Wheel balancing powder?

[Jon]

Test were run on wheels balanced with weights by marking the tire and wheel with a grease pencil. After one hard stop the line drawn by the grease pencil showed the tire had rotated on the wheel negating the effect of balancing.

This was on a set of tires just mounted after balancing.

I have used Equal or it's equivalent for 22 years, and at no time did I ever have an issue. The key is to insure the Schrader valve cores have the screen mesh filter. I always check pressures with the stems near the bottom if possible so the inlet to the valve is pointing down. I also check pressures using a gauge mounted on my tire fill chuck and just before I read pressures I give it a quick shot of air just in case there is any balancing media in the stem.

But if you don't like Equal use Centrimatics or Balance Masters. They work on the same concept, but the balancing media is in the outer rim of the balancer and not in the tire.

[digesterman]

I had the powder or whatever it is put into the front tires on a boom truck and they would both slowly leak out. Was constantly putting air into them. Finally got tired of that and called out a tire company to tube them. When they took the tires off they showed me the original tire company, Les Schwab, hadn't put the correct valve stems in, after the right ones were installed never had a problem again.

If you go with the powder make sure they change the valves too.  P.S. on a boom truck semi we run fairly large front tires due to the axle weight and the powder did the job, never had an issue with balancing, worked well.

[chessie4905]

   Some have used a pint of antifreeze per tire with good results.

[wg4t50]

Brings back many memories, like the Bear Alignment system years ago and their balancer system, remove front wheel with hub & brake drum as an assembly, using cones on each side mount on a heavy shaft, lift up place on bearings, first do the static balance, then start the spinning / dynamic balance, you could balance the assy to a very smooth condition.
That was about 1965 when I spent a week at the Bear factory school at Rock Island, Il. for truck / heavy front end work. That was in a former life I think.
Dave M