Balance beads?

[Mrd777]

Hey folks, 

I certainly notice when I’m doing lift up no load speed test on wheels they tend to be a bit off balance. I’m not sure we go fast enough to really notice any unbalanced wheel, but then again we are approaching faster speeds ‘’lately”.   Has anyone experimented with putting balance beads inside our tires? I have a feeling they might help with the Monster/Sherman’s out there.

[Chriull]

36 minutes ago, Mrd777 said:

Hey folks, 

I certainly notice when I’m doing lift up no load speed test on wheels they tend to be a bit off balance. I’m not sure we go fast enough to really notice any unbalanced wheel, but then again we are approaching faster speeds ‘’lately”.   Has anyone experimented with putting balance beads inside our tires? I have a feeling they might help with the Monster/Sherman’s out there.

Before applying balance beads one should check the tire is properly fitted on the rim! At least badly fitted tires were reported here quite often.

[MikieSWE]

6 hours ago, Mrd777 said:

Hey folks, 

I certainly notice when I’m doing lift up no load speed test on wheels they tend to be a bit off balance. I’m not sure we go fast enough to really notice any unbalanced wheel, but then again we are approaching faster speeds ‘’lately”.   Has anyone experimented with putting balance beads inside our tires? I have a feeling they might help with the Monster/Sherman’s out there.

Might come some time, but then the inner/outter tyres rims has to be perfectly manufactured and mounted. Compared to a car's wheels they tend to start jumping at 70-80km/h (45-50 MPH), so the question makes sense.

[Shield]

I am a firm believer in a true and balanced tire. I've used self adhesive balancing rim weights (available on Amazon) to balance my wheels. At higher speeds in makes for a smoother ride and I have found that wheels don't tend to wobble. Some say it works and others disagree, I am a fan and for just a few bucks it can't hurt to try.

[.....]

car tires 15/16" or so, tended to show balance issue at 30 and 60 and 90 mph. Im not sure the exact math, but it was the simple question we always asked. "Does it seem to ride badly around 30, and then 60mph on the highway?"Then we would ask if it seemed to smooth out around 45mph and 70mph. Lastly we would ask if it was felt in your hands or your butt (amazing if you can answer THIS, you tell us which axle/end to look into).  Typically an out of round tire will manifest itself at nearly ALL speeds, getting worse as speed increases. This applied to bent rims and improperly seated tires and worn out of round tires. Something about the balance issue made it only prevalent at certain wheel rotation speeds. I know its math and has to do with wheel size and maybe hormonic/cyclic vibration. In the end, it all boiled down to the first 3 questions, as MATH wasnt paying the bills, results were. We NEVER installed beads in a tire, but I did balance 10's of thousands of them. We had static balancers, bubble balancers, dynamic balancers, blah blah blah. In the end, most complaints in speeds of under 30mph were roundness related(bias ply tires go flat on bottom from just sitting overnight sometimes..just turn it over, its only flat on the bottom ). On an 18" euc or larger, I would assume the cyclic vibration would come at intervals of 40-45mph and 80/90mph. I'm not saying beads don't work, Im just saying we didnt find reliable results to bother. What i wonder is... how much difference can a wheel weight make, on a hub that has built in motor and goes slowly? I have NO IDEA how to find the REAL balance of an euc in a dynamic fashion. I GUESS I could try a static balance, but it would have a LOT to do with the friction of the axe and I just don't see it being worth the bother. To KEEP the balance, youd have to never rotate the tire on the rim and never patch or change the tube w/o re-balancing. Its no shock that cheapo tires arent balanced and can undermine a perfectly balanced rim. In lieu of balancing, one can always spin the tire on the rim and see if that helps. Also, don't forget that fancy valve caps also upset balance if not done with them mounted.  Results are results tho, and if people are seeing that a balance helps, far be it from me to try and stop them.

Edited June 29, 2020 by ShanesPlanet

[PennBruce]

16 hours ago, Chriull said:

Before applying balance beads one should check the tire is properly fitted on the rim! At least badly fitted tires were reported here quite often.

How does one know if the tire is properly fitted?

Bruce

[PennBruce]

17 hours ago, Mrd777 said:

Has anyone experimented with putting balance beads inside our tires?

How about this product Ride-on?  It boths seals and balances a tire.  Tube punctures upto 3 mm (1/8").

Bruce

[.....]

14 minutes ago, PennBruce said:

How does one know if the tire is properly fitted?

Bruce

Ride quality and visually.

Edited June 29, 2020 by ShanesPlanet

[PennBruce]

15 minutes ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Ride quality and visually.

Thanks, the video was instructive.

Bruce

[.....]

19 minutes ago, PennBruce said:

Thanks, the video was instructive.

Bruce

Glad I could help. I wish I had any advice on sealants and new types of balancing, but I just don't. Last article I read about it was back in late 2000's and it was pertaining to using beads in commercial equipment. At the time, it was new and still being argued for and against. Sealants in car tires werent covered by insurance and patches were. Theres a lot of new tech since the slime of the 80's and I just am too old a dog to try something new. My ignorance is my bliss....

 I do know this.... a lot of fix a flat liquids are/were flammable or their propellant is. Maybe these have all changed as well, but we would NOT work on a car that had something like that inside the tire (slime is NOT flammable btw). You would have to beg us, as too many tire techs making shit for pay, were dying from explosions while dismounting them. Maybe off topic, but just please be sure ANY fix-it chemicals for your tires, are Not flammable.

Edited June 29, 2020 by ShanesPlanet