OT tire balancing beads?

moonlight machine · Oct 14, 2020

These are the ones in the plastic bag, you put the bag in the tire when you are mounting it. The bag breaks open and the beads supposedly balance the tire. Anybody tried them? Do they work? Is any brand better others? Where did you get them?

DDoug · Oct 14, 2020

moonlight machine said:
These are the ones in the plastic bag, you put the bag in the tire when you are mounting it. The bag breaks open and the beads supposedly balance the tire. Anybody tried them? Do they work? Is any brand better others? Where did you get them?

I'm pretty sure this subject was hashed around a few years back.

As far as beads....try airsoft pellets.
They only use them once thru, the local place gave me 20 lbs or so for free.

BTW what doo the race cars use ?

SteveF · Oct 14, 2020

This subject gets beat to death on the motorcycle forums. Some say they work great. I just wonder why Dynabeads has a page of "Testimonials" but, with the ease of the testing to be done, nothing at all like a scientifically controlled study that measures the actual vibration of the tire and how it was changed (or not). I'm staying with wheel weights.

Steve

Mud · Oct 14, 2020

I put them in big heavy 245/70 x 19.5 10 ply tires on steel wheels on a 1 ton and they ran perfectly for 100K miles. The tire store had them. You can blow them in through the valve stem also.

CalG · Oct 14, 2020

Work fine at first. I used them on a motorbike front tire. Took the motion right out of it. Didn't last though..
The water in the compressed air gets to 'em. They clump up, and there goes the self balance action.

I bet they are a real hit with people that gas their tires with dry N2. or if your tires NEVER need air added.

moonlight machine · Oct 14, 2020

digger doug said:
BTW what doo the race cars use ?

At the track, race weekends Firestone mounts and balances all tires. They use electronic balancers. Years ago when I ran the test team at a major team we used an old fashioned bubble balancer. Good for 230 MPH I have the same sort of balancer but I am balancing truck tires that are too heavy for me to lift.

projectnut · Oct 14, 2020

Mud said:
I put them in big heavy 245/70 x 19.5 10 ply tires on steel wheels on a 1 ton and they ran perfectly for 100K miles. The tire store had them. You can blow them in through the valve stem also.

We used Equal powder for the same size tires on our motorhome. It worked fine for the lifetime of the tires. If you go this route be sure to get new Schroeder valves with filters, and new valve caps with the red ling around them to signify the filtered valves have been installed. The powder is fine enough it will pass through an unfiltered valve when checking air pressure. The dust could possibly get lodged in the valve holding it open and cause the tire to deflate.

Also be sure to witness the fact that the beads have actually been installed. We had a tire dealer claim to install them with 4 new rear tires. By the time we found it hadn't been installed the tires had already developed flat spots and needed premature replacement.

Mud · Oct 14, 2020

moonlight machine said:
but I am balancing truck tires that are too heavy for me to lift.

Make sure you put enough beads in the tire, it's better to err on the high side. I put beads in the new 12X16.5 tires on the front of my old 69 Chevy C20 and was disappointed that it shook at speed. Then I looked at the stick on weights I had just taken off the aluminum wheels - I took 20+ oz off, and only put 8 oz of beads in the tires because that's what the bead manufacturer recommended - 8 to 10 oz and we chose the low spec. Those 45 year old cast mags must have been way out all by themselves.

kustomizingkid · Oct 14, 2020

Meh... better than nothing, not as good as actually balancing. The real trick to actually balancing truck tires well is getting them in a reasonable range. Aint many tire jockeys that will actually break them back down and move the tire to an ideal spot.

JS · Oct 14, 2020

Use a tire truer, then balance the tire......

I've never used beads, only weights...

Shaybuilder · Oct 14, 2020

They put the beads in my motorhome tires when I replaced the tires. I didn't notice any balance problems and they seemed to work. The down side is they evidently didn't put in the correct Schrader valves and every time I wanted to check the air pressure the Shrader valves wouldn't close and I would have to remove them and clean them out, this was a PITA on the duals. I wouldn't waste my time putting the beads in again.

russler · Oct 14, 2020

I have used balance bags ( what beads are called local)in 11r22.5 over the years and worked ok.
I am slowly converting to them over lead because tyre shops cant do the job(long story) and I now fit my own tyres.
Currently running 295 80 22.5 and 9.5 17.5, Only prob. I have is at low speed. I have 1 pair of tyres with over 150 k kms on them and no probs.
I asked a trusted person about balance bags for use in 265 70 16 and he advised against, did not bother asking why.
I suspect that I have a hub ass. that is out of balance (showed up after replacing a drum)and with lead it still had a small vibration but the bag fixed it.
Use different amounts for different size tyres.
Always use a good quality valve cap.

cg285 · Oct 15, 2020

i actually true (when nec) and balance tires. have not seen much good success with beads or the clip on balance rings

BT Fabrication · Oct 15, 2020

waste of time, balance em up the right way, and never had issues.

dian · Oct 15, 2020

what are they, plastic beads? powder? why not something heavy? bearing balls are used to balance grinding wheels.

Big B · Oct 15, 2020

Kind of seems like reinventing the wheel. Balancers have worked for a long time and it seems like it there was an advantage to beads the auto/cycle manufacturers would be using them from the factory. I'll stick with balancing.

4GSR · Oct 15, 2020

Will the powder, beads, etc., mess up the tire pressure sensors installed inside a tire?

Servicar rider · Oct 15, 2020

I once drove a motor home belonging to a friend. When you stopped it had a rumble. When I asked what that noise was the owner laughed and told me the previous owner had put golf balls inside the tires for balancing! It seemed smooth and other than the noise of the balls falling inside the tires when you stopped it was fine?

DDoug · Oct 15, 2020

Servicar rider said:
I once drove a motor home belonging to a friend. When you stopped it had a rumble. When I asked what that noise was the owner laughed and told me the previous owner had put golf balls inside the tires for balancing! It seemed smooth and other than the noise of the balls falling inside the tires when you stopped it was fine?

Did you yell out the winder "FOUR" every time you took off from a light ?....

projectnut · Oct 15, 2020

Big B said:
Kind of seems like reinventing the wheel. Balancers have worked for a long time and it seems like it there was an advantage to beads the auto/cycle manufacturers would be using them from the factory. I'll stick with balancing.

HD wheel balancers like the Coats 6450 usually cost between $12,500.00 and $16,000.00 depending on the accessories included. Many small to medium shops don't sell enough large tires to support the cost of such an expensive machine. The beads are an alternative balancing method that is far less costly. As mentioned in an earlier post the beads do work if the proper amount is installed along with the filtered Schroeder valves.

OT tire balancing beads?

Diamond

Diamond

Titanium

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Stainless

Diamond

Titanium

Stainless

Cast Iron

Aluminum

Stainless

Titanium

Titanium

Diamond

Diamond

Cast Iron

Diamond

Stainless

Similar threads