Rebel Can Help Change That Flat

By Author: Mike Kelley
Total Articles: 1
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Rebel Magazine always tries to help out our fellow man with men's fashions, trends, important issues, and dating tips and just some general important information. We feel this information is vital for every man.

So here's the scenario: It's 11 p.m. on a Saturday night, and you're on a date with a divorcée in town from Houston who thinks your horrible jokes about politics are funny. Things are going well and you're headed to a nightclub for cocktails when all of a sudden — BAM! — flat tire. Now you're stuck on the side of the freeway, updating your Facebook status to ask for help because you don't know how to change a flat and couldn't figure out what a wheel key looks like to save your life. Frustrated yet? Here's how you can fix a flat in just a few minutes, saving the evening and your manliness in the process.

- STEP ONE: Every car has a spare tire kit — it's the law. Pop the trunk and look for your jack, jack crank, tire iron, and spare tire, then take them out of the car and place them near the flat tire.

- STEP TWO: Start by pulling off the hubcap (if your car is rockin' ...
... hubbies like this one is), and then loosen the wheel lugs using the tire iron. Just break the lugs loose, don't take them off all the way unless you like having cars fall on you. Remember, turn the tire iron counterclockwise to loosen.

- STEP THREE: Place the jack underneath the chassis and turn the knob on the side clockwise until it contacts the body. Sometimes there's an arrow stamped into the body designating the jack point, so use that if it's there.

- STEP FOUR: Turn the crank on the jack with the jack crank (makes sense, right?) until the wheel is off of the ground. Don't try to lift it high enough to crawl underneath the tire, because the higher you go, the less stable the car will be.

- STEP FIVE: Remove the wheel lugs with the tire iron and pull the wheel off of the car. Roll it to the back of the car, out of the way.

- STEP SIX: Install the spare tire on the car, tightening on the wheel lugs with the tire iron. Tighten these down in a star pattern, criss crossing along the wheel so that you disperse the torque on the wheel properly. In essence, this makes sure your wheel won't fall off.

- STEP SEVEN: Lower the jack down using the crank and double check the wheel lugs with the tire iron. Pack everything up and now you're good to go.

What's a Wheel Key?

So you're on the side of the road, you've got a flat tire, but you can't get off one of the wheel lugs because your tire iron won't fit. What gives?

You probably have a locking lug. See, if you have fancy wheels on your car, chances are good that you want to keep them on the vehicle. Normally, a thief could come by with a jack and a tire iron and take your wheels on their own, with nothing to stop them but their nerves or a passerby. A locking lug is a special lug nut that requires a keyed socket to take it off — known as a wheel key — which goes between the tire iron and the locking lug. So how do you use one of those fancy things?

1. Find the wheel lug that needs a key. This will typically have a funky pattern on the face, or splines on the side.

2. Slide the wheel key onto the locking lug and twist it until the key locks onto the lug.

3. Put the tire iron onto the socket end of the wheel key, and turn it counterclockwise to remove the lug, or clockwise to tighten it.

Tightening Your Wheel Lugs

The wheels on your car are held in place by wheel lugs — also known as lug nuts — and some European models use lug bolts to do the same job. Either way, these are critical to making sure that your wheel stays on the car, and if they're not tightened correctly, you could find yourself driving on three wheels. Tightening the lugs the right way takes technique. Here are some tips to making sure all of your wheels stay on properly.

1. Loosely tighten the lug nuts onto the wheel, in no particular order, using your hands to ensure that you don't apply too much force on the lugs. You want to tighten them, but not go too far.

2. Pick the lug nut at the highest point in the pattern and tighten it down using a tire iron.

3. Find a lug nut that's opposite or across from the first and tighten it down as well. Repeat the process, criss-crossing the pattern until all of the lugs are tightened. See the illustration for examples.

4. Retighten all of the lugs one last time to ensure that they're snug. Once you're sure, go ahead and take a cruise down the road.

Source: Rebel4Men