Community Forums

Mogulite · 12-10-2020, 05:44 PM

Thank you for all the feedback. In the spring I’ll attack the problem better educated.

Rob_M · 12-10-2020, 08:00 PM

I had balancing beads put in some Michelin 19.5” tires years ago and the installer used too much lube mounting the tires and the beads clumped up and I had vibration that wasn’t cured until a different shop dismounted the tires cleaned the inside and used conventional weights. More recently I had new Bridgestone 22.5” steer tires put on a different truck and conventionally balanced, the right front vibrated, went straight back and they broke that tire down, spun it 180* and re-balanced it and it was fine.

Also, no amount of balancing will cure a vibration on an out of round tire or rim. No steel truck wheel or tire is perfect and sometimes the tolerances can help or hurt each other. Thus spinning the tire 180* helped my out of round issue. An experienced tire tech will know to try this.

JohnArch · 12-13-2020, 07:25 AM

First time I used balancing "beads" it was actually a powder. That is what clumps due to moisture. Not sure if they even use it anymore. Point being the beads work great for most and don't clump or mess with your valves. As was stated in an earlier post - spin balance the steer is best.

**CountryFit** · 12-13-2020, 08:55 AM

Accordng to the counter guy in the tire shop where I got our tires, believe it or not, most 18 wheeler drivers prefer beads to weights. The weights could be lost at any time but beads will not. I didn't see he gained any by saying so as I would have paid him $15 per wheel for a spin, but a bag of beads was $7.

yeloduster · 12-13-2020, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnArch

Point being the beads work great for most and don't clump or mess with your valves. As was stated in an earlier post - spin balance the steer is best.

I respectively disagree with John on these 2 statements. Most ceramic beads are so small that moisture or tire installation lubricant in the tire can lead to clumping and standard balancing bead is small enough to get caught in the valve core. See attached photo showing relative bead sizes. From left to right in the picture is BB gun BB, #4 shot gun shell steel pellet, ceramic balancing bead. Notice that the tire balancing bead is VERY small. Its tiny size can lead to valve core and/or clumping problems.

Some people even use liquid as a balancing medium. See this: Tire Balancing Liquid.

If a tire is balanced with beads or other internal medium it is balanced and stays balanced over its life whether it is a steer tire or not. Spin balanced tires become unbalanced over time and miles and must be rebalanced every 5K miles or so.

John and I have a different opinion on this. My opinion is that internal balancing medium is better for truck/motorhome tires than external spin balance in almost all cases.

geordi · 12-13-2020, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yeloduster

I respectively disagree with John on these 2 statements. Most ceramic beads are so small that moisture or tire installation lubricant in the tire can lead to clumping and standard balancing bead is small enough to get caught in the valve core. See attached photo showing relative bead sizes. From left to right in the picture is BB gun BB, #4 shot gun shell steel pellet, ceramic balancing bead. Notice that the tire balancing bead is VERY small. Its tiny size can lead to valve core and/or clumping problems.

Some people even use liquid as a balancing medium. See this: Tire Balancing Liquid.

If a tire is balanced with beads or other internal medium it is balanced and stays balanced over its life whether it is a steer tire or not. Spin balanced tires become unbalanced over time and miles and must be rebalanced every 5K miles or so.

John and I have a different opinion on this. My opinion is that internal balancing medium is better for truck/motorhome tires than external spin balance in almost all cases.

And the third option / opinion is that fully external dynamic balancing (Centramatics) is even better than either of these other options - because it is permanent, no additional cost with future tire changes, no waste products, and no risks of wearing on the internal surfaces of the tires OR clumping / jamming valves. The only downside is the higher up-front cost.

MSHappyCampers · 12-13-2020, 10:23 AM

I used the Crosman Airsoft BB's in my tires. They are large enough to prevent clogging of the valve stems. I used one of the charts available online to determine the correct amount of beads (weight). For my 29580R22.5 it was 12 oz. per tire. They have been working fine now for several years!

Large Truck / Commercial and Motorhome Tires

https://www.amazon.com/Crosman-10000.../dp/B0048970A2

Outbound · 12-13-2020, 11:47 AM

After thinking it, I do remember the tech inspecting tire balance saying beads clumped, new beads ended problem, sold the rig approx. 4 years later and never had another problem with balancing.

TonyMac · 12-14-2020, 08:25 AM

Beads only balance in the vertical plane, which is ok for tires that are proportionally taller. What that proportion is exactly, I can't tell. Beads work great in my motorhome tires, they work great in my motorcycle tires, but didn't work very well in my '00 Blazer ZR2 tires, 31x1050x15, nor my 74 Corvette tires, 255/60x15.

When I had the new 31x1050x15s put on my Blazer, I didn't spin balance them, I just put in the beads. It was horrible, so I went back and tried to spin balance them. The spin balancer got confused, and would not yield a result, probably because of the shifting balance of the beads. We had to break the tire bead and vacuum out the balance beads, reseat the tire bead, then spin balance the tires, which balances in both planes.

Yeah, one should use filtered valves stems with the ceramic balance beads. Also, one should replace the valve caps with the red dot valve caps so the tire guy knows beads are inside.

Prof_T · 12-15-2020, 04:21 PM

My bus was purchased in November of 2019. While getting ready for our first trip to Florida I had the bus zeroed out by a great mechanic. He told me that I had a slow leak in the passenger inside rear tire. Told me to take it to a truck tire shop.

I took it to Snyder Tire since they were close and after mounting and checking for a nail the manager told his tech to pull the valve stem. My PO had 6 brand new rears installed and for some reason or other the installer did not use a filtered valve core on the tire that was leaking. The beads that were in my tires had indeed fouled that stem. The others were fine.

Just a thought from someone that had to put up with an installer that did not do what they were supposed to do.

Ludmilla · 12-24-2020, 11:41 AM

I have mercury balancers front and rear. They work great!

ricere · 12-24-2020, 03:19 PM

I've used them for years with no problems.

SuperGewl · 12-26-2020, 04:08 AM

Screw the beads, go with Centramatic Wheel Balancers.
https://www.centramatic.com/
I have them and have put them on various vehicles. It's the only way to go.
Now as far as the front end, make sure they really inspect it for bent rods, loose fittings and bad or worn shocks. You may want to rotate the tires front to back and see if that makes a difference also.

LLL59 · 10-14-2021, 10:48 AM

I drive a 2006 Winnebago Vectra. I have been annoyed by steering wheel vibration for thousands of miles. I get it at 60 mph+. I have been to different tire shops for balancing. Les Schwab (in either Idaho or Montana- I can't recall) used the balancing beads. No change at all. Finally, I took it to a shop in Knoxville TN. They took out the beads, checked the runout, remounted the tires, then high speed spin balanced while on the vehicle. I can now drive at any speed and it runs as smooth as glass. What a difference in ride quality; when I see the speedometer at 65 to 70 MPH and feel absolutely no vibration I'm equally happy/amazed and frustrated that I put up with this for so long. I'd be happy to share the name of this shop if anyone is interested. These guys really know their stuff- lots of experience.