Balancing tires???

[John316]

In another thread we started talking about how to balance tires. We use a sand called equal. The only problem that we have is that it clogs the valve core sometimes. We have to make sure that air is handy if we want to check the pressure, otherwise, like I said, it might not seal.

What do you all think about balancing? What types of balancing do you like?

BK, since I asked you in the other thread where to get the stems from, and I don't want to offend anybody by using their thread to ask my questions, you can let me know here.

God bless,

John 

[jjrbus]

I like having the steer tires balanced. I have them spin balanced, cause its my money and that is the way I like it done!!  Spin balanceing on the coach is preferabe but not always possible. 
                                                                                                              HTH Jim

[sivrtnge2]

Hello John, Happy New Year to you. I have my steers balanced on the coach as well as the truck. I try whenever possible to have the steers on the truck done while mounted on the truck. When I cant, I just have them speed balanced and then I use the "centramatics" wheel balancers to keep them balanced. The only people that will balance the drive tires seems to do so just for the money. Other people will tell you that balancing the drives is a waste of money because you are trying to balance 4 wheels on the same axle which is possible to do but impossible to maintain. This will smooth out the ride more but only for a short period of time. I have done this on my truck as well. It lasted for a few days of long driving. The "centramatics will " try" to correct the drives to a certain point. I have these on my truck now and I can definitely tell a difference.

DISCLAIMER

THIS IS THE FACTS IN MY OPINION AND THEREFORE MY NOT AMOUNT TO A "HILL OF BEANS" TO ANYONE ELSE!!!

[HB of CJ]

At the least, no balancing at all.  At the most, truing and balancing ALL tires/wheels.  You quickly reach a point of little return for all the trouble.  We had the rears trued and balanced once then we forgot about them. 

The fronts got trued once then balanced (lead wheel weights) about every 10,000 miles which may be overkill but the Crown Super Coach rode very smooth at 80.  New fronts, rear caps. Hope this helps.  HB of CJ

[TomC]

After 21 years and 1.3 million miles of driving, this is what works the most effectively.  First, make sure you have good quality brake drums that are balanced (can usually tell by grind out spots on the drum to balance them).  Have ALL tires mounted on the rims spin balanced, and run Centrimatics all the way around.  Balancing sand, balancing rings with mercury in them just don't have enough weight to make any difference in the balance of the tires.  Then, also run the correct tire pressure.  Good Luck, TomC

[Busted Knuckle]

We use Equal or another brand similar to it. Our tire guy knows we run this in all steers, and rotate them back as they wear. So knowing this our tire guy uses valve stems made for this stuff. He then puts a little yellow rubber band/ring on the outside of the stem "to show others that is has balancing media in it." We've done it this way now for 4 or 5 yrs with no problems except when we got a bum tire that nothing would have helped.  FWIW      BK 

[gumpy]

  Balancing sand, balancing rings with mercury in them just don't have enough weight to make any difference in the balance of the tires.  

Everything else in TomC's post is right on the money. This statement is questionable. I'm not sure how much weight is in the Equal sand that's
inserted in each tire. I have heard that the mercury filled rings don't contain enough weight, but it they are being used on quality equipment
with spin balanced tires/rim sets, you won't need much.

Balancing rings do carry enough weight to finish balance tires which are "close", or to correct small inequalities in the brake drums, hubs, and rims.
New tires on good quality rims will not be out by more than a few ounces. Even worn tires will not generally be out of balance by more than a
few ounces.

The Centrimatics contain something like 16 oz of weight, which is more than enough to equal out a closely balanced wheel. I run these on my duals and love them. I would have them on my steer, too, but they don't make one that fits the 2-hole steel rims I'm running now. I actually
broke a set because they didn't tell us their product wouldn't work on those rims, even though we were very specific about what rims we
were using.

It does not take much weight to balance (or unbalance) a wheel. I was experimenting with golf balls in my tires a few years ago because
I had heard good things from people who use them. I put 6 balls in each of the front tires, and started out on a trip. When I got up to about
50 mph, the bus started shaking so badly I had a hard time controlling it. I returned home and removed the balls. I haven't had a chance play
with this since, but would like to try it with fewer balls and see if I get more favorable results.

I've also considered trying a small amount of antifreeze in the front tires. Have heard it works, but have no personal experience. Maybe 10-12 oz by weight.

[gus]

John,

To answer your question directly I've copied the first two paragraphs from my last post to the string "Failed Valve Cores" just below this one.

"I did some research today at two auto supply stores and two truck tire shops. The auto stores had the same cores as WM and, yes, they are made in China.

The truck shops told me that the long type of core is to keep balancing media out of the seal, but otherwise no different than the short type. I also removed the cores from two of my new spare two-piece truck valves and they are both short!!"