

McCourt points out that, to save money, "a lot of equipment manufacturers have cut back on their training. We have not cut back. In fact, we have increased it." Training is usually conducted during evening hours to minimize distractions, adds McCourt.

Operator skill and knowledge is becoming such a necessity that Scribner predicts the industry will soon see an increase in ASE certification of tire technicians. Appearing to support Scribner’s prediction, SEMA recently announced it would be launching a Custom Wheel and Tire Specialist Exam this year. "With today’s market changes and innovations in wheels and tires, a great deal of knowledge is required to provide correct fitment for custom wheels and tires," said Christopher Kersting, SEMA president and CEO.

"This is a huge opportunity for dealers if they step up and designate some key people to learn how to do this," says Scribner.

"Lots of people can go out and spend money on a machine with the capability to handle larger-diameter wheels, but they don’t have the techniques down," he says.

And, technique is key in today’s performance-driven market.