Wheel Balancers

[PRZNBUS]

Anybody here use the wheel balancers like Centramatic or Balance Masters? Seems like a good idea just wondering what users opinions are and if you like them or not and why.

Bruce

[Lin]

We have Centramatics on all four wheels and believe they have made a noticeable difference.

[Jon]

I have used weights, Equal (or its equivalent) and Centramatics.

Weights aren't effective. They may work for a while, but under panic stop conditions a tire will rotate slightly on the wheel and the wheels need to be rebalanced. We did not believe the tires spin on the wheels but they do. Put a chalk mark from the tire to the wheel. Get up to about 50 MPH and stand on the brakes, just like you do when some moron steals your stopping distance. Then look at the wheel. The tire is likely to have moved unless the bead of the tire rim is uneven or rusty. We did the test on an Alcoa wheel.

Equal worked excellent and in terms of economy $10 or $12 per wheel is pretty cheap compared to the cost of Centramatics.

I have Centramatics now because the bus came with them and they work well.

[Cary and Don]

We have had the weights and have the wheel balancers now.  There isn't any comparison. The balancers when out.

Don and Cary

[eagle19952]

Equal or sand or whatever they call it causes trouble too.

it can actually sit on the bead surface and create a slow leak.

re-seating the bead can deposit more and you repeat the process.

I hate that stuff.

[gumpy]

I use Centrimatics on my steer and drive. Love them.

I run antifreeze in the tags.

[Scott & Heather]

Craig, antifreeze? Explain that....intrigues me


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[TomC]

I have driven 1.3 million miles in my own truck and have experimented with many different balancing methods. This is what I found-Equal doesn't work very well and can get in the tire stem causing problems.
The best when you buy a new tire, balance it then use Centrimatics. I have them on the front and rear of my truck and they work the best. Good Luck, TomC

[pvcces]

We have Centramatics on all four corners. they do what they were designed to do.

For what it's worth, our Whirlpool washing machines use the same technology, and they will balance on a soft floor.

Tom Caffrey

[luvrbus]

95% of the time the tire is not the balance problem it's the crapo drums and the 2 piece welded steel wheels.

I use the Centramatics on steel wheels but I am not a fan of those on aluminum wheels never could see where they made any difference plus the heat build up caused was a worry to me on the aluminum wheels   

[gumpy]

Craig, antifreeze? Explain that....intrigues me


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it's the same principal as Centrimatics. The antifreeze acts as a dynamic balancer media inside the tire. Same idea as the golf balls, which I tried with extreme failure
(they nearly shook me off the road!).  It's debatable whether any of it works on the large tire, which have a large road surface contact area flex. I "feel" like it's helped
even out the cups that were in my tags when I moved them from the steer to the tag (running too low air pressure caused the initial cupping), but I can't prove
any of it. The Centrimatics are the way to go. The ring prevents any issues with tire flex throwing off the media placement. My only problem with Centrimatics is that
they don't line up with my inner dual valve stem very well. Off by about 1/4 hole, preventing me from being able to get my big hands in to remove the cap, so I
put extender caps on that I can use an air chuck directly on.

I run antifreeze in my motorcycle tires and have never had any unbalanced issues. The only vibration I get is engine vibe and the tires wear evenly. But then again, motorcycle
tires only last 10-15K whereas I have about 75K on my current bus tires (drives and tags, less on the steers).

[PRZNBUS]

I use the Centramatics on steel wheels but I am not a fan of those on aluminum wheels never could see where they made any difference plus the heat build up caused was a worry to me on the aluminum wheels   

They get hot??? What causes the heat?

Bruce

[luvrbus]

 When they came out in 80's they didn't have air holes like the newer style and heat would build up from the brakes.

I have the newer style the guy in Texas gave me to replace the older style but I still don't trust the little holes JMO anyway you slice the pie you have a shield between the wheel and the drum vents it's what ever works for people   

[Boomer]

Clifford's right about the cheap Chinese dynamic parts being out of balance.  I saw a pallet of brand new chinese brake drums and every single one had a balancing tab welded on the drum in exactly the same spot to fool you into thinking they were balanced.  The two piece steel wheels are bad too they weld them together with no balancing, even the good Accuride ones.  Les Schwab tire told me only about 1 in 10 steel wheels these days will balance without huge amounts of weight, that's why all the major truck fleets run on aluminum.  BTDT.  Forged aluminum wheels are the only way to be sure of getting a perfect wheel new.  I did all the tire work on our fleet of buses myself (all the Prevosts were on aluminum) and I experimented with balancing and found it generally a waste of time and money.  Eventually I even stopped balancing the fronts and only found one tire out of hundreds that I mounted that had a hint of vibration, today's top tier tires are that good if you mount and inflate them correctly.  You get what you pay for; if you want cheap chinese tires, wheels, drums then expect to have to use band aids to keep your bus from shaking. JMO based on experience.

[luvrbus]

I asked the guy in Texas why his product wasn't OEM  best he could up with was Peterbuilt sold his product aftermarket.

I use them on the Trek but the WheelMaster simulators defeat the purpose I believe as it bounces like a rubber ball under 25 mph with Michelin tires.

Boomer I never balanced any of my truck and trailer tires it was a waste of time and money to me