are the tire balancing beads worth the money?

[kyle4501]

kyle,

ballancing does not make the tire round, just makes it ballanced.

you can ballance an egg if you want....does not make it round.

thats where trueing comes in.

If you have the chance to ever see a tire trued on a vehicle you will be ammazed.  yep even one with no noticable vibrations.

a significant ammount of material can be removed by the machine.

next time your tire is off the ground get a straight edge, a block, tire chock or something place it up to the tire.  The rotate it.

doug, I don't see where I said or implied that balance had anything to do with the tire being round.    But if you read what I wrote, you will see that I called a tire 'true' in the spin balancer. Yes, I do check all my tires for trueness when I buy them & yes, I pay my tire man extra so I can pick & choose.

I know a little about the dynamics involved with roundness, trueness, & balance. During tire construction, there is a place where the belting overlaps & this creates a stiffer section which effects the rolling radius differently depending on load. This may or may not matter, depends on the situation. This is why the tire is marked, so you can compensate if necessary.

The loaded radius is different than an unloaded tire in a trueing machine. & yes, I have seen them in action.

There is a reason more places don't true tires, & it has less to do with labor & more to do with making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

I have my own opinion concerning the serviceability of tires that need rubber cut off to run without shaking. I call those seconds (irregardless of what the manufacturer calls them) & I prefer higher quality for my bus, others are free to have their own opinion.   

[tekebird]

NJT it's in the warrantee. go to the website.

and despite it being in the warranty or not how do you explain the other Bridgestone provided literature I gave links to?

I support my statements with factual literature from YOUR tire manufacturer


Kyle,  I am not saying that a non true tire is not servicable.  they are and today they are not that out of spec for being true.

I don't true but my dad does.  of the 14 Michilins he has bought over the past 8 years or so all were not true and lost some rubber.....not much mind you but some.

"purse out of a sows ear"  that is basically what NJT said about ballancing........despite his prefered tire maker stating that their tires may not be in ballance from the factory.  He basically said in a prior post it was a rip of scam to get you to spend money for nothing.

[tekebird]

here is another bridgestone release.

Also mentions ballancing

http://www.trucktires.com/bridgestone/us_eng/load/technical/fuel_economy_b.asp

Dunlop:Why do my tires need to be balanced?



Properly balanced tires are important for driving comfort and long tire life. Unbalanced tires can cause vibration, resulting in driver fatigue, premature tire wear and unnecessary wear to your vehicle's suspension. Tires should be balanced when they are mounted on wheels for the first time or when they are remounted after repair. Tires should be rebalanced at the first sign of vibration or "shimmy." Vibration may also be due to misalignment or mechanical problems. Many Dunlop retailers can provide expert diagnosis and repair

article about tire failure stating imballance cause of cupping :

http://www.retread.org/PDF/WhyTiresFail.pdf

From the EPA: http://www.epa.gov/garbage/tires/faq.htm

If everyone helps out just a little, major progress can be made toward reducing the total amount of used tires generated. Things you can do to help include:

Purchase tires with longer tread life.
Rotate your tires every 4,000 miles.
Balance your tires when you rotate them.
Check for/inflate tires to recommended air pressure levels once a month or before every long trip.
Use public transportation and carpool.

Land Line magazine: http://www.landlinemag.com/Archives/2002/May2002/equipment/tire_maintenance.htm

Rubber manufacturer association: http://www.rma.org/tire_safety/tire_maintenance_and_safety/how_to_take_care_of_your_tires/

General Motors ( cars but same damn thing)  http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/safety/avoid_crash/gm_tire_safety/you/tips.html

Michelin: http://www.michelinman.com/care/tip4.html

[WEC4104]

Any input on Cooper Road Masters?

If it matters to you, I will note that Cooper stopped manufacturing bus and heavy truck tires in the U.S. several years ago. I believe these are now manufactured in China, and possibly elsewhere.  Here in the U.S. plants, they produce car and light truck only.

[jjrbus]

 Good info Teke, I appreciate it, keep up the good work.

