Balancing golf balls...

[gumpy]

From my truck driving-this is what I have used and what works.  The Centrimatics with ball bearings in ATF in a metal ring that mounts between the drum and wheel works best. Balancemasters with mercury in a metal ring that mounts between the drum and wheel doesn't have enough weight to do anything-don't waste your money.  Equal-packets of powder that goes inside the tire works somewhat until the powder gets clumpy from moisture-course if you use Nitrogen, that will work.  Golf balls-according to my tire man-a definite no-no since they can do interior tire and wheel damage (that's enough for me!).  Any of these additional dynamic balancing devices should only be used with a statically balanced tire and wheel.  They aren't designed to offset an already out of balanced tire.  Good luck, TomC

And not the discount you or your tire man, but I've never found one shred of evidence, nor have I been able to convince myself, that a golf ball in a tire can possibly cause any interior tire or wheel damage. I have personally inspected tire casings which had run 50,000 miles with 6 golf balls inside them. The only indication they were in there were tiny pock marks on the rim where the balls had bounced at low speed and left a smudge in the grime.

I run centrimatics on my rear axle. They don't make a set to fit my steer axle rims (which I found out after ruining a set they originally sent me).

I find it curious that people will scoff at golf balls and repeat how they've heard from someone else that they can do damage to the tire, but think nothing of putting a powder in there which could clump up and could potentially abrade the casing as it slides round and round at low speed and vibrates at high speed.  What's that stuff made of anyway? Glass beads? Sand?

[phil4501]

It seems to me that golf balls or other balancing media would have to be the correct amount of weight, if the whell tire combo needed 6 oz and you put 8 oz of media in the tire it would not work right . Is this correct?

[Busted Knuckle]

It seems to me that golf balls or other balancing media would have to be the correct amount of weight, if the whell tire combo needed 6 oz and you put 8 oz of media in the tire it would not work right . Is this correct?

Politicly ? Or Unpoliticly ?  LOL ?

