ALUM ALLOY RIM'S AND THE BALANCING ACT....

[mackin]

As those that have visited my PIC TRAIL you know I got ULTRA WHEELS . Polished Aluminum rims ....... After many months of procrastinating and searching for the right tire and price .... I found an assume deal...... Michelin 235/85/16 xps ribs ........ One heavy duty commercial tire ..... Price .... $119.00 apiece :eek: WOW ........... So now THE BALANCING ACT, the rims have a machined edge so no outside weights........ When, well around me anyway, they can spin balance dually rims mounted on the machine one way, so, in order to get them with in balanced spec, they got to stick those ugly LEAD sticker weights on the wheel...... OK, on the front wheel they are hidden, but on the rear set, there they are looking right at you......... So I remember sometime ago I heard off some type off alternate way to balance tires...... The use of some form of POWDER,SAND,SUGAR SUBSTITUTE, something like that.
That is put in side the tire when mounting , inflating , whatever.......... Sure enough I called the TIRE GUY and he ordered me 4 bags , 3 oz's for each wheel, the amount needed for that size wheel and tire........He had 8 oz bags on hand, and said I was welcome to come over and guess'timit.? I declined.... HHMMMMM, sounds good no weight's..... Life time balance too, not to worry about tread lost...... Now the down sides...... One, when checking the tire pressure or putting air in or taking air out, valve stem must be facing up. So as not to allow internal balancing STUFF to clog stem... Easy...... Second, must be care full not to allow moisture into wheel...... Now this could be a problem, at home a'ok, got a good water separator drier on my air compressor ...... So getting air at the QUICKIE MART store would be a no brainier...... I guess the substance will CAKE and throw off bal...... Some people swear by it others say **^&^&*%$#%*&....... Anyone know of or had any experience? If I got to guinea pig this alone, well then I'll tell you my experiences with it ....... So hurry up and post...... Time is running thin.....
MAC :D :D

[ 05-08-2002: Message edited by: mackin ]</p>

[2K2AD]

Mac,

Put the goo in your tires. You probably will need new ones in a couple of months anyway...

Kevin

[big dipper]

Mackin,
First, I agree with 2K2AD! ;)
Second, I have Weld SSII and 285 BFG's and I tried Equal in them. My opinion is that it is no good and I refused to leave that stuff in there. The truck still seemed to vibrate until I was over 45-50mph and is still wasn't as good as I expected so I had them balanced on the inside only (took a lot to do it this way) and I was not happy with that either. I know you must make sacrifices somewhere when you start changing things, but I refuse to drive a nice truck and feel it vibrating. I know some people deal with it as it was only around 70mph (for mine) and then it would clear up, but as I said, I refused. The only way, and the correct way, is to put the regular weights on the outside.

Again, I know some will disagree with doing this as the weights are "ugly", but there will probably only be 1 and it will likely be a small one. Your aplication is probably different from mine as Weld Wheels are designed to be very light and that is probably where I had most of my problems.

BTW it is a very interesting couple of minutes driving until those bags of powder break open! ;)
Sorry this post was so long, but it made me sick to spend all of that money and have to put the weights on the outside.

[ 05-08-2002: Message edited by: big dipper ]</p>

[mark45678]

Mackin there is a small round sticker that comes on new tires this is the heavy spot on the tire if you ballance the rim with out the tire there is a chance it will be closer to being ballanced.

[mackin]

big dipper,

Thanks for the info ... That is what I'm afraid off ... Vibration . Never put an after market wheel on yet and had the same ride quality as stock ... The problem is these rims have a MACHINED RADIUS EDGE ....... Can weight's be put on ?....... If they can I will definitely go that rout . But my understanding is they cannot ........ You would think the wheel manufacture would design something better to bal .... I'm going with a high end tire so hopefully that will help ......... If they cannot pound weights on, I'll bag it and try it, I guess .......... In the last resort I'll go with stick weights .... I will not be able to tolerate a vibration at any speed ....... Need be I'll off the ALUM and run steel rims .... The hell with them ....... I want ride with looks no compromise .......
MAC :D :D

At least I won't feel duped I know what I'm getting into .? Thanks

mark45678,

When down stairs checked out all 6 tires , no little round stickers .. OH O......... Seem them on my stockers ......... That must mean they are centrically perfect ... I could only wish ... LOL
MAC :D

[ 05-08-2002: Message edited by: mackin ]</p>

[imported_]

so why don't you get your tire dealer to use stick on weights?.... they mount on the inside of the 'hoop'.... you cannot see them ..... but they are a little more expensive.

[mackin]

MaD MaX ,

On a doolie you cannot get them out far enough on the front edge on the rear, from the back of the rim. ( fronts rims are flipped around so dish out for the rear, on the outside tire) .....In other words on the front and the first tires on, on the back, who cares you cannot see the big part of the dish, it faces in , hidden ...

