[LCWannabe]

OK, I decided to go with balance beads when I swapped the stock rims back on. I previously threw a weight off one wheel, and I don't like weights on the outside of my wheels. I put 8 ounces of Airsoft pellets in each tire. Seemed to work great, with the exception of the passenger front. I get a wobble in the steering wheel at about 70 mph, which really seems to be coming from that corner. To complicate matters, that side may be a little loose (in need of a bearing repack). It was, according to the stealership, when I had them look the truck over before purchase about 9 months ago. So, I took it to the tire shop to see if they can check the balance on that wheel, in an effort to isolate the problem. The tire guy tells me that they can't balance the wheel with the beads in it. He says that it will give a different reading every time. Does anyone know if this is true? I figured that the beads would just make it balance out better, maybe they'd have to add less weight than with no beads. Any info will be appreciated. Thanks, Dan.

[NMuzj100]

What is the physics behind the balance beads. Movie physics ? How are the beads supposed to know where to go ? My guess is they end up being fairly random and throw off any attempt to balance the tire.

I think the bead stuff is bunk but at least you didn't buy expensive custom beads and I doubt they'll do any damage. Why are they only marketed by a "No name" company and not used by the OEs ?

Get a balance using a Hunter GSP9700 machine and you won't have any problems. They can hide the weights inside the rim and match the tire better to the rim to reduce total weight. The machine can also detect tire problems that others can't.

GSP9700 Demo

And get the wheel bearing done.

[Liam]

Originally Posted by NMuzj100

What is the physics behind the balance beads. Movie physics ? How are the beads supposed to know where to go ? My guess is they end up being fairly random and throw off any attempt to balance the tire.

I think the bead stuff is bunk but at least you didn't buy expensive custom beads and I doubt they'll do any damage. Why are they only marketed by a "No name" company and not used by the OEs ?

Get a balance using a Hunter GSP9700 machine and you won't have any problems. They can hide the weights inside the rim and match the tire better to the rim to reduce total weight. The machine can also detect tire problems that others can't.

GSP9700 Demo

And get the wheel bearing done.

dude, you're on crack. The beads work great. I have 34" bias ply tires on my 40 and the only thing that would balance them were the beads. It is fairly simple how it works.

read...
How It Works


and yes, repack your bearings. It's not hard.

[Trunk Monkey]

x2 on beads, for certain applications. For big, big tires they work very well. Don't know that I'd use them on 285 LT tires, I think you'd get a better balance with weights.

[spressomon]

FWIW: DynaBeads didn't work with my GY MT/R's...used 8oz as instructed per wheel and still had speed wobble.

[Liam]

Originally Posted by spressomon

FWIW: DynaBeads didn't work with my GY MT/R's...used 8oz as instructed per wheel and still had speed wobble.

you should of added more beads. it doesnt matter if you have extra beads in the tire, they will just disperse. More is better than not enough.

[spressomon]

Originally Posted by Liam

you should of added more beads. it doesnt matter if you have extra beads in the tire, they will just disperse. More is better than not enough.

Agreed. But that's what DynaBead told me I needed for my 315R75 16" MT/R's...that I don't run anymore anyway. You could feel the beads actually NOT working up to around 40mph; all the beads would sit on one side of the tire until enough centrifugal force from ~45mph+ would distribute them. Sometimes they ran smooth and sometimes they didn't.

Funny thing: When I switched to the 285R75 18" Toyo AT's (2nd set now) a year ago with lead weight balancing I've never had another balance issue with tires; even with chunks missing.

[LCWannabe]

Well, I went with the beads because I had trouble with that wheel before. Apparently, that wheel/tire combo (front passenger) had some sort of issue. They had to put on quite a bit of weight (all on inside per my instructions), and I threw a weight once, had it redone and it was better. I just thought the beads would be the ticket. I THOROUGHLY researched the subject (via the Mud search function ) before having them done. I found mostly good reviews with only a few naysayers. So anyway, safe to say that everyone here thinks that it is definitely the wheel out of balance and not the bearing loose? Appreciate the comments, Dan.

