Tire/Wheel Balance GURUS needed! (1 Viewer)

[Rolocado]

I'm about to start flipping tables due to my front tires not being able to be properly balanced and a hideous steering wheel vibration at 65 MPH. Doesn't happen at 70, or 60. 65MPH. Three different Discount Tire stores have tried to road force/balance my tundra wheels/KO2 tires.

The question is: Is there a threshold to how many weights they put on? As in, is there a point where there are too many weights, and it defeats the purpose of balancing the wheel? One wheel has like three times as many weights as the other. I am so confused at this point. Someone please give any insight

 

[ToHiHy]

Yeah that’s a s*** balance job. For instance, they have spread out the 1.5 ounces required, across a much broader distance than it should be. Instead of 6 1/4 oz weights it should be 1 1.0 ounce and 1 1/2 ounce. Then the tyre needs to be spinned again to verify the weight requirements on the other side. I doubt they even double checked it with double zeros to confirm it’s balanced.

 

[bwell]

You might need to look elsewhere within the suspension, and or drivetrain.

Where are you usually feeling the out of balance issue? Within the seat or feed back in the steering wheel or front of vehicle?

Might be a bearing issue potentially? It's kind of hard to say.

So, in my personal experiences with KO2's. I had trouble with a few tires staying in balance on my last set-not losing weights, literally would be good for a few thousand miles, and would need balanced again. Then I had a warranty claim for a different issue with the whole set-second set replaced under warranty. This most recent set, the third since the KO2'S came out in 2015 I think, and I haven't had a problem yet, and although they've never left me stranded due to a puncture I will just replace with a different brand altogether. I've been a Michelin fan for years but will take my business elsewhere.

 

[bwell]

Yeah that’s a s*** balance job. For instance, they have spread out the 1.5 ounces required, across a much broader distance than it should be. Instead of 6 1/4 oz weights it should be 1 1.0 ounce and 1 1/2 ounce. Then the tyre needs to be spinned again to verify the weight requirements on the other side. I doubt they even double checked it with double zeros to confirm it’s balanced.

x2 on this, 9 times out of 10 your problem could be potentially solved with a person that understands the dynamic of how balancing works not just chasing zeros on a machine.

 

[RND1]

I had the same problem with my KO2's. Shimmy between 63 and 68mph. I had the Toyota dealer install new suspension and the KO2's and they nailed the balance right out of the gate. Then I brought it to a local shop to have other front end work done and they had trouble balancing the KO2's. I have 1" Bora spacers and cranked T bars so they were blaming it on those changes. They kept at it though and pretty much had it gone by the 3rd try (they put the most out of balance wheel on the passenger rear). I'm fully expecting this problem to come back when I rotate the tires, but I'll probably bring it back to the dealer for that balance since they nailed it the first time.

 

[Manhattan]

Discount Tire struggled with one KO2 (of three sets they've done for me). After a couple tries, they rotated the tire 180 degrees on the wheel and rebalanced it. Done. The guy said - if how the tire and wheel are out of balance happen to line up, it can be tough to balance.

 

[CLEcruiser]

You might need to look elsewhere within the suspension, and or drivetrain.

Where are you usually feeling the out of balance issue? Within the seat or feed back in the steering wheel or front of vehicle?

Might be a bearing issue potentially? It's kind of hard to say.

So, in my personal experiences with KO2's. I had trouble with a few tires staying in balance on my last set-not losing weights, literally would be good for a few thousand miles, and would need balanced again. Then I had a warranty claim for a different issue with the whole set-second set replaced under warranty. This most recent set, the third since the KO2'S came out in 2015 I think, and I haven't had a problem yet, and although they've never left me stranded due to a puncture I will just replace with a different brand altogether. I've been a Michelin fan for years but will take my business elsewhere.

Bf Goodrich?

 

[badlander]

Years ago I had a similar issue that just about put me in the nut house. Took it back to tire kingdom to have them replace the tire which they did, with the same results. Tried 3 different wheels from the junkyard with no improvement. Just lived with it. A couple of years later it was time for new rotors. Guess what.......
Smooth as butter. No move vibration whatsoever! Nada!
That was a major lesson for me. Never thought a rotor could get that far out of balance to cause so much trouble.
And no, it had nothing to do with bearings. They were in good condition and properly adjusted.
Not saying this is your issue, just a heads up for all.

 

[bwell]

Bf Goodrich?

