Balancing tires

[DHudson]

Who balances their tires with "Tire Balancing Beads" and how happy are you with their performance?

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Who balances their tires with "Tire Balancing Beads" and how happy are you with their performance?

On my motorcycle they gave me half again the tread life. On my car they wouldn't balance. Likely the sidewalls were to blame! Is it a radial thing? I don't know!

 

[Rich W.]

I have two bags of beads in each of my front tires on my Ventana and they seem just fine. I was skeptical but my tires are wearing evenly and I feel no vibration at any speed, unlike my F250 tires which have been high speed balanced several times but still shimmy at around 70mph. I was planning to get centramatics for the fronts when I got my new tires but at this point don’t see the need.

 

[Joe Hogan]

We have had mixed results with bead type balancing. First you have to be sure there is not TPMS units at valve stems which my take a beating from rotating "beads" or worse catch them to upset balancing.
The next is that the beads installed do not have an affinity to clump as ours did when stopped hot and started cold moving quickly to highway speed. Road trip with lots of overnight stops at roadside motels. This may have been caused by excess lube during new tire installation Causing clumps when cold.
First 5 or 6 mins, maybe less (felt like an eternity,) the ride was very lumpy until things gradually smoothed out. Major PIA dealing with Significant Other reaction to my "improvement" to ride quality on a multi day trip.
Lastly, tire warranty, if you have a tire failure within a warranty period odds are good you will at the very least be questioned about beads, if not outright denied coverage. Easy denial, unapproved stuff put in tire.
We finally after a couple of tries, went to CentraMatics on the RV, and used old world dynamic balancing on auto tires, hard to find but still exists.

Obviously others have had good results with beads, and conceptually this should work and work well.

 

[Wemustrv]

Who balances their tires with "Tire Balancing Beads" and how happy are you with their performance?

It is how my coach batteries were balanced when I bought it and it is how the new tires were balanced when installed . I have has no issues with it at all.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

I JUST HAD BAGS PUT IN LAST WEEK!!!

Pete's Tire, whom I trust 100%, had a very good discussion with me on this topic. I asked about Centramatrics, knowing a few friends that like them. Pete's said, problem is with the Centramatrics, that since they stopped using mercury, they don't work as well.

They use 'EQUAL' bag weights on all their customers and have had extremely good results. They come with a special valve core with a spring and seal to make sure any beads don't find their way into the stem.

By the time I paid for the weights, around $25-35, and the mounting/re-mounting of $65, the cost wasn't too far off of the Centramatics at $225 a set. But, oh well, if they work...I'll be happy. Of course, it's a lot harder to "reuse" bag weights!

 

[Joe Hogan]

We tried to install the Centramatics on the 2024 Dutchstar. The units supplied did not fit!? Trying to find the correct set.

 

[Wemustrv]

It is how my coach batteries were balanced when I bought it and it is how the new tires were balanced when installed . I have has no issues with it at all.

Well I bet you never knew you had to mechanically balance batteries did you? I guess I had a brain fart. Should have been tires.

 

[Rd1]

RV tire balancing!!! Another one of those old rv stories.. There is no substitute for a proper tire balance. All these other gimmicks, are just that. Gimmick.

Decades back dealt with this issue for years. The out of balance was just a PITA as it would hit about 65 and above. For years tried everything even the powder, to no avail. Finally at a visit to Gaffney one of their engineers explained the issue with RV tires. Now, as much as I despise freightliner's management, some of their people are decent folks.

The explanation was, 'big' tire (RV, trucks, etc.) technology (radial) is not as advanced as the smaller/auto tires. Bigger tires 'may' not be as perfectly round. Hence the difficulty in balancing. Some of these gimmick may work, but the tire itself 'may' be out of balance, your wheel+tire with the gimmick is in balance, but not the tire.

The 'tire run-out' is one issue. Most truck shops either don't know, or don't care. It is not as big a deal for the trucks/semi tires not perfectly balanced. The other is, how/where the tire is mounted on the rim.

