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Old 08-16-2012, 11:40 PM   #1
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Tire balancing beads - good/bad ?

Poking at a new set of tires. Tire reseller has proposed balancing beads instead of traditional balancing with weights.

How about beads just in the steer tires and traditional weights for the rears?

Looking for experiences and input.

Thank!
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Old 08-17-2012, 05:55 AM   #2
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There are as many opinions on this issue as there are on tires. So instead of good or bad perhaps pros and cons then just decide for yourself.

If you have 22.5 rims then not all places can spin balance. Lots of places, I suppose most, can do beads, many offer Equal (the powder).

Disclosure: I had Equal put in my fronts when I bought new tires and the balance is silky smooth. However the valve stems leaked (supposed to be a special valve to avoid this). I solved the problem with a cap that allows filling the tire w/o removing the cap. So the balance was good the total result sketchy. So it is not an exactly satisfying experience for me.

Beads evidently do not leak.

Beads and Equal supposedly keep the tire in balance during it's lifetime. As the tire wears the beads just react to different slight changes in tire weight. Seems like a plus.

Lead weights need to be rebalanced (depending on the life you get from your tires). I'm not sure many people bother over the lifetime of their RV tire unless there is a specific problem.

Beads in the front and lead in the rear is a fine setup but not any finer than the same thing all around I suppose.

Moisture on the inside if a tire can effect whatever is used to balance from the inside. Beads claim to be uneffected by this so does Equal. On the other hand you can throw an outside weight (although I never have in my lifetime).

There are lots of threads on this subject so you can do a search and read tons of material. I followed a thread about a person who used shotgun shell shot and was just thrilled with his result. He was an offroader and evidently they find advantage in using beads etc. People experiment and throw a lot of different stuff in there to balance and it seems to work just fine.

My personal experience is that using something internal balances just fine but there can be some problems such as my leaking situation. Weights, tried and true, just requires some heavy duty equipment for the larger tires and not all places have the capacity to handle the balancing.

I think you will get a lot of responses and in the end can decide based on a lot of feed back. Good luck.
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Old 08-17-2012, 06:42 AM   #3
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I vote beads yes, powder no. That said I did once buy a new 19.5 tire that was out of round and no amount beads would work. Goodyear made the tire good and the mh stopped shaking so bad.

Just put on a set of Michelin, with beads and they are running smooth as silk. Just be sure they put in the correct amount of beads.

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Old 08-17-2012, 07:01 AM   #4
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To the OP, thanks for posting this question and of course to the responders. I now have the answers I was looking for, for down the project list.

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Old 08-17-2012, 07:13 AM   #5
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I had beads added to my 6 new Michelin 235/80R 22.5 tires...everything seems to be just fine.

Front tires that came off had powder. That explains why my front valve stems got sticky and remained open. I had to replace the core twice on them.

Beads and powders can void your warranty. If you have warranty replacement of tires with beads it will depend on whether or not any damage is clearly caused by beads/powder and whether or not the tire dealership documents use of these when applying for warranty coverage.
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Old 08-17-2012, 07:16 AM   #6
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I used the powder and like njs42's experience it clogged the valve seals and caused leaking, beads should avoid that. As for balance it was very effective and I would not hesitate to use the beads in the future if I need balancing.
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Old 08-17-2012, 07:40 AM   #7
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The Michelin truck tire manufacturing plant is basically in my back yard here and I know several guys working there. One guy I know is an engineer there and I talked to him one day about tire balancing. He told me that the tires built today are basically balanced when they leave the factory. Truck tires spin at about half the rpm that your car tires do. So you pay $25 to have your MH tire balanced, you drive out onto the street and pick up a stone in the tread of your tire...there goes your balance. He told me to install my new Michelins and then decide if I need them balanced. That is exactly what I did and at 60 mph they drive as smooth as silk.
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Old 08-17-2012, 08:01 AM   #8
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I am on my 3rd set of tires with internal balance. My first 2 sets I used Equal with out any problems. The dealer who did the first 2 told me he would install special valve cores for Equal which he did. He also told me that the person mounting the tires needed to use the bead lubricant sparingly as to much could cause the Equal to ball up and cause problems.

