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.