BB balancing tires

[ConnClark]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Because dynamic balancing is science, and not myth.

Yes it is a science. Note they mounted it to the rim and didn't just throw round weights in a deformable media like a tire.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by ConnClark

Yes it is a science. Note they mounted it to the rim and didn't just throw round weights in a deformable media like a tire.

The same principles apply. Here ya go; a video where they "just throw round weights in a deformable media like a tire".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MFkQYvkYVw

[ConnClark]

And here is a video of them not working

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB5m79SYgt8

[sendler]

Balance beads can't be demonstrated on a tire balancer because the tire is not free to shake up and down as it would on the road. It is held by the massively rigid spindle completely without the normal hopping that it would get on the road which is the mechanism that forces the beads to move opposite of the hop as in the soda bottle demo I posted.

[roosterk0031]

Picked up a set of slightly used Hankook I-pikes on rims for my cobalt. Didn't have any lead on them so I assumed weren't balanced. Poured in 3 ounces of air soft pellets in each tires. $6 bottle was enough for 4 tires. Installed them Saturday. Car's as smooth as ever, tires louder the all seasons.

I think I'll switch to them cause they can't get stuck in the valve core or tire bead and of course cheaper. 12 ounces of Counteract is $13-14 if mail ordered.

[IsaacCarlson]

Yeah, the mass marketed beads are very expensive, and messy. That's why I went with airsoft bb's. The steel bb's I tried first worked for a while, but finally wore down to double ended thingys, not sure what to call them.

At low speed the bb's are against the tire, but still roll down a bit as they go uphill in the tire and then roll back down a bit as they go downhill, and they do this on every revolution of the tire, until you go fast enough to get them to stay in place.

[bandit86]

Antifreeze.

[Phantom]

If you decide to run antifreeze please use propylene glycol such as Sierra Coolant that way it is nontoxic for when you get a flat.

[Fingie]

good idea with the BB's.

But a lot of tire balancers work on the principle that the tire balance is measured when the wheel slows down on the spindle.


For example, when you fiddle and spin something out of balance and it vibrates violently at a certain RPM before stopping.

and at the "braking speed" the bbs are already rolling

[ctmaybury@yahoo.com]

Great thread. I'm going to try 6 oz's of bbs per tire in my truck (245 75 r16). I live and work on dirt roads, so the outside of the tire will wear out before the inside. Bbs are cheap enough to put fresh ones in at evey tire change. Might look into a hf tire changer too. Proper balance will help make an aging front end last longer imo.