Balancing tires

[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.