Balancing Beads?

[Jim Blackwood]

But wouldn't beads inside the tire just go to the bottom every time you stop? It would need to rebalance itself every time you got up to speed wouldn't it?

I've been seeing those red and yellow dots a lot more often now that I look for them. Some tires even have both, not sure what that means.

I recently bought a Hunter dual motor balancer with the strobe and pickup. I think I'll use that instead of beads since it can handle large tires.

Jim

[Glennman]

Well, I have my tag axle tire installed now. I went with traditional balancing as was available at the time. I'll revisit this when I replace the rest of the tires, which I plan to do soon.

[Utahclaimjumper]

 When you do,, make sure the special valve inserts are also installed,, they keep the beads from getting under the valve seat and leaking..>>>Dan

[Nova Eona]

But wouldn't beads inside the tire just go to the bottom every time you stop? It would need to rebalance itself every time you got up to speed wouldn't it?

Yup!  On my old Winnebago pre-bus-days I could feel the difference between low speed maneuvering and once the beads had settled into place, but as long as the beads are where they need to be at the speed that wheel balance matters, all is gravy.

That's actually the big benefit to the beads, the balance is dynamic.  If you lose a chunk of tread or such, the beads will shift to balance it as best as possible where weight-based balancing remains static after installation.

[chessie4905]

Balance beads move necessary to maintain balance. There are hours of info on these and how they work. Just Google them. Hunter or other balancers are little help if tires are out of round, very common on cheap tires.
I laugh at the guys on truck forums that install those big and wide tires on lifted trucks, complaining about shake at highway and higher speeds, even after balancing several times. Their tires are oddball imported brands, many with agressive treads.