Changing our shoes

[MrBadger]

A few similar threads on main site, but recommendations too US centric. So...

Got some winter wheels to go on at some point. I normally swap wheels no problem. But Model 3 comes with no wheel changing kit, is pretty heavy at around 2 tonne (although we previously had a cough, heavy VW Passat Estate diesel, cough...) and has 129 ft-lb torque (175Nm) on wheel nuts. So having to pretty much start from scratch as much of what I already have is below spec.

My current torque wrench is 110 ft-lb and trolley jack is probably 2 ton and possibly too tall. But both will be at least 30 years old.
I have an 1150kg scissor jack from the Passat that I may be able to modify to work with my jack pads, but I'm not happy with angle jack might follow during lift. Plus 1150kg is close to 50% car weight.

So far I have bought a new 21mm air impact grade wheel nut socket.
I have a Dewalt impact driver that I need to check spec of, but think it may do max 125 ft-lb torque so pretty close. I have no hex to 1/2" drive converter though. However, not used impact driver on wheel nuts before and know this thing can be vicious when driving big screws. Plus how do I know its really done 125 ft-lb?

So I think I need

• Breaker bar - length? 24"?
• Torque wrench or something else?
• Possibly a 1/2" socket extender.
• Jack? 2 tonne low profile trolley? Would like to find a more compact alternative.
• Something to store the wheels without resting on the tyres? - 700mm diameter, 245mm width each wheel. I saw a nice vertical trolley stand but at 225 width, too small. Seen I think a bigger one on ebay but gets flimsy reviews. Or I could just stack and store on the pallet they came on.

Looking for what other people are doing/thinking. I wonder if I can reliably use breaker bar to do up nuts too. Its only about 25kg force at 24" I think.

Ideally, I would like solution to be portable and possibly be used remotely incase of puncture. An off season wheel can be used as an emergency spare.

I would rather not pack up 4 wheels into car twice a year and pay £30 for tyre fitters to swap when I can do the job myself with the right kit.

 

[pow216]

I’ve got a Dewalt hex bit impact driver. It’s never managed to undo a single wheel nut. They do make one with 1/2” drive. It’s much bigger - I suspect that type will undo wheel nuts. My 24” breaker bar never fails .

 

[MrBadger]

Do you use the breaker bar to do the wheel nuts back up and final tightening, or use a torque wrench? If just breaker bar, any tips on judging the recommended torque. I'm reluctant to spending another £60+ on a new torque wrench because my current torque wrench falls 20 ft-lb short if there is a technique I don't know about. Most people do not use a torque wrench when changing wheels and just use what was supplied with the car.

What are people going to do for jacking? I'd rather find a solution less cumbersome than a trolley jack so I can ideally keep it in the car.

I got the Abstract Ocean jack protectors so quite low profile. Expensive, but I know I will be able to rely on them as they fit beautifully and easily (just magnetically locate themselves). Was looking at the cheap rubber ones on Amazon until I read the reviews about them breaking off inside jack points - I note that some sellers warn against use on 2019 year Model 3's.

 

[pow216]

Despite having a suitable torque wrench in the tool chest I have always used the breaker bar to do the final tightening rolleyes. It's a habit I should break really. In years gone by when I was a boy I always watched any tyres being changed intently and never once saw a torque wrench being used. However these days that situation seems to have reversed, and I'm always pleased to see the mechanics dialing in the torque setting and doing the final tighten. I always slowly bring up the torque in opposite(ish) pairs then finally check all are still tight.

If you don't want to buy another torque wrench why not calibrate yourself, turn your wrench up to full and go back to the breaker and apply what feels like another 20%.

You'll definitely the short 1/2" extender - makes it much easier.

 

[Asterix187]

I take mine to a garage...

 

[MrBadger]

I take mine to a garage...

Does a full set of rims and tyres fit easily in a Model 3?

My garage want £30 to swap and that and hassle of loading wheels into car put me off when I can perfectly manage the job myself If I can be confident I get torque right and either my old jack works or even better, I find a more compact solution.

 

[Cherub77]

I’m thinking the same as you Vanilla, The Wolf 2.25T trolley jack won the auto express test and is around £46. Does anyone know the ground clearance at the jacking points on the M3P?

 

[MrBadger]

Thanks for the heads up Cherub.