[brojcol]

NJT 5573 said:

There was a recent post here that said all the big trucking companys balance their tires. For 5 days last week I checked interstate trucks coming into my yard from all over the country. I was suprised. Out of a couple hundred trucks I found one truck that had balanced his steer tires and that was all. No one had a balanced drive or trailer tire.

When I ran mine, I used "equal" beads in the front tires (didn't really do as well as I wanted it to) but the only thing that would indicate that the tires were "balanced" was a little red rubber band on the valve stem.  Could be that all those trucks were using beads to balance their tires?

[John Z]

Well, i ordered up 4 dunlops, made by Goodyear or at least owned by them, so should be easy to get service if needed while OTR. And i am going to opt for the beads also. Thanks to all for your input.

[NJT 5573]

Teke, The fact your Dad has bought 16 tires over the last 8 years certainly qualifys you to speak. Obviously that is alot of experience to speak from and perhaps I should listen to your ideas and try to implement them into my tire program. Today, I have just over 500 tires on the ground and obviously have a few things to learn from the tire expertise available to me from this great board.

I see this as similar to me discussing fuel problems with someone who has burned less than 500 gallons of ULSD since it came out when my experience has been in the vicinity of 500 gallons before noon each day since it hit the pumps.

Each of my posts relate to my personal real world experiences and that is all I'm sharing on this board. I have gone beyond what you read and am sharing what works for my business in the real world. Big Brother (US DOT) watches every move I make everyday. US DOT does not give their top safety rating away, you can only get one by earning it and I have maintained this rating for the last 11 years.

So Teke, what is your expertise with these tires you speak so knowledgeably about? Tell me how many sets you have run out in the last year? Do you personally do tire work like me? Are you sharing real world experiences from personal experience or did you just make yourself an expert because you dad bought 16 tires in the last 8 years.

[tekebird]

NJT, Don't attack me for not agreeing with you.

I am basing my info on published articles and technical data from tire manufactures....and yes the very tire manufacturer you pointed out.

As well as info provided to me by a freind from college who is an engineer for Michelin.

Also real world experiece from a number of top rated Charter operations.

Oh yeah, the bridgestone Tire Lease rep in my area as well.

As they say....don't take your bus to a truck mechanic.........guess same goes for taking tire advice from a trucker.  No offense to you other truckers out there.

NJT, provide me with any documentation from any tire manufacturer that states there is no need to ballance a tire.


I have also bought my fare share of coach tires.  I suspect my coach tire experience far outweighs yours.  But...... thats neither here nor there.

I have provided proper supporting evidence for my arguement for other member to read and make their own judgements.

Best I can tell you are offering your opinions with nothing more than your word.

[tekebird]

as for your top DOT safety rating......Kudos to you........that does not mean your tires ride well on your Tracor Trailers or whatever rigs you run....or that you could even tell in a truck.

[Bosshosssport96]

Balancing....I use golf balls,8 balls per wheel.I have 80 golf balls in my tires(10 tires)they work just great,people have been using these for many years.I got my used golf balls from a golf course for free,its hard to beat free................Frank

[Busted Knuckle]

Balancing....I use golf balls,8 balls per wheel.I have 80 golf balls in my tires(10 tires)they work just great,people have been using these for many years.I got my used golf balls from a golf course for free,its hard to beat free................Frank

Frank how do you know what brand golf ball to use in what brand tire for maximum efficiency? LOL BK 





just kidd'n

[NJT 5573]

Teke, Thanks for the information about your friend that works for the tire company from the country that teaches its military to march backwards.

Your experiences and references are truely impecable and I am awed by your incredible insights. Thank you for sharing from your vast research, you are truely an incredible asset and I will immediately pull all my rubber, send it right out for balance so I can save some big bucks!

Perhaps I can find some one in South America that still has a truing machine and can further add to my "ride quality" and bottom line!

[Dallas]

OK, enough is enough.

Let's get back to the question at hand.

Quote, "Are the tire balancing beads worth the money?" End quote


Just a note from your friendly, neighborhood moderators.

Dallas

[kyle4501]

OK, enough is enough.

Let's get back to the question at hand.

party pooper