If you are around Ohio, try Buckeye Tire in Columbus (right off I-70). They do semi plus all the race shop rigs that go to Mid-Ohio for pro races, they always stop there for their transport rig tires. They have the proper equipment to mount the tires on the rim and make sure the run-out on the tire, specially on dually wheels, are properly balanced.

if you plan to go there, call ahead and ask for Stan, the owner. He has an older Prevost himself, besides racing with Porsche club. He appreciates the proper balance on tires.

once you experience a properly balanced tire on your coach, you'd never spent a penny on these gimmicks.

 

[AbdRahim]

Who balances their tires with "Tire Balancing Beads" and how happy are you with their performance?

Tire shop put them in when I replaced a cut tire on MH. I have not examined it to see if any different wear compared to others.

 

[BGMAC]

I've had issues with balancing. It can be either the tire or rim out of balance. Many issues are due to tires “out of round”. There are some places that will “true” a tire while on the rim. This is a process of cutting the high spots off of a tire that is out of round then balanced. Believe me it works very well. There are 2 ways to do this. 1) is while the tire is mounted on the vehicle. If you choose this option you may find that you may not be able to rotate tires because this trues not only the tires imperfections, but wheel, “and hub”. 2) off the vehicle. This trues the wheel and tire and rotating the tires on the vehicle would not be a problem.

if you are installing brand new tires, make sure the installer checks for roundness after install on the rim. Spinning the tire on the tire balancer to see it there is any up and down movement. If there is, make them replace the tire before they are installed on your vehicle.

 

[Joe Hogan]

The saga is coming to an end. Brad at Florida truck has been with me trying to sort out the issue with the Centramatics rubbing on the disk calipers. No joy.
Florida Truck has asked me to return them for a full refund.
They have treated me very fairly with excellent service.

 

[jaydee325]

I've had issues with balancing. It can be either the tire or rim out of balance. Many issues are due to tires “out of round”. There are some places that will “true” a tire while on the rim. This is a process of cutting the high spots off of a tire that is out of round then balanced. Believe me it works very well. There are 2 ways to do this. 1) is while the tire is mounted on the vehicle. If you choose this option you may find that you may not be able to rotate tires because this trues not only the tires imperfections, but wheel, “and hub”. 2) off the vehicle. This trues the wheel and tire and rotating the tires on the vehicle would not be a problem.

if you are installing brand new tires, make sure the installer checks for roundness after install on the rim. Spinning the tire on the tire balancer to see it there is any up and down movement. If there is, make them replace the tire before they are installed on your vehicle.

Out of round can manifest itself in a bead not seated properly. Look closely at the tire where it meets the wheel. There are small concentric rings molded into the tire. These rings should be equal all the way around and not hidden in any spot. I see this a lot on motorcycle tires (especially do-it-yourself folks) and occasionally on large vehicles.

 

[Neal]

I had major issues with my Michelin's, two were replaced under warranty they were so out of round/balance. Sounds like you need tires replaced under warranty.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

As far as the Centramatics rubbing, that’s obviously not a tire issue.

But don’t despair. Just drop in a set of bag weights and be done. I had Pete’s put a set of Equals in. Tried and proven.

Fact is…it’s a battle to get and keep these big tires in balance all the time.

I’m actually considering bag weights for my Raptor’s KO2s which also like to go outta balance a lot more than I like. Good thing about the bags…ya never have to be concerned with throwing a weight off when you’re off-roading either.

 

[Neal]

Did you have the wrong centramatics? There is one for drum brakes and one for disk brakes.

 

[Joe Hogan]

Did you have the wrong centramatics? There is one for drum brakes and one for disk brakes.

Brad, Florida Shores Truck, checked with the main office of Centramatics. The only product number for this Newmar DSDP application is the one delivered to me, #700-720.
The thought is that Spartan is using a different Disk caliper than other Chassis suppliers. The Spartan chassis is spec'd as a 2023 model year. Not unusual for an early run in the next Newmar model year, 2024 Newmar model year in this case..
Not sure of the issue or if others have used a 1/8" spacer to obtain disk caliper clearance but will return these for a refund and live without for now.