When I purchased my present coach, which included new tires, I was promised beads. I requested special valve cores be installed also. I made the wrong decision to purchase nitrogen for inflating the tires. Every time I checked the tires the valve cores would stick and leak pressure. I ended up replacing all my valve cores with the special valve cores for Equal. That ended my leaking problems. Of course I lost all my nitrogen when I replaced my cores. When I complained to the RV dealer about the failure to install the special valve cores I requested he said he never heard about them before.

So my advice is if you install Equal or beads, special valve cores are a must.

Don
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Old 08-17-2012, 08:16 AM   #9
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Hum? Not sure what they used. Had Michelins installed around June. I elected to have all the tires balanced without weights. When I picked it up, I was told that the tires needed to get warm to activate the ballancing compound. Only have maybe a thousand miles on them, and they are very smooth. The old tires were smooth too, just old! Did not notice any change,except for piece of mind.
I thought that balancing was to true up the tire and the rim, not jut the tire?
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Old 08-17-2012, 08:37 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by corvettec3 View Post
So you pay $25 to have your MH tire balanced, you drive out onto the street and pick up a stone in the tread of your tire...there goes your balance. He told me to install my new Michelins and then decide if I need them balanced. That is exactly what I did and at 60 mph they drive as smooth as silk.
And picking up a stone or mud or anything else is EXACTLY why Dyna Beads are the ONLY way to balance RV tires. The beads will compensate for ANY debris that gets temporarily attached to the tire.

I use Dyna Beads from Innovative Balancing of Rochester NY. I have them in all six RV tires and all four trailer tires. I have driven over 25,000 miles the past 2 years without ANY balancing problem. I even had one trailer tire repaired with an inside patch and they managed to save all of the beads in the tire.

They do not recommend using Dyna Beads for automotive tires due to the dynamics of auto tires are much different than RV and trailer tires. Read the FAQ's on the web site for more information.

Tire Balancing Products

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Old 08-17-2012, 08:55 AM   #11
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I don't think the Dyna Beads for RV tires require any special cores. They are larger than the stem openning.
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Old 08-17-2012, 09:32 AM   #12
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Just sharing this as long as we are all here together chatting.

V2B Inflate Thru Valve Cap

I commented earlier about using a cap that allows filling the tire without removing the cap. These solved my leaking problem due to Equal clogging the stems.

I'm not suggesting this as a solution to the Equal problem obviously the best thing is to get it to work correctly with new stems or abandon Equal (so far I have procrastinated at both). But these did solve the problem while I was on the road (part of the reason for my lack of concern).

However these things really work well (The original Alligator brand). They are made well, very sturdy and excellent material, and make checking and refilling tires very efficient. Just thought I would pass it on.
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Old 08-17-2012, 09:38 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by corvettec3 View Post
The Michelin truck tire manufacturing plant is basically in my back yard here and I know several guys working there. One guy I know is an engineer there and I talked to him one day about tire balancing. He told me that the tires built today are basically balanced when they leave the factory. Truck tires spin at about half the rpm that your car tires do. So you pay $25 to have your MH tire balanced, you drive out onto the street and pick up a stone in the tread of your tire...there goes your balance. He told me to install my new Michelins and then decide if I need them balanced. That is exactly what I did and at 60 mph they drive as smooth as silk.

When I put on new shoes I did not balance my rear duals (michelins) on the same theory and we ride just fine. I actually do not think my rig came new with balanced rears also Michelins.
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Old 08-17-2012, 09:47 AM   #14
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Wink Tire balencing beads

I am on my 2nd set of Michelins. I used Equal in both sets of tires. No problems and smooth ride. My dealer did use the special valve cores.


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