18 replies to this topic

[pat slattery]

Is it a good idea our a waste of time and money for a Sm

[AJ Roderick]

great idea

[Caveman-kwebb99]

just throw em on there and go!!!!!!! please give details of your testing!

[Little Bill]

I know I enjoy the vibration caused by non balanced tires. So if you are like me, don't balance them

[wheel]

Arrrrgh! Don't balance??? WTF? over.

[pat slattery]

Arrrrgh! Don't balance??? WTF? over.

Thanks for all the straight answers

[Zauskycop]

Anything below 55-60 mph you don't really need to balance tires, hence why autocrossers never do so. However, once you get above that, the harmonics take over and you will drastically feel the inbalance.

Straight answer. If you only drive 55 or under, don't worry about it

[davew]

Having worked for Goodyear for 10 years, you need to balance tires.

Tire harmonics come into play at various speeds based on tire mass and circumfrence.

Aprox 15 mph (you will never feel this), again about 35(very rarely do you feel this), again about 60 (this is the one you will feel), again about 120 and again at 180.

Most tire balance machines have for a working speed of about 15mph. This will work at all harmonic points. That is why you can balance an Indy car tire on the same machine that you balance a street car tire on.

dave

[ChrisA]

While we're on the subject, I just had a new set of wheels and tires mounted & balanced. One wheel took 4-oz of weights at one spot to balance. They pointed this out to me and added that the tire road-forced just fine. Is this fairly common or should I ask that it be done again? The shop has a good reputation, so...
FWIW, I also asked them to spin the wheels first to make sure nothing happened during shipping.

[davew]

4-oz is not uncommon. Try spinning the tire 180* on the wheel. Sometimes this helps.

Assuming you are using tape on wheel weights, put two 2-oz strips next to each other instead of a single long 4 oz strip.

Dave

[Qik Nip]

I once had a set of 888's mounted (and balanced) at the track and the shop's balancer had apparently gone whacky. The car vibrated so badly at the top end that my vision blurred. Needless to say, I was back at his setup in a jiffy to have him take a second stab at it!
Rick

[Tom Hampton]

Curious...does anyone use a bubble balancer to do their own tires? Once upon a time, JD mentioned (on the old site) that he did.

[AJ Roderick]

My dad used to balance his Gt-1 tires with a bubble balancer, back in the day when he ran the Kelley American Challenge. He still swears up and down on it, and that he would use it if we didn't have access to Tuffy Auto Service

[joeg5982]

Bubble balancers work just fine as do the Snap-on "manual" spin balancers.

[Bench Racer]

Curious...does anyone use a bubble balancer to do their own tires? Once upon a time, JD mentioned (on the old site) that he did.

Yes, that is all I've ever used. $60-$70 from Harbor Freight.

[Keith Novak]

You have to be a bit careful with the HF one. If you're not careful, it’s easy to get the tires on mine in a way where they’re not perfectly centered, in which case even after “balancing” the tires, it’s going to feel like you’re driving down the railroad tracks. Take your time though and they work OK. I don’t know if I’d say mine is sensitive to ¼ oz but it is to ½ oz.

[Tom Hampton]

That's always been the plan...just haven't ordered tires without wheels, yet.

[pat slattery]

Having worked for Goodyear for 10 years, you need to balance tires.

Tire harmonics come into play at various speeds based on tire mass and circumfrence.

Aprox 15 mph (you will never feel this), again about 35(very rarely do you feel this), again about 60 (this is the one you will feel), again about 120 and again at 180.

Most tire balance machines have for a working speed of about 15mph. This will work at all harmonic points. That is why you can balance an Indy car tire on the same machine that you balance a street car tire on.

dave

Thanks, for the good explanation. I have always balanced our tires, but you hear people brag that they don't, so I was trying to find what most felt was proper. Looks like I made the right decision.

Pat

[joeg5982]

Actually, one of the best reasons to always balance your tires is to be able to pick up other vibrations in your rump--which may have otherwise been ignored if you have in your mind--oh that's just tire imbalance!