Every CL Girl Should Know: How to Change a Flat Tire

There are numerous occurrences in college life every day that leave us classy co-eds kicking ourselves, thinking “Ugh, I wish I knew that!”

The inspiration for this article came from a recent experience I had when I walked to my car only to find that I had a flat tire.

I had a spare tire and the necessary tools for the job, but I had only seen it done a couple times and wasn’t confident in my ability to change it.

To prevent any of you fabulous ladies from being in this position, here are the steps for adding a smart and savvy skill to your repertoire…because every CL girl should know how to change a flat tire.

1. Make sure you have the necessary equipment in your trunk: a spare tire, a jack, a lug wrench, and wheel chocks if you have them. A pair of gloves would be useful but aren’t necessary.

2. In order to change a tire, the car must be on level ground. After you put your car into park, engage the parking brake so that there is minimal movement.

3. If you can afford it, I would suggest having a four-way lug wrench and a hydraulic jack –it’ll make this job 10x easier.

4. If you have them, place the wheel chocks in front of and behind the diagonal opposite wheel. For example, if your front left tire is flat, place the chocks in front of and behind your back right tire so it’s less likely to move.

5. Loosen the lug nuts and remove the hubcap BEFORE jacking up the car. Your tire will spin if you try to do it when the car is raised. When loosening the lug nuts, skip every other one until you get them all. As with driving and opening bottles and jars, the phrase “righty tighty, lefty loosey” applies here as well.

6. Check your car manual for where exactly you should position the jack under your car. Most car jacks are a screw-type scissor jack, which means you simply turn the knob at the end of the jack using the metal hand crank. Raise the jack until the tire is completely off the ground.

7. Remove the lug nuts and put them somewhere where they can’t roll into a sewer or come across any other unfortunate occurrence.

8. Put the spare tire on, and make sure the air valve is facing outward.

9. Screw on the lug nuts by hand until you can’t anymore, and then finish them with the lug wrench.

10. Lower the jack and tighten the lug nuts now that the car is on the ground and the tire can’t spin.

Assuming the spare tire is a donut and not a regular tire, it is important to remember that while the donut is on your car, you generally CANNOT drive over 50 m.p.h. However, check the sidewall of your tire to make sure.  Something that might be beneficial is to have a regular tire as a spare, as it can be more reliable than a donut. Buying discount michelin tires, or another brand of your choosing, for a spare could allow you to have a reliable back up.

Nicole Celli is an intern at College Lifestyles. She is a senior English major and a member of Phi Sigma Sigma. She now has the ability to change a flat tire with confidence, and hopefully you do too!