I've been avoiding this post like the plague, but I now feel I should at least share my fisrt hand experinces  ! Back when I was trucking I had a Frieghtliner that drove & rode like a dream ! But after 35-50,000 miles both front tires would start cupping on the inside, well I'd get it aligned, have new steers put on (moving the "old ones" to the trailer) have them balanced ! And again she'd ride & Drive like a dream ! (I was a faithful customer at TREADCO in Tampa, FL with an account and when I needed tires I'd drop the truck off an tell 'em to do what ever it was I needed done!) Well after having been thru this 3 times in six months & 100,000 miles the manager came out and talked to me one day while dropping the truck off and said he wanted to make me an offer I couldn't refuse !  Hey I'm dumb not stupid ! So I listened to his offer, they would take all 18 tires off my truck and put on 18 all new experimental Bridgestone directional tires, balanced, and with the (new at the time mercury filled balancers all the way around!) free! If I'd bring the truck by after every trip from FL to CA and back to FL so they could monitor the tire wear, and I could give them feedback on the ride and handling characteristics of these "new" tires & balancers ! I agreed (uh again I might be dumb but not stupid ! Anyone ever price a new set of 18 tires for a big rig ?) and they hooked me up with what at the time were "experimental directional Bridgestones"  and those worthless piece of crap balancers ! After the first round I returned and told him I hoped he had my old tires still around, wouldn't ya know it they were sold before I'd left with the new ones ! When he asked why I wanted my old ones back I told hime I'd driven on logging rds and had a better ride ! He couldn't believe it, I told him that the front end vibrated, the drives shimmied, and the tralier literally shook ! Again he still couldn't believe it ! He had 3 others trying out those same tires and they loved them ! Well I told him let's go for a ride and I let him drive, he made a comment about a shake before we hit 50 mph, I told him that was the trailer then came the shimmy, and once he set the cruise at 70 came the vibration (only vibrated at steady speed, if speeding up or slowing down it didn't vibrate at all! The shimmy was the opposite it only did it on acceleration or deceleration *down shifting, jakes on, etc* and the trailer shook all the time !) Well he was truely baffled as he had 3 others trying the same tires in different scenario's (I was the only one truely going coast to coast !)and they loved them ! Well the main difference was that when he put the others on he hadn't aquired the balancers yet so he hadn't installed them on the other 3 ! So we went back to his shop, where I left my truck again and they removed the balancers ! When I left FL the ride was smooth as silk and I was happy as could be, but after about a month the tires started cupping (but still riding smooth). He put a new set on the front,balanaced 'em, & checked the alignment, away I went they rode great, they handled good and again after 25-30,000 miles they started cupping again. He was baffled as were his contacts at Bridgestone, who asked me to bring it by a shop in CA where they did a 5 axle alignment on the truck (and were surprised at how little it was out of alignment!), they checked the tread , air pressure, rebalanced all 18 wheels, cut small slivers of tread of for analist to be sure the composition was right, and I don't remember what else, but the fact of it was at 30,000 miles or so the steer tires on that truck would cup ! Well I was home here in TN for a family reunion, and my uncle who owned 9 buses (it's his fault!!! I'm a busnut !) and I were talking and got on this subject, and he told me to put 4-6 golfballs in each steer tire ! I laffed my A** off at him and asked him how much he'd had to drink and said no seriously I've got some buses that no matter what they either go thru tires like mad or have a vibration and we've tried everything, but nothing except putting golf balls in the tires has helped !  I still didn't believe him, but he said he'd heard it from an old timer who swore by it and it'd worked for him and he was so convinced he said come on I'll have my mechanic put 'em in for ya while yer here today! So we took the tractor down to his mechanics house where he jacked up the front end broke the tire loose from the rims (still on the truck)and popped 6 balls in each tire! Well I got back on schedule running FL-CA-FL and never said a word about the golf balls(I was too embarassed, and didn't believe they'd make a difference!) Wow Mike was estatic when I hit 70,000 miles and no cupping (I was too, but kept my mouth shut!) ! Well when it came time to rotate those tires to the trailer and they broke'm down and found the golf balls I had to explain, Mike couldn't believe it but the proof was there and we both saw it there were 6 badly disformed golf balls in each tire but no cupping ! Long after I got rid of that truck I learned on another what the cupping problem was all along ! I had another one that was eating up the inside edge of the tires, and had it in the dealer 8 times in 10 months for alignment problems (different dealers 4 times) when my girlfriend and I weent to pick it up one saturday the service manager said hey look we're wasting our time constantly aligning this thing, and it won't be covered under warranty next time! Whoooa hold on Jack ! Boy Debbie come unglued on him ( she was a paralegal and was working on getting her degree !) Well he backed off, and we started talking again and he called the alignment guy up to see what his ideas were, and we were all talking and tossing ideas back and forth, when he say's do you pull the same trailer all the time ? (after telllnig us he'd test drove it and it still had the same shimmy around 50-55 mph it'd always had) Boy o boy Deb lost it again started cuss'n him like a dog and asked do I look like a frigg'n blonde to you or what ? Puzzled he said no, but why ? She said you just told me it still shimmys, but then you ask about the trailer which is at home, only a moron or a blonde would be dumb enough to believ the trailer could be causing it if you just drove it and it's still shimming and the trailer is 50 miles away form it! (good point wish I'd caught it! ) Anyway they had me take it to a frame & alignment specialist shop, which I did!  Upon picking it up the manager was real nice and polite talking to us and asking us if we'd mind taking him for a test ride so he personally could be with us to verify we were happy, sure no problem. Took it got on the interstate drove better than new (since it'd had this problem since new!) He asked where our trailer was and if we could go get it just to be sure! Hooked up and took him back to the shop handled great I was like a new father and Deb was all smiles too ! So when we got him back to the shop Deb started asking him questions like what had they done that the dealers had overlooked 8 times, and why was he so concerned about making sure we BOTH we satisfied and all. Well they told us that 9 out of 10 new trucks have the wrong Chaimber not sure on spelling) from the factory but they set them as close as they can which falls into the truck manufactures specs, but not the manufacture of the front axles specs ! So they literaly bend (bow up) the axle itself in the middle to bring it where it can be adjusted properly and the dealership shops are not properly trained in this (and the few who are, are just too lazy to do it *as was the case in our dealership!*) . Then he went on to say he'd been called by the owner of the dealership himself and was told to do whatever it took to make us happy or bring us back to the dealer where he'd exchange that truck for another new one with the stipulation that we'd take any future problems elsewhere !  Come to find out Deb had written a letter to the Frieghtliner Corperation about our issues and unhappieness (on her employers letterhead and as my representive), which had gotten back to the owner of the dealership and he didn't want the bad publicity and/or lawsuit! Now as far using golfballs I don't anymore I now use equal and have been totally happy! BK 

Sorry so long but it shows not everything works as it should!

[kyle4501]

I looked at the michellin tire warranty, If you put ANYTHING except air or nitrogen in their tire, the warranty is void.

Goodyear wasn't as harsh, but did reserve the right to void the warranty if they determine the added stuff damaged the tire.

I'm no tire expert, but if 2 of the biggest tire makers warn against putting stuff inside the tire in their warranty..... well, it makes me think they must know something I don't and it is not as simple as some would have you to believe.

To me, it is obvious that the tire designers had no plans for stuff inside the tire and made no provisions for measuring the wear of the inner casing.

BTW, BK made an excellent point about the alignment.

I have had tires that were regularly inspected fail from hidden damage and that was no fun. The cost to repair the damage was much more than a few tires.

My choice is to follow the tire manufacturers recommendations for my uses and to wish good luck to those who ignore the manufacturers advice.