Whilst researching the jack, I also stumbled on this Clarke PRO238 ½" Drive Digital Torque Adaptor - Machine Mart - Machine Mart which looks like it may be a useful alternative to a dedicated torque wrench. Anyone have any experience?

Also found that the Clarke CTJ2250LP 2.25 Tonne Low Profile Trolley Jack with Sockets - Machine Mart - Machine Mart came a close second to the wolf jack and trades off slightly smaller wheels for a lower minimum height.

 

[MrBadger]

Does anyone know the ground clearance at the jacking points on the M3P?

No, not Performance but this is front drivers side clearance under a LR AWD including some low profile jack point protectors - Abstract Ocean. So less than 11cm for LR AWD assuming all corners are similar and even less for taller pads.

 

[arg]

I make no claim that these are optimum, but this is what I bought (from Amazon, current prices quoted):

2-tonne trolley jack £24.99. Cheap and nasty, but perfectly adequate for the job.
Torque wrench £35.50. This is a nice quality tool; it was cheaper when I bought it last year...
Wheel nut socket £8.95. Probably dozens of alternatives, nothing special about this one, though you do want the type with a plastic sleeve to prevent scratching.

 

[MrBadger]

That trolley jack minimum height at 135mm is too high for the Model 3, hence the low profile models being mentioned at under 100mm.

With my jack pads, I need a jack no taller than around 110mm, even less if it is to clear the puck when inserting under car.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Got some winter wheels to go on at some point.

My garage want £30 to swap

I'd find a different outfit, if you can I go to my local friendly non-national-chain tyre fitter and they charge a £tenner to swap all 4 corners for me (but 4 x wheels do fit in an MS ... they might not in a 3 ?)

They are also happy to fit tyres I get MailOrder (although happy to buy theirs if not significantly more than my mail-order price ... but for replacement Winter Tyres bought during the Winter they never have any available-stock, so that's been mail-order-or-nought)

 

[Adopado]

I'd find a different outfit, if you can I go to my local friendly non-national-chain tyre fitter and they charge a £tenner to swap all 4 corners for me (but 4 x wheels do fit in an MS ... they might not in a 3 ?)

Apparently they do fit in a Model 3: Will a set of wheels fit inside a Model 3?

 

[pgkevet]

I'd find a different outfit, if you can I go to my local friendly non-national-chain tyre fitter and they charge a £tenner to swap all 4 corners for me (but 4 x wheels do fit in an MS ... they might not in a 3 ?)

They are also happy to fit tyres I get MailOrder (although happy to buy theirs if not significantly more than my mail-order price ... but for replacement Winter Tyres bought during the Winter they never have any available-stock, so that's been mail-order-or-nought)

My local garage sensible too.. charged me £12 for the puncture repair last month - just asw ell friendly and cheap 'cos got another slow puncture booked with them for tomorrow am

 

[MrBadger]

Thanks for the heads up Cherub.

Whilst researching the jack, I also stumbled on this Clarke PRO238 ½" Drive Digital Torque Adaptor - which looks like it may be a useful alternative to a dedicated torque wrench. Anyone have any experience?

Also found that the Clarke CTJ2250LP 2.25 Tonne Low Profile Trolley Jack with Sockets - came a close second to the wolf jack and trades off slightly smaller wheels for a lower minimum height.

I bought some bits today and learned off some issues that I will share.

I kept things simple and purchased from single supplier, Machine Mart, so I could check items in person. Good job that I did.

I ended up buying:

24" breaker bar - Clarke PRO325 1/2” Drive 600mm Breaker Bar - keeps things simple to loosen and tighten - not checked whether it fits in lower boot area.
Clarke Pro238 torque adaptor - Clarke PRO238 ½" Drive Digital Torque Adaptor - will convert the breaker bar into a torque wrench to check torque - a bit more expensive than some standard torque wrenches, but looks to be a useful piece of kit for other jobs too.
Trolley jack - Clarke CTJ1250AB 1.25 Tonne Aluminium Trolley Jack - had previously planned on getting a different jack - see below for the problems with original choice. Would have preferred 1.5t jack capacity.
1.5t Scissor jack - Clarke CSJ1500 1.5Tonne Scissor Jack - - can be stored inside car