Michelin owns bfgoodrich. If I understand your question correctly.

 

[2001LC]

Move tire side to side or front to back may change vibration, indicating tire issue.

This bigger heavy tires often need more weight, but has tire Tech done his job!

One in 10 techs actually know how to operate the Road Force Balancer (RFB). I've had three set of tires balance recently at Discount, on their new RFB machines. Not once did they break the bead to move the tire around the wheel. What's the odds 12 tire are all sitting at optimal position on the wheel..ZERO... IMHO. But they did use excessive weights. In a good RFB job we generally see minimally weights added.

A good tech, that knows his job, also watches the tire/wheel spin for things like sidewall hop. After years of complaining about poor balance on a set of stock size Michelin, I took to different Discount tire store. I did this because they had the RFB machine, Toyota cone hub and the 5/150 finger plate I read was needed for our 100 series. This Tech spotted sidewall hop on two out of 4 tires and said; "they'll never balance too a good ride". New set of tire and a great RFB job, I was finally happy.

Discount' now claims these new RFB don't need or do well with Toyota cone hub and 5/150 finger plate. They've also moved up the threshold at which point they'll break the bead. IMHO it's all simply to save time. That these new machine do a good job, but it's not really a Road Force Balance.

 

[Rolocado]

Sooooo is the consensus find someone who knows what the F they are doing? All my suspension linkages are new, bearings are good too. I'll report back after to see if it works. Just so happens I need to rotate them as well but don't want to do that until they have it figured out.

I've heard somewhere that the 100 is particularly finicky when it comes to balanced wheels.... is that true/what would cause that?

 

[bwell]

Sooooo is the consensus find someone who knows what the F they are doing? All my suspension linkages are new, bearings are good too. I'll report back after to see if it works. Just so happens I need to rotate them as well but don't want to do that until they have it figured out.

I've heard somewhere that the 100 is particularly finicky when it comes to balanced wheels.... is that true/what would cause that?

In my honest opinion it is the most finicky vehicle I've ever owned in that regard, I dont know why, almost a pain in the a$$. But when it's good, it's great.

 

[vcheng]

Sooooo is the consensus find someone who knows what the F they are doing?

^^ This.

 

[2001LC]

I've heard somewhere that the 100 is particularly finicky when it comes to balanced wheels.... is that true/what would cause that?

Probably from me! I find this to be more the case with stock wheels. Most Toyota Dealers shops have learned this and have a RFB machine now.

 

[Rolocado]

Took it to a shop and watched them do it, they simply scraped off the old weights and watched for the 0's on the machine and put new ones on. Not holding my breath for it to work, but if it doesn't, I'm going to scrape the old ones off, clean the wheels really well and start over at the stealer I suppose. What a pain

 

[vcheng]

Took it to a shop and watched them do it, they simply scraped off the old weights and watched for the 0's on the machine and put new ones on. Not holding my breath for it to work, but if it doesn't, I'm going to scrape the old ones off, clean the wheels really well and start over at the stealer I suppose. What a pain

The key is proper mounting and centering the wheel on the machine before figuring out the weights. Many techs will not pay attention to the centering checks and just slap on the weights that are improperly calculated.

 

[Rolocado]

Is it weird that the wheel only shakes on certain surfaces at 65mph? I feel like they don’t like concrete but asphalt is fine?

 

[2001LC]

Is it weird that the wheel only shakes on certain surfaces at 65mph? I feel like they don’t like concrete but asphalt is fine?

This may indicates a thread issue. Try changing pressure and move/rotating. Not rotating regularly, bad alignment, ball joints, shocks or such can mess with thread (cupping).

But it may just be the ruts the put in concert HWY from wet road traction. Many complain of that according to local tire shops.

 

[JayM]

I have never had good results with my KO2s. They have always been challenging . Same speed as yours with a steering shake. Gave up! Pulled the wheel and tire set and put my other set up on and smooth as glass. If you have another set swap them out to see if it goes away and if it does make them take the BFGs back or replace them. Should not be that difficult to balance them to begin with especially the size you have.

 

[4Beast]

Mine have definitely been a bear to get perfect, and I'm not there yet. The guy who did them most recently did a much better job than the tire place who installed the tires. Supposedly you really need to not just throw weights on, but move then around to get the balance correct. I am actually thinking of getting the balancing beads. I talked to a few guys who swear by them (one guy uses airsoft pellets too).