Have a track car and need to change tires frequently? Or maybe your workshop needs a new tire changer? Here are the best ones we could find!
If you live in a cold-weather climate, know your way around cars and own a garage, it’s very likely that changing tires is part of your scheduled maintenance a least twice a year. And of course, the same goes for professional mechanics working in independent repair shops and dealerships — installing winter tires on new cars sold or replacing them on returning customers’ cars is an important source of income, being a large part of the workload, especially before and after winter.
Consequently, being able to rely on a good tire changer can really make the difference between a good and a bad “tire season.” Indeed, specific models come with several features aimed at speeding up the process, increasing the user’s productivity, and in all honesty, just making your life much easier. Installing low-profile tires on big and shiny 18″ wheels is already a hassle enough not to have to do it using an old piece of machinery, always on the verge of scratching that precious chrome finish. Thankfully, those days are behind us now, and you can easily pick up a tire changer more than capable to do most of the heavy lifting for you.
However, tire changers aren’t cheap, and when making such a significant investment, it is essential to take a minute to think about what you really need and how much you can spare. Hence, we have curated and reviewed 7 of the best tire changers available online to ensure your hard-earned money doesn’t go to waste.
As usual, we tried hard to include models from all ends of the spectrum and ensure there is a little something for each and every one of you — no matter whether you change tires twice a year or 40 hours a week in the shop.
1.Top Sale and Top Economical Tire Changer – PL-1200 tire changer
The PL-1200 tire changer is a swing-arm style tire changer designed for home garages and light use in repair shops. It employs an electro-pneumatic system to assist you in changing tires efficiently. So, in theory, all you have to do is press a few pedals and watch the magic happen (it’s a bit more complicated than that but you get the point).
More specifically, the PL-1200 tire changer comes with four pneumatic clamps and a side-mounted bead breaker capable of exerting 5,500 lbs. of force to separate even the stickiest beads from any wheel. It also comes with all the other parts and hardware for the pneumatic system, including a water separator, lubricator, and pressure regulator to ensure it lasts for years to come.
Worth mentioning, you can use PULI’s tire machine to change tires up to 39″ in diameter, provided the wheel diameter is between 12″-24″ for inside mounting and between 10”-21” for outside jaw mounting — pretty much a standard in the automotive industry.
PULI’s PL-1200 tire changing machine is super easy to use, thanks to the common but quite efficient swing-arm design and rugged clamps to hold the tire securely at all times. Of course, this design is nothing new and if you’ve worked in a repair shop before, you’ve probably used one like this at some point.
The PL-1200 tire changing machine is your standard run-of-the-mill tire changer for personal and occasional professional use and that’s pretty much all there is to say about it. Still, it may not come with fancy features, but it does the job and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. If you are looking for a pretty decent model for a small repair shop or a residential garage, this model is well worth considering. On the other hand, if you run a tire shop and change tires day in, day out, we have better ones for you below.
2.Best Sale and Professional Tire Changer – PL-1256ITJ Fully-Automatic Tilt Back Tower Tire Changer
In contrast to the tire changers we have seen so far, the PL-1256ITJ tyre changer is a tilt-back style model, offering several advanced features to make your life a lot easier. For instance, in addition to all the familiar bits and pieces like a bead breaker, pneumatic clamps, and an electric turntable, you also get a turbo bead blaster to ensure beads are seated in place safely and in an instant — this will come in especially handy when installing low-profile tires and some that were kept stored horizontally for too long and now the sides don’t want to stick (trust me; that turbo blaster is a blessing during the tire rush).
However, the RPL-1256ITJ tyre changer‘s main talking point is really the clever tilt-back design meaning that you won’t have to re-adjust the duckhead (or whatever else you might be calling this thing) between tires, saving you considerable time and effort. Simply press the foot pedal to tilt the tower back and remove the tire, and press again when you are ready to install the next one — the duckhead will move right back to its previous position, ready and waiting.
And that’s not all; PULI tire changer also did an excellent job covering the basics as well. Indeed, it’s really the minute attention to detail that sets the RPL-1256ITJ tyre changer apart from the competition. The built-in tool storage trays, soft clamp attachments to protect expensive wheels from scratches, and a dedicated place to keep the soap bucket, may seem like trivial additions but make the whole process significantly more convenient.
Put simply, the PL-1256ITJ tire changer is the best tilt-back model on the budget end of the scale. It is especially well-suited for use in repair shops where the tilt-back design will help reduce lead times, thereby increasing productivity in the workplace and making a world of difference in the long run.
3. The hottest selling truck tire changer – PL-2980 truck tire changer
The above two types of tire changers are great, but none of them are useful for changing tires more than half the size of an SUV or pickup truck. To deal with semi-truck tires, you’ll have to go big and that’s where the PL-2980 truck tire changer comes in. Thanks to the innovative electro-hydraulic power system, it can change truck tires up to 63″ in diameter, without breaking a sweat.
While the basic layout may look entirely different from conventional passenger car tire changers, the fundamental operating principles remain the same, albeit bigger and a lot stronger. For instance, you still get a powerful bead breaker, but this time, it’s powered by hydraulics and doubles as a tire mount/dismount arm.
Meanwhile, the large four-jaw chuck will hold your wheel still while the bead breaker works its magic and you can also choose between two rotation speeds, allowing for better control on tricky tires. Moreover, while all this is happening, you can stand at a safe distance, thanks to the wired control stand mechanism.