Balancing beads in tires-opinions please

PP · July 11, 2012, 07:00:23 PM

:)I'm considering having tires changed on site and the shop said they install bags of beads for a balance job in the field. They claim they do it on log trucks, etc, all the time with great results. Has anyone had a tire on their bus balanced this way and how did it work out for you?
Thanks in advance for any replies, Will

Melbo · July 11, 2012, 07:13:08 PM

I have had the powder and beads but would not be able to tell you if they help or not --- I figured for the cost (I don't remember what it really was) they recommend it so let them do it.

I have used the same tire place since I got the coach and only once felt like I was having a tire vibration and with a change of tire it went away --- I don't know if it was a balance issue or not but it was cupping. I finally blamed it on inflation issues.

Melbo

Lin · July 11, 2012, 07:15:27 PM

This is another controversy. Although I certainly have heard some say that they don't help, but I don't think I have heard any real negatives other than a couple of dollars. I do believe that such a dynamic system can help. I went with Centramatic balancers and believe they help smooth out my ride. Since it is a very subjective evaluation process, I may be fooling myself. We all do that sometimes anyway. One problem is that your new tires will change your ride so, even if there is an improvement, it may not be clear what caused it.

OneLapper · July 11, 2012, 07:45:06 PM

I have the beads in the drive wheels. Only issue I have had was when a little piece got stuck in the tire stem valve during a tire pressure check. The tire let out most of its air before I could fix it. I didn't have a valve remover tool with me at the time, but I do now!!!!!

Frank @ TX · July 11, 2012, 09:50:39 PM

Hi PP,
When I bought new tires for the bus I had them put in beads called "EQUAL".
That was 10 years ago.
There is no uneven wear , no cupping and no vibration on the road.
There is about 80,000 miles on the tires now.
This year I'm getting new tires because of the years not because of any tire wear problems.
They are Cooper tires and I'll get Coopers again.
I'll see if they can dump the existing beads into the new tires.
I have steer tire all around and Equal in them all.
Hopes this helps you
Frank

Uglydog56 · July 11, 2012, 10:02:31 PM

My steers have them and I don't feel any vibration. I've also ran them in a set of motorcycle tires with mixed results.

pvcces · July 11, 2012, 10:09:47 PM

We have the Centramatic style balancers; these are a dry version.

We had some shaking in the rear and had some cupped tires. The balancers have eliminated the shaking, as far as we can tell.

IIRC, the Equal product required some kind of filtered valve stem.

For what it's worth.

Tom Caffrey

Kitt · July 12, 2012, 05:40:05 AM

I had seen these fluid (mercury) filled balancers a little while back and thought they looked interesting: http://www.balancemasters.com

Anyone here have any experience with them? Wondering how they compare in price and performance to the beads.

lostagain · July 12, 2012, 07:05:27 AM

I had two different sets of tires during my ownership of the Courier 96. None of them ever balanced by any method. They ran really smooth. Mind you my top speed was 60 mph.

We had a succession of tires on the hockey team's D3, not balanced either and they ran smoothly enough. Except one set of steers once that were rough. We put beads in them. That didn't help, so we got different tires.

My 5C now has tires that are balanced all the way around, (with the weights on the rims). It runs smooth. How much smoother than the other two buses is hard to tell.

If I get my next tires from a shop that doesn't have a balancer, I'll start without balancing. I can always get them balanced later if necessary.

JC

Low Class · July 12, 2012, 07:17:09 AM

Please forgive me for thread drift. For years, I have balanced motorcycle tires using low friction bearings and gravity. Quite easy to get within 4 grams. Why wouldn't it work for bus wheels? Get a spindle/hub from junk yard, remove seal, lube with lightest oil available, mount on suitable stand and balance away.

lostagain · July 12, 2012, 08:21:29 AM

Lowclass, I've thought of that, having done my motorcycle tires like you, and it works quite well.

However, the thought of rigging up a stand to balance 22.5 or 24.5 wheels is what has stopped me so far. And how often would one use it?

JC

rv_safetyman · July 12, 2012, 10:21:33 AM

When I was selling tire pressure monitor systems, we were always careful to warn customers (if we knew they were using some form of internal balance product) to use filtered valve cores. TPMS sensors are sensitive to debris according to some of the manufacturers. Most of the time the issue was not discussed and there were probably some customers who had problems. That said, I did not have a customer complaint.

It is not all that easy to find filtered valve cores on the internet. Here is one link: http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/janitorial-maintenance/vehicle-maintenance/valves/filtered-valve-core

I did a bit of searching and found some interesting comments that were not involved in TPMS problems. First, there were a couple of sites that talked about slow leaks caused by "debris" in the valve core and a second observation that you might get around measuring tire pressure with a gauge by hitting the stem with a quick burst of air (pushes the debris away from the core).

Jim

Lee Bradley · July 12, 2012, 10:31:54 AM

Quote from: Kitt on July 12, 2012, 05:40:05 AM
I had seen these fluid (mercury) filled balancers a little while back and thought they looked interesting: http://www.balancemasters.com

Anyone here have any experience with them? Wondering how they compare in price and performance to the beads.

From their site 'The active ingredient is mercury. It is 3 1/3 heavier than steel by volume, and is all natural.' A very toxic substance but its all natural.

PP · July 12, 2012, 12:49:41 PM

Thanks for all the replies. The beads will only cost me an extra $16/tire which is less than spin balancing in the shop. I feel much more comfortable now making my decision thanks in large part to the positive comments provided here. Will

PS-I love this site and all the wonderful, helpful people here. Hopefully the wife and I will get to meet more of you in the future as plans continue to come together.

opus · July 12, 2012, 06:50:35 PM

I like them, they work well. As far as the valve stem, there is a new core that is supposed to go in when they install the beads. The core keeps the stuff from getting in the valve stem. I think mine are Counteract.