Is the Tyre Trick with Fire Real?

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The discussion centers on a video showcasing a technique for reseating a tire bead using fire, which sparked curiosity and skepticism. Users clarify that this method involves spraying a flammable aerosol into the tire and igniting it, causing a rapid expansion that inflates the tire and sets the bead. This technique is commonly used by those without access to high-volume compressors, particularly in off-roading communities. The original poster expresses difficulty in finding the specific video that demonstrated this process dramatically, noting that other available videos do not capture the same impressive effect. Participants explain that the tire can jump off the ground during this process, especially if it is wider than the rim, which can lead to dangerous situations. The discussion concludes with a call for anyone who might find the original video to share it, while affirming that the method itself is legitimate and not a hoax.
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I once saw a video, where some guys in the Iceland put a car tyre back on the rim using fire. It looked so unreal, I started thinking it could be a hoax of somekind. Unfortunately I cannot find the video anymore in the internet. :frown: Does anyone know something about this?

All I can find is this: But that is not the same video. They do the same trick here, but it doesn't look so unreal now. The video I saw earlier showed the trick from different angle, and the tyre jumped a lot longer distance than in this one. It was so long distance, it was difficult to imagine air pressure or something like that causing it.

edit: Oh.. dammit. I should have googled also without the key word "iceland". Keywords "tyre rim fire" only give more videos of this. I guess its real then.
 
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Huh? What is inflating the tire?
 
This is a common technique used by people that don't have access to a high-volume compressor, but need to reseat the bead on a tire before it can be inflated. Spraying a flammable aerosol into the tire and then igniting it causes a violent expansion and pressure spike that inflates the tire and sets the bead; sometimes with dangerous results.

Off-roaders do it all the time, heck even I have done it before with a friend. There's nothing to debunk.
 
So the tricks is to spray some liquid fuel/solvent into the tyre and then burning that creates the presurised gas. In the video it looked like he just heated the air in the tyre with some sort of torch.
 
Mech_Engineer said:
This is a common technique used by people that don't have access to a high-volume compressor, but need to reseat the bead on a tire before it can be inflated. Spraying a flammable aerosol into the tire and then igniting it causes a violent expansion and pressure spike that inflates the tire and sets the bead; sometimes with dangerous results.

Off-roaders do it all the time, heck even I have done it before with a friend. There's nothing to debunk.

Okey. Unfortunately I cannot find that one video I saw once. It looked really amazing. Lot more amazing than those videos one can spot easily now in youtube. If somebody finds it (or believes he found, I cannot desribe the video in full detail), it would be nice if he posted here a link to it anyway. Even though the OP is settled, I assume.
 
mgb_phys said:
So the tricks is to spray some liquid fuel/solvent into the tyre and then burning that creates the presurised gas. In the video it looked like he just heated the air in the tyre with some sort of torch.

It is probable that he lit the air/fuel mixture that was in the tire with the torch, and the resulting combustion was contained within the tire and difficult to see.

As for the jumping in the air part of the OP, this can happen if the tire is wider than the rim on which it is to be mounted. The rim is sitting on the ground while the tire is deflated sitting on it's side, but as soon as the internal combustion takes place, the tire violently expands in both directions. If the tire sticks out farther than the rim, liftoff. This can obviously be quite dangerous depending on the size of the tire and the amount of fuel inside it; i have heard stories of semi-truck tires jumping 10-15 ft. off the ground.
 
Every day we learn new things. Sometimes it's just a small fact or realization. No matter how trivial or random, let's start recording our daily lessons. Please start off with "Today I learned". Keep commentary to a minimum and just LIKE posts. I'll start! Today I learned that you clean up a white hat by spraying some cleaner with bleach on it (rinse before putting it back on your head!)

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