Changed the wheels myself, first time
 

Yay! this afternoon, I did my first wheel swap for the 325i! :woot:I borrowed the torque wrench from Autozone and used the other tools from my dad's socket set. Did it all alone in the garage........it took too long (90min) but I had to wash the summer wheels before installing them because my parents didn't clean them when they stored them last fall.

My mom was saying we should take it to the shop and just pay $40, but I was like "that defeats the point of buying separate wheels".

Now to do the X3 tomorrow..........18s are going on!

Way to go! It's nice to get your hands dirty once in a while.

Alright lets chop this up:

1) your borrowed a torque wrench.....BUY ONE :)
2) 90 minutes, you are no pit crew
3) 'dad's socket set'...get your own when you buy the torque wrench


hahaha- just messing with you :)

About the torque wrench:

A while ago, last Nov I went with pops to buy a torque wrench at Sears. We picked up a 1/2" wrench that had enough torques for a car wheel. But a couple days later, he exchanged that one for a 3/8" wrench without me knowing, claiming that the 1/2" didn't fit any of his sockets. Unfortunately, the 3/8" he picked up didnt have enough torques for a car wheel. So it's fairly useless, and it sits in the garage.

There's little reason for me to buy a torque wrench that's used only twice a year for wheels. We don't use it for anything else; why should I pay for it when I can use it for free and only need it for a weekend?

My dad hurt his back last time he tried to get the wheels off the 325i (there's a ridiculous amount of rust on the hubs). So this time, I did it myself :). If I had more space, I could probably do it faster. But our one-car, townhouse garage has tons of shelves conveniently located on the sides, making it difficult to move the wheels on/off the hubs.

Congrats! It can be very rewarding to do some work yourself.

I did a 4-wheel pad and rotor change on the X5 yesterday and my entire body is sore this morning.

By the way, you are young and would most likely benefit by purchasing a torque wrench now if you plan on changing you own wheels, doing brakes jobs, just checking the brakes or any other jobs that require removing the wheels. It would pay for itself in the long run.

I totally agree with Wagner (even if he was j/k) and FSETH.

When I started out, I never thought I would never use a torque wrench. The other day when I replaced my steering wheel, I am glad that I had that torque wrench. Start getting your own tools together...go back to Sears and buy a whole socket set and tool box, if you don't have them already. Even though your still in college - it's nice to have instead of "borrowing" someone else tools.