[Trunk Monkey]

Easy to check the bearing, jack up the tire, grab at 6 and 12 and wiggle.

[NMuzj100]

Originally Posted by Liam

dude, you're on crack. The beads work great. I have 34" bias ply tires on my 40 and the only thing that would balance them were the beads. It is fairly simple how it works.

read...
How It Works

Read it and am more convinced it's bunk. My review ...

1- Tire at Rest - I agree, the little balls will be at the bottom.



2- Tire in motion - Not sure the beads will essentially evenly distribute but I'd buy randomly which with 2,000+ beads may basically work the same.

3- Heavy Spots -
"Every time a heavy spot goes up slightly..." - Huh, The "spot" will go up the same distance every time regardless because it's part of the tire.

"... and quickly" - relative to what ?, but I'll assume that they mean at a open road speed.

"The beads resist this motion ..." Why do they resist this motion but were fine with going to the top of the tire in in step 2. What has changed?

If they mean that a slightly heavier spot on the tire will deflect the tire slightly further out of the general arc of the tire as it rotates at high speed due to centrifugal force then I can see that. That's not in the diagram or the explanation but it makes some sense. Then the beads will "resist" extending their arc due to centrifugal force going out with the heavy spot and act opposite the heavy spot. They are saying that the beads and the heavy spot are acting in an opposite manner in response to the same situation.

"and are forced downward." - Forced by what ? and why downward ?

It would make more sense to expect the beads to follow the heavy spot and it's slightly larger radius but this would result in a more unbalanced tire as the heavy spot attracted more beads. I haven't heard of this becoming an issue so I expect the action of thousands of tiny beads all acting independently is fairly random, constantly changing and basically a wash. This is consistent with the tire tech's report that balancing with beads results in different readings each time and with spressoman's observation that sometimes they ran smooth and sometimes not.

4- Reduced Tire Oscillations - "...the beads move to a final, precise point of counterbalance." - Not sure what they mean by final but whatever. "All this happens in seconds, with no transitional vibration." - Apparently it's so good it fixes the vibration of your out-of-balance tire even before balancing it.

Originally Posted by spressomon

You could feel the beads actually NOT working up to around 40mph

5 - No Tire Vibration - "Tire is vibration free, and beads stay fixed in their position due to centripetal force." - Pretty sure a centripital force is forcing them around in a circle,and since we are talking about the bead being fixed it should be discussed in a rotating frame of reference, but hey physics is hard compared to hawking really, really small balls on the internet.


"Beads not required for balancing are distributed equally on either side." - Side ? I'm sure they meant the same thing as step two.

What happens at the contact patch ? does the fact that the outside of the tire and associated beads traveled toward the axle force the beads up?

and From the DynaBead site ...

Why don't you have tire charts for cars or SUV's?

We do not market to cars and SUV’s intentionally.
The main reason (among others) is due to the style of modern car tires. For cars and SUV’s, traditional weight balancing is the best method.

and for the OP from DynaBead ...

If you are purchasing new tires:

Have the tires spun on a balancer. If the machine is telling you that you need a lot of weight on one side and little weight on the other, then the tire has a lateral imbalance.

Can I put the tire on a balancer to see if it's working?

No. Dyna Beads operates on physics principles , and requires the tire assembly to be in motion against a road surface to detect the exact counterbalance position. An electronic balancer has a solid, fixed mount, and does not allow the tire to react to imbalance. (editorial - )

[macneill]

Stay away from Equal. That stuff sucks when you have to air down.

Will clog your valves and or your deflators.

I had them in my BFG MTs and I hated it.

[BendFJ]

My GY's Silent Armours never ever balanced out. Can't wait to take 'em off. I had better luck with my MTR's.

Originally Posted by spressomon

FWIW: DynaBeads didn't work with my GY MT/R's...used 8oz as instructed per wheel and still had speed wobble.