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[Khurram]

Just wanted to get an estimate on how much bmw shops would charge to swap out my oem 18's +tires for oem 19's and have them aligned properly.

Do you think I should go to a bmw authorized place to get this done or can anyone do it?

I've never swapped wheels on a car before so pardon my ignorance.

Just looking for an estimate..thanks

[Ben335]

Originally Posted by Khurram

Just wanted to get an estimate on how much bmw shops would charge to swap out my oem 18's +tires for oem 19's and have them aligned properly.

Do you think I should go to a bmw authorized place to get this done or can anyone do it?

I've never swapped wheels on a car before so pardon my ignorance.

Just looking for an estimate..thanks

No need for an alignment when going from OEM 18 to 19s. Simple switch out.

[lucid]

You can buy a jack and a torque wrench for $100, and swap them yourself in your garage/yard as much as you want. That is rather simple. Transporting the wheels to the dealer is not worth the hassle either. No need for alignment as mentioned above.

[ACZakka325i]

I think he means he would like to trade-in his 18s toward dealer purchased 19s. I would go elsewhere for those and try to sell the 18s later on this forum.

[Davinhci]

I am assuming you own both sets right? If so do it yourself. It is not hard at all. If you not comfortable with doing it yourself then ask a friend or someone to help you. Like Lucid said all you need is a jack and a torque wrench. If you mean for the dealer to take your 18's in as a trade for their 19's then forget about it. They won't give you enough and will probably charge retail for the 19's that you can prolly buy here on the forum after you sell your 18's.

[Khurram]

Originally Posted by ACZakka325i

I think he means he would like to trade-in his 18s toward dealer purchased 19s. I would go elsewhere for those and try to sell the 18s later on this forum.

I own both sets ( or will soon own both sets).

I'm not looking to swap with the dealer. I just assumed they had to be realigned.

I suppose I could just get the jack and torque wrench and go at it myself.

[Khurram]

Any recommendations on an inexpensive jack and torque wrench set and where I should purchase them from?

[Davinhci]

Originally Posted by Khurram

Any recommendations on an inexpensive jack and torque wrench set and where I should purchase them from?

got mine at autozone

[foosh]

Originally Posted by Khurram

Any recommendations on an inexpensive jack and torque wrench set and where I should purchase them from?

It's a 30-minute, or less, job with a floor jack and torque wrench. Get a "breaker bar" as well, as you shouldn't use the torque wrench for loosening the lug bolts. The torque wrench should be used for tightening only, and the breaker bar for loosening (you use the same socket, 17mm, for both). Breaking the bolts loose can mess up the torque wrench calibration.

Sears "Craftsman-brand" is a good source for consumer-quality tools that tend to last. All should be available for about $150-200 max, and you need to own those tools anyway. Don't waste your money on the cheapest jacks and torque wrenches you can find. They stand a good chance of failing fairly quickly (ask me how I know), and you'll learn quickly you should have purchased better quality stuff initially.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by foosh

Breaking the bolts loose can mess up the torque wrench calibration, and the breaker bar for loosening

I've heard of this many times, but don't really follow. You have to use the torque wrench to tighten the bolts, otherwise you can't use it (can't get a measurement). So when you torque the bolts, the wrench obviously experiences the spec torque. When you break the bolts--assuming they are torqued to spec--it will again experience the same torque. So what exactly is the issue? Why are people saying you need a breaker bar? (Again, unless you have reason to believe the bolts are way over torqued). Plus, if you look at the operational torque range of most torque wrenches, you wil see that they go way above 88 ft-lbs. Often up 150 ft-lbs or more. So why would a manufacturer rate an instrument at 150 ft-lbs if operating it at 88 ft-lbs to torque bolts will throw off the calibration?

[Khurram]

So what level are you supposed to torque (during tightening) to?

[lucid]

Originally Posted by Khurram

So what level are you supposed to torque (during tightening) to?

88 ft-lbs. Don't over torque. More torque is not better/safer.

[Khurram]

Thanks..
I'll go out and get a jack and wrench tomorrow...will let you know how it turns out.

[signes]

One more vote for doing it yourself. You can get a jack at Harbor Freight or Sears - I bought mine at the former for on sale ~$120 and it is very well made for the price. Torque wrenches vary in price but there are a lot of options out there for less than $100.

[foosh]

Originally Posted by lucid

I've heard of this many times, but don't really follow. You have to use the torque wrench to tighten the bolts, otherwise you can't use it (can't get a measurement). So when you torque the bolts, the wrench obviously experiences the spec torque. When you break the bolts--assuming they are torqued to spec--it will again experience the same torque. So what exactly is the issue? Why are people saying you need a breaker bar? (Again, unless you have reason to believe the bolts are way over torqued). Plus, if you look at the operational torque range of most torque wrenches, you wil see that they go way above 88 ft-lbs. Often up 150 ft-lbs or more. So why would a manufacturer rate an instrument at 150 ft-lbs if operating it at 88 ft-lbs to torque bolts will throw off the calibration?

