Dynamic Tire Balancing

[flyingreg]

I came across this recently whilst searching for tire balancing equipment and methods. This looks very interesting and would like some feedback from anyone that has tried this product. Also, any of you engineer types, please feel free to chime in.

 

What I found most promising was never having to balance a tire again and the tire stays balanced as it wears.

 

Here is the LINK

[smiller]

"The result was a vibration-free ride, tested to 75 mph."

 

But that's the lower limit of my usual cruising speed...

[FIRST_BEEMER]

No Thanks. I`ll keep my dynamic tape weights.

I use a Snap-On spin balancer at home and use a bearing setup at the track and both work great with the tape weights. I don`t have tires on for long before they are worn out so I prefer the tried and true.

[Voyager]

I tried something similar here with my truck(for off road purposes). Kind of loud at low speed & without sufficient weight to offset large imbalance (heavy mud tires or big chunks of mud stuck to them) Also, this particular product used steel beads in oil, sealed with silicone. Silicone failed, oil leaked out, beads got louder & probably less efficient. Also, hard to find backspacing clearence between brake caliper etc.

 

That said, the product you mentioned seems devoid of all those pitfalls, save one. It doesn't do too well at low speed (i.e. centrifical force makes them work) Seems like weight sufficient to balance tires at speed may be sufficient to adversely effect handling on a motorcycle below centrifical force threashold. Not such a big issue on a big truck mud tire, but maybe kind of squirelly on a bike? Maybe not. I haven't tried it on a bike. Also, with the wieght in the tires any inconsistency would disrupt their efficiency (plugs, patches etc) I personally don't ride motorycle tires with plugs very long, but someone may. My .02

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Also, any of you engineer types, please feel free to chime in.

 

Greg, sorry for not responding to your PM on this subject.

 

Can't see any reason why this wouldn't work fine on a bike wheel. That said, I do think it's a solution in search of a problem:

 

-I've never had a problem with my RT's tires going out-of-balance as they wear (maybe cuz they only last about 6K?).

 

-I've never had a problem with rim corrosion from the lead weights, and don't expect to with steel weights, since the rim is painted/p-coated, and thick adhesive foam tape separates the weight from the rim.

 

-Thanks to vigorous cleaning of the rim, I've never lost a rim weight due to poor adhesion.

 

-They describe an innacuracy of dynamic balance machines in that they assume a particular weight-mounting radius that may not match reality, resulting in an imperfectly balanced tire. Not a problem with static balancing, which is what all of us DIY folks are doing in our garages.

 

-Rim weights are dirt-cheap, about twenty cents apiece (typically don't need more than a couple per wheel), compared to about $2 per wheel for the beads.

 

Regarding possible detrimental effects of the beads on low-speed handling...the threshold speed for keeping the beads in contact with the tires through an entire revolution is a mere 4 MPH; I can't see the beads being a problem at these speeds.

[flyingreg]

Thank you all for your input on this subject.

 

I am one of those folks that rides on plugged tires, using the tried and true sticky rope snakes. These are not compatible with the ceramic beads.

 

I guess until Stop&Go or another vendor comes up with a plug that will last the life of the tire, I'll probably stick with static balancing and rope plugs.

 

Thanks again!

[John_Bennett]

Can't see any reason why this wouldn't work fine on a bike wheel.

 

Does this product actually do what it claims?

 

Will it balance the wheel?

[GaryIF]

Been using this balancing tool now for a while, with glass smooth results at all speeds -- http://www.marcparnes.com/BMW_Motorcycle_Wheel_Balancer.htm

 

Found it more accurate than the dynamic computer balancing done at a local shop. Okay, maybe their machine was out of calibration but...

 

No issues with stick-on weights for the reasons covered already. No affiliation with the product; just a very happy user.

[mrsoup]

A recent issue of MCN has a report on this or a similar product, NOT recommended. Their results showed little or no effect from the 'beads', they did what I would consider a fair evaluation.

Static balance has worked perfectly for me for many years.

[John_Bennett]

Which product did MCN review?

[John_Bennett]

They seem to be getting some good comments around the net:

 

RV guys seem to like the beads

 

VFR guys seem to like them

 

The Diesel Resource guys like them. They are usually pretty anal (in a good way) about such things.

 

Here is a post where they didn't work out for a guy

 

Here is an article about a guy using Airsoft pellets in his 4x4

 

Has anyone here actually tried this product?

[mrsoup]

Dyna Beads-

Without quoting word for word- 'repeated runs at freeway speeds up to 85mph was noticeably less smooth than the factory balanced tire, but perhaps just slightly better than with all the weights removed'. Their (MCN)recommendation is to go for a proper balance.

The review was written by David Searle