Which Rim Sizes Does a Manual Tire Changer Cover? 8 to 16, 17, 18 and 20 Inch

The chart

Find your rim diameter in the left column. “Documented” means a manufacturer or retailer states it in its own data or manual; “seller statement” means the figure appears in an Amazon listing and nowhere else.

8 to 16 inches: the documented range

Harbor Freight specifies its Pittsburgh manual tire changer, item 58731, for tires from 8 in. to light truck (7-1/2 in. x 16), including flotation tires up to 12.5L16. VEVOR states 8 to 16 in. for its changer of the same layout.

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VEVOR

VEVOR Manual Changer 8–16 in.

The Amazon counterpart to the store-bought reference machine: post, bead breaker and lever bar for 8 to 16 inch wheels.

Why here: Its maker states the 8 to 16 inch range on its own product page, which is the range the reference manual of this layout covers.

Best for: Steel and basic alloy wheels up to 16 in. on cars, trailers and older light trucks, in a garage where the base can be bolted down.

Type

Floor-post changer with bead breaker

Wheel range

8–16 in. (manufacturer)

Mounting

Bolt-down base, three holes

Weight

30.9 lb

Size

18.1 x 15 x 37 in.

Price class

Budget

What it does well

• Stated range of 8 to 16 in., the range the reference manual of this design covers
• Bead breaker and mounting post in one stand; no power or air line needed
• Base with three mounting holes for bolting down (manufacturer)
• Same price class as the Harbor Freight machine, delivered to the door

Where it falls short

• Has to be bolted to the floor or to a base that takes the lever force
• Stops at 16 in.; not for 17 in. and larger or low-profile wheels
• Steel bar on the rim edge: marks on alloy wheels are possible
• The maker's page states no warranty terms, and we have not read the user manual

View on Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on AmazonRead the comparison

Inside this range the diameter is settled, but two more things decide whether the job goes well: the rim, because the manual cautions against high-end rims, and the sidewall, which the next sections cover. The stands for this range are compared on the page about the best manual tire changers.

17, 18 and 20 inches: what the listings rest on

Harbor Freight's own PDF of the owner's manual could not be opened from our location, so we read the copy on ManualsLib and paraphrase it. Its safety section tells the owner not to exceed the stated capacity and not to use the changer on standard tires exceeding 16 in. or on flotation tires over 12.5L16.

Against that stand three kinds of larger numbers:

• Stands listed for 15 to 21 in. The DNA Motoring changer^* (paid link) has the floor-post layout, and its seller lists 15 to 21 in. tires. We found no manual and no manufacturer specification behind that range. It is on this site as an example of such a listing, not as a recommendation for large wheels.
• Duck-head kits listed for 16 to 21 in. The Krysolad bearing kit^* (paid link) and others name that range. A kit is bolted to a stand, and the stand keeps the limit of its own manual. The kits are compared on the page about duck-head kits.
• Titles with “heavy duty.” The words describe; they do not specify.

None of this proves that a 17 or 18 in. tire cannot be levered onto its rim by hand. It means that we found no maker's manual that says so, and that the one manual we could read says not to.

The low-profile question has its own page: can a manual tire changer do low-profile tires.

Light truck: 16 inch rims, not today's pickup wheels

The words “light truck” in the stated range are followed by a bracket: 7-1/2 in. x 16. That is a 16 in. rim. Flotation tires are covered up to 12.5L16, again a 16 in. rim. A current pickup on 17 to 22 in. wheels is outside the range, whatever the title of a listing says.

Under 8 inches

Floor-post changers start at 8 in. Below that, Harbor Freight states 4 to 10 in. rim diameter for its Pittsburgh Mini-Tire Changer, and Amazon sellers list small-wheel changers for 4 to 16.5 in. rims. Those tools are compared on the page about mini tire changers.

Tire and rim diameter must match exactly

One rule sits above every tool. The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association states that a tire must always be installed on a rim whose diameter exactly matches the nominal bead diameter of the tire. Its bulletin on half-inch rims explains why: a tire of the smaller diameter can be passed over the flange of the slightly larger rim, but it cannot seat, and trying to force it out with air pressure can break the bead with explosive force. A 16 in. tire and a 16.5 in. rim are not a pair, and no changer makes them one.

How to read your rim diameter

• Passenger and light truck tires: in 215/60R16, the 16 after the R is the rim diameter in inches. The 60 is the aspect ratio.
• Small tires: in 18x8.50-8, the last number is the rim diameter.
• Check every vehicle. One 17 in. set in the household changes the answer for that set.

What to do with wheels above 16 inches

Which tool for which job

1. 1

   If you all your wheels are 8 to 16 in. and not low-profile→ VEVOR Manual Changer 8–16 in.

   View*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon
2. 2

   If you some of your wheels are 17 in. or larger

   Manual vs powered machine
3. 3

   If you are weighing the purchase against shop mounting

   Is a manual changer worth it?
4. 4

   If your rims are under 8 in.

   Mini tire changers

Two vehicle classes have pages of their own: trailer tire changers and truck tire changers. The overview of manual tire changers shows all tool types side by side, including the motorcycle tools that the chart only touches.