To balance drive tires or not?

[BusCrazyinFL]

Yesterday I went to check the price on two drive tires that I need for my Eagle 05. I asked the salesman about balancing the tires and to my surprise he said it's up to me. He said they usually don't balance drive tires on trucks. Can I get some feedback from those of you who have done it (either way) and let me know what you recommend? If it's really not necessary, then why pay for it, but I do like a smooth ride. How noticeable is it with or without the balancing? 

[lostagain]

Drive tires aren't balanced on either of my buses, and they ride really smooth.

Opinions on this issue are about equally divided between balance vs don't balance drive tires.

To each his own on this one.

JC

[JackConrad]

Yesterday I went to check the price on two drive tires that I need for my Eagle 05. I asked the salesman about balancing the tires and to my surprise he said it's up to me. He said they usually don't balance drive tires on trucks. Can I get some feedback from those of you who have done it (either way) and let me know what you recommend? If it's really not necessary, then why pay for it, but I do like a smooth ride. How noticeable is it with or without the balancing? 

Are both new tires going on the same side of the bus?  Mismatched tires on a drive axle can cause premature tire failure.  We had the green liquid balance stuff put it our tires. Since this was put in when the new tires were installed on the wheels, I do not know if there was any improvement in the ride.  Jack

[Busted Knuckle]

The closest we get to balancing ANY of the drives on our buses is if we move steer tires from the steer to the drive axle and leave them on the same rims! We run EQUAL or equivilent media balancing material in all our steers. Most of the time the steers get moved to the tag axles wheel and all, and new steers are put on the tag wheels! So in effect we have the steers and tags balanced, but not the drives. (but remember that the tags on our SETRA's steer also!)
Just OUR way, Your Mileage May Vary! FWIW   BK 

[John316]

We balanced all of our tires, including the drives. My thought is, if it isn't balanced there could be extra vibration and movement that might harm some of the axle components. It just seems the less constant vibration that those axles have the longer the life of those expensive items.

Just my .02. FWIW

God bless,

John 

[Brian Diehl]

I have a fairly sensitive feel for the bus and am constantly on the alert for anything *wrong*.  Due to always imagining issues when there aren't any I chose to balance my drive tires when I replaced them.  It is really cheap to do at the time of purchase and certainly won't harm anything!

[TomC]

After driving truck cross country for 21 years and 1.3 million miles, and after experimenting with just about all balancing methods, the best is to first have aluminum rims.  Then to ALWAYS have your tires spun balanced before installing-no matter what the position is.  If you want to run additional, the Centrimatics work the best.  Equal and other balancing rings (like the ones with mercury in it) just don't have enough weight like the Centrimatics do.  Also- weigh your bus in full travelling form by axle and then look up your tire size, model, and manufacturer, and run the suggested tire pressure for your weight.  This will be the biggest single determinate of getting the optimum ride with the maximum tire life.  NEVER run the maximum listed on the side of the tire-you'll just have a hard riding bus with shortened tire life, and less traction since the over inflated tire will be running on the inside part of the tread, not the complete foot print available.  Good Luck, TomC

[HB of CJ]

For whatever it may be worth, I would go so far as to suggest that not only should ALL tires be balanced, but go further and have them checked for roundness also.  Smooth is nice.

You might just be suprised how out of round your brand new tires may be.  And....it goes without saying, in my opinion, (worthless) all caps should also be checked for roundness. 

[Damn Yankee]

When I replaced the rear tires on my 4104 there was 1 rear tire that was so bad it couldn't be balanced. They put on a different tire and balanced it. It's an extra expense but worth it......

[JohnEd]

HB and Damn Yankee,

That is certainly "old School" thinking and solid advice.  A tire that is seriously out of balance is a manufacturer's "second"/defective and you should reject that tire....or tires as the case may be.  I even had my mounted spare balanced and checked for round before I put it in the trunk.  Who wants to be going back to a dealer for an adjustment 4 months after the purchase when you rotate the tires on the 5K mark.?  But that was then and tires are much better, in general, today.  $400 per each and my life on the line?  Balance them all and look for out of round when you do it.

How many oz. would constitute a "second" and be grounds to reject the tire?  Is 22 and 24 the same?  Does anyone know of a truck shop that spins the tire "on the axel"?

John

[HB of CJ]

JohnEd....very good point.  Thank you.  What I should have qualified is that in my case, new tires are usually beyond my $budget$

I usually shop used at the local friendly heavy duty truck recycling/ wrecking yard.  Specifically, I turned down a fair price on...

..ten (10) Michilens on Alcoas because the steering tires looked a little bit rough and the drivers were caps at about 60%  Also the guy

wanted to charge extra for trueing and balancing, which got me to thinking.  Also wanted more for the longer drum studs. 

[JohnEd]

HB,

I feel your pain and enjoy a similar budget.   You may have missunderstood me.   Under 7 years old applies to a lot of tires that aren't brand new.  Used is fine and I would run caps on the rear myself.  Checkered and cracked is just that.  Junk!

The last tires I took of the Winnie had 15 years on them.   The tread was barely worn and they had maybe 3K miles on them.   When I replaced them I took them off at home and took them to the BF G dealer in my truck.   Great tread but 1//2 inch deep cracks around the bead.  Didn't trust them for that short trip.

Now let this be a lesson to ya....when you are talking "poor" the first liar doesn't stand a chance.

Look to the Force young Skywalker,

John

[gm4106]

I have the Centrimatics on fronts and rears. A  little pricey, but well worth it. Much better ride now.