In praise of expensive "road force" tire balancing (1 Viewer)

[IdahoDoug]

Got new 8 ply meats last week and at certain freeway speeds there's a slight shimmy. Almost every tire I've ever put on the 93 has produced this and I believe the front frame/spring has an unfortunate sympathetic frequency close to high speed freeway travel. Since new I've been plagued with fiddling with repeat balancings to get it to run smooth, but even the best would do it at certain speeds and certain surfaces.

I was bummed that yet again I'd be screwing around with this.

A couple days ago I took the truck to a Les Schwab tire shop where they have the fancy Hunter road force machine. Cost me $80. The truck runs smoother than it ever, ever has - even when it was spankin' new. Absolutely zero input whizzing down the road at any speed up to 85. Didn't think it could be done, and these are aggressive tires that resist good balance. I'll never put on a set of tires again without having them done this way. Worth every penny as my blood pressure would climb when the truck wiggled.

Ahhhh.............

DougM

 

[RavenTai]

Good to hear, I have a year and 20K on the PO installed undersized Michelins they still look new, there is one of those hunter GSP9700 machines at the local tire store that I use. I should probably get it done, get them to rotate wile their at it

Did they use the stud adapter or just standard hub centric adapter? Late 80 wheels are hub centric correct?

 

[Bear80]

yep, hub centric it is, and even if you don't get them road matched it's very important that they use the "finger" adapter plate for balance.

 

[Landpimp]

Discount(local one to me) now has that machine, they used it last week on my 100 series, took care of the problem. Seems the rims had a heavy spot as did the tires, so they 180'd them. They had re-balanced them 3 times before, but the new machine did the trick.

just a wee bit of a vibration....and it was driving me crazy as well, as I KNEW it was the tires.

best part, no charge at Discount

 

[BOUNDER]

best part, no charge at Discount

Discount as in Discount Auto? Also, in searching for a Hunter machine near me, noticed some shops have StraighTrak LFM - Lateral Force Measurement - as an additional service feature. Included in $80?

Hunter: http://128.242.141.111/index.cfm

 

[RavenTai]

yep, hub centric it is, and even if you don't get them road matched it's very important that they use the "finger" adapter plate for balance.

So if the 80 is hub centric why do you need the lug centric adapter? Is the finger adapter better even though it is hub centric? I have tried to read past threads on this never have gotten a straight answer.

 

[cruiserdan]

We use the 6 finger thingy on our road-force balancer. Another trick thing they do is measure wheel AND tire run-out independently. It identifies the high spot on the wheel and the low spot on the tire then you pop the beads and rotate the tire on the wheel until they line up. The net result is the assembly gets trued up.

The machine will even idenitfy a tire and/or wheel that is so far out that it can not be corrected. At that point you either live with it or replace the offending component.

 

[BOUNDER]

We use the 6 finger thingy on our road-force balancer. Another trick thing they do is measure wheel AND tire run-out independently. It identifies the high spot on the wheel and the low spot on the tire then you pop the beads and rotate the tire on the wheel until they line up. The net result is the assembly gets trued up.

The machine will even idenitfy a tire and/or wheel that is so far out that it can not be corrected. At that point you either live with it or replace the offending component.

Best to go to a Toyota shop or can any shop with a Hunter do an equally superior job (align/bal)? $80 about right for everyone +/- $?

 

[NorCalDoug]

Discount as in Discount Auto?...

More likely Discount Tires. Also known as America's Tires in CA (and possibly other states). Buy your tires from them and you get lifetime balance and rotation. They're one of the first places I go to after a hard-core wheeling trip to get the tires rebalanced (mine like to spin on the wheels sometimes).

They're these guys.

 

[Landpimp]

Correct, Discount Tire.

yup, free balancing......

best tire shop I have ever used.

John

More likely Discount Tires. Also known as America's Tires in CA (and possibly other states). Buy your tires from them and you get lifetime balance and rotation. They're one of the first places I go to after a hard-core wheeling trip to get the tires rebalanced (mine like to spin on the wheels sometimes).

They're these guys.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Doug,

Next time you buy tires, have them mounted with Bead Sealant or Bead Tack. It's a self vulcanizing rubber that's smeared on the beads before mounting. Used on agricultural low pressure tires, they'll keep your tires from spinning. I had this done on another truck that spun the tires on the rims and it never did it again. The tires can be broken free just like normal when they need servicing.

DougM

 

[NorCalDoug]

Will do -- thanks for the info.

I didn't know there was such a thing.

 

[cruiserdan]

self vulcanizing

Is that like an asexual Spock?..........

 

[IdahoDoug]

Not a pretty picture.

DougM

 

[Bear80]

So if the 80 is hub centric why do you need the lug centric adapter? Is the finger adapter better even though it is hub centric? I have tried to read past threads on this never have gotten a straight answer.

my bad, just a type-o, the wheels are lug centric NOT hub centric