UNLike the rear ,you can see it on the outside wheel in the back , dish is exposed .....It is harder to explain with no visual ......I seen my buddies today, balanced, that is what stirred me up . It looks like crap and he is going to bring them back to try something else..... Not to mention they only POLISH one side, so no rotation without mount and dismount ( I'll run steel rims inside tire on the back ) .... This is why I waited for a deal on MICHELIN'S .... I'll do it once a year, when I put winter tread back on ... If we could post PICS here I would take a couple quick shots and post so you would go AAAHHH I see ..... When I get them done, I'll post plenty......On the TRAIL ........ Standard wheels are easier ...... This is harder to explain the algebra .......... But I think you will know what I mean ......
MAC :D :D

[ 05-08-2002: Message edited by: mackin ]

[ 05-08-2002: Message edited by: mackin ]</p>

[imported_]

AWWWWW SH_T!...sorry mack should have read the sig.....lmao ....my bad if i would have seen doolie i woulda kept my trap shut......que sera sera.

[imported_]

the other option would be to mount the tire to the rim in question and have the tire guy find out where and how much weight goes on the rim.... then, dismount the tire and the rim (after marking both of their relative positions) and place the weights inside (the airspace) the wheel..... dunno if it'll work but hey .... you can always ask the tire people

[SoMnDMAX]

Mackin-

The name brand of tire balancing powder I have used is Equal (not the sweetner substitute). The most common use for the powder is in steer tires on semis, but it can be used in any tire, if you put the right amount in for the tire size. The stuff works quite well, as long as it stays DRY!!! I've used it in a set of 35x12.5-15 Goodyear MT's, and they balanced quite well!!

You've already gone over the do's and don'ts regarding powder usage. Pretty much covered all of the bases!!

Mad Max, placing the weights on the outside of the rim will not work. Centrifugal force will tear them off the wheel, rendering the balance job useless.

[mdrag]

mackin,

Here is something else to consider:

http://www.counteractbalancing.com/counteractbeadinfo.htm

This company claims their Couteract Balancing Beads (glass beads) cling to the inner lining of the tire due to 'kinetic force' (more like static charge) and maintain the position even when the tire is at rest. A sharp blow to the tire is needed to dislodge the beads. The glass beads are not affected by moisture and are not known to react with any other substances...so should play nicely with THE JUICE... ;)

If you read through the testimonials, one claims this system to be superior to Equal...

I don't have experience with this product, and do not know anyone who has tried it out - but it does sound interesting. Also, no idea what it would cost...I sent the company an email for more info.

[NickLeinonen]

for those interested, there is a company called centramatic. they make a disc that mounts behind the wheel , or between the duals. it has a tube type thing mounted to the outer edge of the disc that has steel shots in it and it is filled with mineral oil..

link to site
http://www.centramatic.com
people here probably need either the 300 or 400 series

here is a link to a review by rockcrawler.com
http://www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/centramatic/index.htm

[mackin]

GENT'S ,

Thanks for all the advice and links ... Very interesting ....... What I choose to do is static balanced with the (clip) weights ....... I also bought the EQUAL ....... So if I am not satisfied I will try that next ....... I was going to put them on when I got home ..... Put that big A** in the air, took one side of the rear off ....... Put the steel rim in the back and the polished rim on, and WOW real tire's and it does look good ....... Right then it dawned on me My buddy told me I needed 60 degree lug nut's ........ WTF, so I put the little etsy bitsy tires back on, and a lug nut hunting I went ....... Got the lug nut's now ...... NOW it's Raining ...... So tomorrow it is ......... I'll post some PICS then .........


Nickleinonen,

I E-mail them for info ... Sounds interesting .? Did you watch the video's?.......

MAC

I forgot to mention I took the passenger side off and guess what? One guess ... Yup axle seal is weeping ......... :mad: In typical GM fashion ........ I'll see if the other side is leaking ... If not, I'll let it go for a while ... Checked fluid right up there ...... So it isn't bad .......I'll be taking the tires off in the fall so I'll be able to keep an eye on them ....... It's probably "JUICE" related .. Spinning so FAST the seal is whining and spitting ........ tongue.gif

[ 05-09-2002: Message edited by: mackin ]</p>

[8.1 HD]

the seal is whining and spitting ........

Sounds like your newborn has growing pains. :D tongue.gif :D

[mackin]

NickLeinonen ,

Got an E-mail back , they are $180 dollars a set , a set is two for front ,anouther set for rears .... WOW :eek: :eek: I will keep it in mind if all else fails ......... First I have to find out how well they work in cold weather ....
MAC :D
Nope, not on yet still searching for the right lug nut ... Who would of know ..... Cannot use a 14 mm 1.5 closed end ... They bottom out ...... DAM ......