I had also previously purchased a 21" wheel nut socket Laser Alloy Car Wheel Nut Socket - Air Impact 21mm similar to what arg mentioned
Some wheel chocks to go in the car even though I have a few bricks laying around
And a set of jack point adaptors - Jack Adaptors from Abstract Ocean - expensive, but work beautifully and will not let me down when I most need them. If you go cheaper, make sure you read the reviews as some break off inside the car as they are squished - can apparently be modified by shortening the 'pin'

I had previously planned on purchasing the aforementioned Clarke CTJ2250LP 2.25t jack (apart from wheels looks to be otherwise identical to the previously mentioned Wolf version so that will suffer the same issue), but on viewing the jack and taking along a jack point adaptor, decided that the contact patch was far too small and would not work. Having viewed a selection of jacks in person, I ended up going for the 1-1/4t mentioned above. Whilst this is rated below the 1.9t weight of a LR Model 3, as it will only be lifting at max 2 wheels off the ground, a 50% weight rating should be well within range - its not like an ICE where one end will be significantly heavier than the other. For comparison, our previous Passat Estate Diesel had a kerb weight of around 1700kg and the manufacturer supplied scissor jack had a rating of 1150kg. But I do intend to use it in conjunction with an axle stand for safety. I could have gone for a larger 2.5t jack, but it was huge in comparison. It has a nice large jacking area that will fully support the jack point adaptor.

If anyone think the 1.25t is not enough and my assumption is wrong, please shout. I did also check with Clarke.

However, not used any of the above in anger.

hth

 

[MrBadger]

Well used all of the above except the scissor jack. All went smoothly changing to winter shoes. Without doing anything the car had recognised a change of wheels within a few minutes of driving, then prompted us to set the wheel configuration - TPMS reset is not required, at least not with the Tesla supplied wheels. As supplied, tyre pressures were 36/37 with one at 31. So fine for getting to closest air pump - must get my old one fixed or replaced.

If I didn't already have a number of torque wrenches to buying another felt like duplicating, I wouldn't bother with the Torque Adaptor but would definitely get a dedicated non digital torque wrench. The old style ones are so much obvious what torque you reached instead of looking at a gauge and waiting for a beep.

Very happy with the trolley jack. Car didn't need to be lifted much to swap wheel over and probably would have rested happily on 3 wheels. Whilst I don't advocate working on an car solely supported by a single jack, there is no room to get any other support under the car and I was happy with just using the jack as it was hardly raised. I normally use a wheel in this scenario, but there was no way that a wheel was going to fit under the sill.

Stars of the show were the magnetic jack point pucks from Abstract Ocean (you know you will be able to rely on these in pitch dark, pouring rain in middle of nowhere), the Heyner wheel covers for off season storage and the 2ft breaker bar that made exerting the necessary force a doddle.

 

[WannabeOwner]

fine for getting to closest air pump - must get my old one fixed or replaced.

12V one to have in the car with you perhaps?

 

[volts]

I'm currently experimenting with a 4 tonne bottle style jack. My winter wheels arrived the other day for the M3 and will change them over at the end of Nov - although I was driving in heavy snow on Thursday night in the Highlands. The bottle jack will fit in the frunk or lower boot space.

My plan is to keep one wheel in the car in case of a flat tyre. I've heard horror stories of people being stuck for hours in the Highlands before a new wheel is sent out of Edinburgh.

 

[Adopado]

I'm currently experimenting with a 4 tonne bottle style jack. My winter wheels arrived the other day for the M3 and will change them over at the end of Nov - although I was driving in heavy snow on Thursday night in the Highlands. The bottle jack will fit in the frunk or lower boot space.

My plan is to keep one wheel in the car in case of a flat tyre. I've heard horror stories of people being stuck for hours in the Highlands before a new wheel is sent out of Edinburgh.

Does a bottle jack fit underneath when there's a jacking puck in there too (especially if the car goes even lower due to a flat tyre)?

 

[volts]

This is a low profile 4 tonne Jack. It's all a bit tight, but it is 12.5cm tall and the M3 with 18's is about 16cm from the ground/puck. The 18" wheel profile is 10cm but a flat tyre would never go to zero. I've got some plastic wedges used for leveling a camper van. Might just throw one of them in the boot just in case.