Yeah thats it, I forgot the name of it off hand...Pretty good stuff
Got tires force balanced
- Thread starter TampaDieselFX4
- Start date
Yeah thats it, I forgot the name of it off hand...Pretty good stuff
wow never heard of that...but i do know most of these "centering"
weight methods are not effective at even moderatly "high" speeds.
whats even more concerning to me is having something LOOSE INSIDE the
tire...sand will NO DOUBT wear the inside of the tire (where no wear
was EVER intended) !
moisture will be an issue w/ "conventional" sand (clumping or sticking
together).
what happens when you hit a big bump at speed (the material COULD break
away from its weighted spot & cause, i suspect, some vibration or oscillation)
the other problem is that this balancing is not gonna be effective at
lower speeds either....until you "get going" and the weight destributes itself.
whats worse is how do you know how MUCH "sand" to put into each
tire ?
good god this stuff is 9-15 DOLLARS PER TIRE !?!
or SIX BUCK MORE (on top of the material cost) if your tires are
already mounted...15-21 bucks per tire !
https://www.expeditionexchange.com/equal/
Counteract Balancing Beads
Tire Balancing Products
Last edited:
FTG-05
Full Access Member
Sorry, but most of the above is wrong. Here's why:
- "centering" weight methods work and work well, even at low speeds (i.e. above 25 mph. They work even better at higher speeds. I have Centramatics on my PSD and they made a world of difference in how smooth the ride is, even when the tires were fairly new. Go to the Centramatic site for a better explanation of how they work, the concept is pretty much the same for all these methods.
I have antifreeze in my Toy 35x12.50 BFG Mud Terrains, smooth as butter even at 70 directly from a ride with lots of mud hanging off the tire. I haven't had them balanced with wheel weights for over three years. I also put 4 oz of antifreeze in each of trailer tires, but I can't speak to how smooth they run since I've never rode in it while it's moving.
I put 4-6 oz. of BB's in my '98 Dodge Ram because the Eagle Alloy wheels wouldn't hold wheel weights. Solved my once per month trip to the tire store to get my tires rebalanced.
Other things that have been used are golf balls (semi truckers seem to like this one), sand (construction sand, not Equal), ball bearings, Airsoft beads, lead shot (not recommended due to inhalation risks to tire shop workers) and various other items.
- Unless you drive around at 10-15 mph all the time, there's no way you're going to "wear out" the inside of your tire, certainly not with something as benign as the Equal or antifreeze or airsoft beads. Simply put, the weights pretty much stop moving much past 15 mph due to centrifical force. In my Dodge, you could hear the BB's rolling around until 15 mph, then it just stopped. I still have, and use two of those tires with the BB's still in them. I sold the Dodge in Feb. '06 and put the BB's in around early '05. This isn't an issue.
- Hitting a bump and upsetting the weights inside the tire is an issue and has been documented, mostly on highly modified 4x4 rigs with +38-44" tires with very badly out of balance tires. I know that I sometimes get a vibration for a second or two in my Toy if I hit a bad pothole while driving at speed. It's usually not a problem unless all four tires are hit pretty close together i.e. something crossing the road. It's not an issue in my Ford since March '06 when I put on the Centramatics.
- Equal is susceptible to moisture, this is it's biggest disadvantage other than cost. There's lots of cost-effective alternatives to Equal and I wouldn't use it for this and other reasons.
- How much weight to put into each tire is pretty well documented by the various "centering" vendors. I have a .pdf at home that shows the weights for various size tires; this is what I used for the BB weights in the Dodge and the antifreeze in my Toy. I'll post it Monday when I get to work. ETA: Correction: it's in the Counteract site listed above, click on the "tire size" link above left and you'll see it.
- One thing these "centering" things won't do is correct an out of round tire or wheel. You're on your own there.
Hope this helps.
Last edited:
silverF250
Full Access Member
Albin you and Bushpilot are both right it all depends on what your comfortable using. Every wheel that is made has a lead weight that will attach to the rim ther are around six (or more) types of wheel weights too use. The problem comes from shops not being informed on their usage. My best results are tape on wheel weights and static balancing aftermarket wheels and tires.
TampaDieselFX4
Full Access Member
so far my truck is still riding smooth after the force balance. I have to straighten out my pinion angle to solve the 45-50 vibe. and I'm still considering Centramatics.
big_rooster
HNIC
I'm definitely gonna try the centramatics on my next set of tires. Cause my buddies shop wont balance anything over a 35. This way i can mount my own tires instead of having to pay to have it done.
TampaDieselFX4
Full Access Member
nothing over a 35? why not? the Hunter 9700 will force balance anything that fits under the hood. Which I think is about 42".
centramatics are a WHOLE different gig...nothing inside a tire.
and you think the "MATERIAL" inside the tire wont wear the tire...
consider this...youre traveling @ 60 or 70mph and come to a stop...
guess what DOESNT STOP (hint: its inside the tire).
and you think the "MATERIAL" inside the tire wont wear the tire...
consider this...youre traveling @ 60 or 70mph and come to a stop...
guess what DOESNT STOP (hint: its inside the tire).
TampaDieselFX4
Full Access Member
... exactly
FTG-05
Full Access Member
Uh, no. Unless the tires have stopped rotating, the stuff inside is still subject to centrifical force because they are still inside a spinning tire. Until the speed of the tires drops below 20-15 mph, they pretty much stay put. Simple physics.
Regardless, there's no appreciable wear on the inside of the tire. +3 years with BB's and no wear. Something like airsoft or antifreeze, you couldn't tell it was there. Actual experience vs. theory wins this one.
Nice try though.
