I have always done so on my motorcycles using a rear fork in a vise and the gravity method. I always have had good results.

I'm thinking of getting a bubble balancer and changing/balancing the tires on my 940.

My reasons.. My Volvo is not street legal, (tag, insurance). My tires, including the spare, are so bad that I might not make it to the tire shop anyway. I don't want to pull all my wheels off and take them to the shop, I can save a lot buying the tires and doing them myself. Also who's to say that the shop is going balance them right anyway? I have had mixed results in the past.

I have manually changed car tires before, so that is not a problem. Any thoughts on this?

 

I think the money you will save from balancing and changing the tires yourself, is not worth just paying the extra couple dollars to have it done by a shop monkey. Plus then you gotta dispose of the tires yourself too. Or keep them and use them as flower pots. Are you planning on making it street legal? If so, I might just wait. The tires don't do you any good if you can't drive the car anyways. Although, you could do it your way and come out just fine. It boils down to preference and what's easier for you. A bubble balancer will also cost money unless you can get one cheap enough, it will still be more than paying a shop to balance your tires for you. You can still change the tires yourself, if you are that determined to save a couple dollars.

Just my thoughts

 

I guess part of it is the money. I know this might sound crazy, I enjoy changing my own tires. I have decided against buying a Chinese balancer. I have heard too many complaints about repeatability/consistency and quality. If I can find an old school, American made, bubble balancer for around a couple hundred dollars I will continue with my plan. It will come in handy in the future. If not I will mount the tires myself and take them to get balanced. I got it running pretty decent and the A/C is now working. I want to get good tires and take it on the back roads to see if I even like the ride of this car before I get insurance. I may decide it is not for me.

 

mounting tubeless radials by hand is a SOB of a job. its a bear to break the beads on the old tires, then really tough to spoon radials onto the rims... once you've got the new tires spooned onto the rim, you need a high volume compressor to get the beads to seat (after removing the valve core, and slopping lots of tire lube on the bead and the rim).

 

Not a problem.. I have an easy way to break the beads and deal with the other issues you mentioned. I have replaced quite a few tires over the years.

My main issue is the balancing.

 

I used a bubble balancer back in the day at the fillin' station where I got my start, I liked it. Still, we had a hydrolic dismounting machine to break the bead, and put the new tire on the rim. Also, with a balance machine you need a selection of various weights, it is a project... I have a tendency to do things like that myself, want to do it all, but in the end some projects are really not practical...