How To Change A Flat Tire

There’s no sound  as disheartening to a driver than the flop flop of a flat tire. They always seem to come at inconvenient times, too. But to a person who knows how to change a flat, that flopping noise is a chance to display his self-sufficiency.

Just like knowing how to jumpstart a car, knowing how to change a flat tire is a skill everyone should possess. It will save your own butt when you’re out on some lonely stretch of highway and come in handy when helping a damsel in distress or a hapless traveler on the side of the road. Follow these steps and you’ll back on the road in no time.

 

Tools needed: Spare tire, jack, lug wrench.

1. Park your car on a flat surface. If you get a flat while on the road, pull your car as far away from traffic as possible . Make sure to put on the emergency brake. It’s also recommended to put a block on the tire opposite of the flat tire. Put to use that fruitcake from Aunt Gertie you’ve been toting around in the trunk. Here’s a blocking example: if your right rear tire is flat, put the block on the front left tire.

2. Remove the hubcap. If your car has a hubcap, remove it so you can get to the lug nuts. Use the hubcap to hold the nuts, just like the dad in A Christmas Story. Just don’t let your kid hold the hubcap or he’ll lose them and drop the F-bomb.

3. Loosen the nuts. Grab your lug wrench and place it on the flat tire’s lug nuts. Loosen them up by turning them counterclockwise. The nuts are probably on there really tight, so you’ll have to use all your man strength to unscrew them. Loosen the nuts a few turns, but don’t take any of them off yet!

4. Place the jack underneath your car. Check your owner’s manual for the correct placement of the jack. Turn the hand crank at the end of the jack to raise the jack until it comes into contact with your car’s frame. Make sure it’s touching a sturdy spot.

5. Jack it up! Start cranking the jack until the wheel is high enough above the ground to remove the tire.

6. Remove the flat. Remove the lug nuts from the wheel. You should be able to do it by hand because you’ve already loosened them. Remove the flat tire and lay it flat. You don’t want the wheel to roll into traffic during rush hour and cause a thirty car pile-up.

7. Slap on your spare. Take your spare tire and line up the lugs, or bolts, with the holes in the wheel and slide the wheel on. Once the wheel is on, take your lug nuts and tighten them by hand until you meet firm resistance.

8. Lower the car. Lower the jack until the wheel is firmly on the ground.

9. Finish tightening your lug nuts. These babies must be on super tight so the wheel doesn’t come flying off while driving to the tire shop to get the flat fixed. So you need to unleash the super power of the star pattern to get those lugs tighter than a deer tick. Use this tightening pattern if you have five bolts on your wheel. Start with any lug nut and then follow this pattern:

If your car has four, use this pattern:

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Olympic sponsor BMW takes the stage at Olympic Stadium with mini Minis on the field

Olympic venues are supposed to be free of sponsor ads, but night after night BMW’s iconic Mini car is right there in the middle of the main stadium at the London Games.

The automaker is deploying miniature remote-controlled versions of the car to move track and field equipment around Olympic Stadium.

The International Olympic Committee’s in-house broadcaster has regularly zoomed in on the cars and sent images to networks globally, giving BMW wide exposure of its brand.

The IOC’s television and marketing director, Timo Lumme, said at a news conference that the rules weren’t being breached because the cars don’t have any branding.

But they feature the phrase “it’s a MINI adventure,” and Lumme later acknowledged that from “the silhouette ... you can recognize it’s a Mini.”

“There are a number of IAAF validated vehicles that could have been used,” Lumme said. “So the one that they chose, quite naturally, because BMW is the sponsor, was the BMW one.”

BMW’s sponsorship of the London Games is worth $63 million, including the cost of providing vehicles.

Rule 50 of the IOC charter states that “commercial installations and advertising signs shall not be allowed in the stadia.”

Olympic sponsor Omega has its logo on clocks in venues, but BMW has specifically used its Mini for a task that could have been carried out by a generic vehicle.

“We are obviously pleased with the result,” BMW spokesman Graham Biggs said. “The Mini shape is recognizable — it’s all about good design. They are not branded but the design is something people recognize as Mini.”

Biggs insisted that the rules are being adhered to as the Minis collect javelins, hammers and discuses and return them to competitors.

“This is something that was discussed at length with LOCOG and the IOC,” he said.

BMW acquired the Mini brand through its 1994 purchase of the Rover Group. Conceived as a thrifty vehicle during the 1950s fuel crisis, the car came to symbolize the “Swinging 60s” Britain.

BMW’s canny use of Minis highlights the challenge sponsors face at the Olympics to secure a return on their investment when exposure is heavily restricted by the IOC.

Steve Martin, chief executive of marketing agency M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment, said the use of Mini is the “surprise sponsorship of the Olympic Games.”

“People in the industry will look and see it’s the smartest thing around the Olympic Games for a long time,” Martin said. “The Olympic Stadium is almost a brandless sanctuary within the Olympic Park.”

The use of the Minis could open the door at future Olympics for sponsors to search for ways to get around IOC advertising restrictions.

“Fans have become accustomed to seeing their favorite Olympians in clean stadiums but they may come to accept brands appearing on the field of play if they have a clear role and add some value to the experience,” said Lucien Boyer, chief executive of brand agency Havas Sports & Entertainment. “The Mini radio-control cars collecting javelins have been useful to the organizers and amusing for spectators.

“However, the IOC must be sensitive to the reactions of other partners and mindful of what has made their sponsorship program so successful as these opportunities develop.”

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