I don't have any hard data on this. I've just heard it too many times from various professional sources to discount it. I suppose it's possible that the torque calibration only works in one direction, and reverse can throw things off, especially if the setting as been changed? I do know you don't get the "click" indicating proper torque going in reverse, even if you crank the torque down below your initial torque setting. I think these things are spring-loaded, and the spring only works in one direction. So I could see how going in reverse with a lower torque setting would stress the spring--just being an amateur engineer here.

However, I can't give you a definitive answer, and breaker bars are cheap. I do know that torque wrenches do go out of calibration fairly routinely, and there are services available to have them re-calibrated. I had a cheap one (Home Depot, "Husky") fail recently--it would loosen, but no longer tighten (spinning freely).

I have several cars I swap wheels on, and when it failed, I don't recall where it was set previously. I had previously been using it for both loosening and tightening, and only set the calibration when tightening for a particular wheel.

[rzm3]

Originally Posted by Khurram

Thanks..
I'll go out and get a jack and wrench tomorrow...will let you know how it turns out.

also be sure to get a low-profile jack with a flat lifting platform. those usually cost around $100. don't get one of those cheap jacks. (nono to second picture)

google a video for wheel change DIY before you do it. it's not hard but one could easily make mistakes as well.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by Khurram

Thanks..
I'll go out and get a jack and wrench tomorrow...will let you know how it turns out.

As foosh said, get quality stuff. The jack points are on the side of the chassis behind the front wheel and in front of the rear wheel. Black plastic rectengular parts. Try to get a jack that has a large flat mounting plate big enough to cover those parts. Then you don't need to worry about them falling apart over time. Something like this should be fine:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...0239000P?mv=rr

Make sure the car is on a flat surface. You can use wheel blocks on the other side to make sure the car doesn't roll.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by foosh

I don't have any hard data on this. I've just heard it too many times from various professional sources to discount it. I suppose it's possible that the torque calibration only works in one direction, and the reverse throws things off? I do know you don't get the "click" indicating proper torque going in reverse.

However, I can't give you a definitive answer, and breaker bars are cheap. I do know that torque wrenches do go out of calibration fairly routinely, and there are services available to have them re-calibrated. I had a cheap one (Home Depot, "Husky") fail recently--it would loosen, but no longer tighten (spinning freely).

Mine clicks when engaged in either rotational direction. I don't know the details of a mechanism, so I can't comment with confidence, but I am not all that bought in to what people keep on saying...

Aren't there some digital ones? How do they work? If they use a strain gauge, it would be hard to throw off their calibration...

[rzm3]

Originally Posted by lucid

Mine clicks when engaged in either rotational direction. I don't know the details of a mechanism, so I can't comment with confidence, but I am not all that bought in to what people keep on saying...

Aren't there some digital ones? How do they work? If they use a strain gauge, it would be hard to throw off their calibration...

breaker bars cost less than $10 so just get one instead of using your torque wrench... it's really annoying to set the wrench to a higher torque just to lossen the bolts anyway...

[lucid]

Originally Posted by rldzhao

breaker bars cost less than $10 so just get one instead of using your torque wrench... it's really annoying to set the wrench to a higher torque just to lossen the bolts anyway...

But why exactly? (see my post #10 above). I don't need to adjust my wrench for loosening bolts.

[foosh]

Originally Posted by lucid

Mine clicks when engaged in either rotational direction. I don't know the details of a mechanism, so I can't comment with confidence, but I am not all that bought in to what people keep on saying...

Aren't there some digital ones? How do they work? If they use a strain gauge, it would be hard to throw off their calibration...

Dunno. I'm just speculating too, but I do know breaker bars are very cheap, as rldzhao said.

To me, it's not worth the risk of screwing up a quality torque wrench by using it to break bolts loose, given we don't know whether that is an "urban-myth" or not. Moreover, the more you use a torque wrench, the more likely it is to go out of calibration. Quality shops get them re-calibrated. I do know that, or so I am told.

[foosh]

Originally Posted by lucid

But why exactly? (see my post #10 above). I don't need to adjust my wrench for loosening bolts.

Are you only using it for one car, or one application? I've never owned one that "clicks" when loosening.

If you had changed the torque setting (lower) for a different application, you should need to adjust it for loosening if it "clicks" in both directions. If it were 100% accurate, and you hadn't touched it since you had torqued something, you should need to increase the setting to loosen a bolt.