Tire balancing at home ???s

[moopups]

Got them, can hand change them to my rims with no problems, how do you do the balancing at home? Can produce anything required in metal or wood.

[Hogsubie]

Your best bet is to take your tires mounted on the wheels but off the vehicle (if possible) to a tire shop. I really don't think there is an effective diy method that will get you totally balanced. The balancing machines measure down to fractions of an ounce which would be difficult for you to measure. Even one oz. out of balance can cause significant vibrations at moderate speeds. If you're only driving country or unimproved roads at slow to moderate speeds I wouldn't worry about it. If you're travelling at highway speeds, get them balanced at a shop. Avoid Wal-Mart if at all possible, that's all I'm gonna say about that.

[mikell]

I would go for a ride to see if you really need to.

mikell

[HermitJohn]

Originally Posted by mikell

I would go for a ride to see if you really need to.

mikell

Yep, especially on older trucks driven at moderate speeds. Way I drive, I rarely notice any difference in balanced tires and unbalanced. I rarely drive over 60mph and usually less than that (I am that annoyingly slow driver everybody hates and am even content at 45 to 50mph on hiway). Havent noticed undue vibration nor abnormal wear patterns.

[james dilley]

Try this put the tire on the unit ,set up a crayon(tire type) on a rod even with the out side of the tire and spin the tire , this will leave a mark where it contacts the tire the un balanced area will not.

[Shrek]

How about floating it in a washtub of water with a bubble level across the rim, then true it to the bubble by laying weights along the rim.

[punkrockpilot]

My new catalog shows a wheel balancer for $39.99. They also sell the weights.

Here is their web page www.jcw.com

[charles]

I've done big tires (old dump truck) using James Dilley's method above. Picked up the weights for free at a truck tire dealer. It works if your wheel rotates freely. The heavy side of the tire will rotate down next to the ground. You start on the up side (opposite side)practice putting weights on until you can no longer get the wheel to "stick" at the same spots downward over and over.


Worked great for me. Used to it on small tired vehicles like VW bugs also. You had to loosen the hub nut a bit to get the free rotation.


A regular old bubble tire balance is pretty good too! All you really need is a vertical point (pointed rebar) that will hold up the wheel dead center in the hole.
Then get a level and position it in all directions to determing which side is heavyest (slopes down) add weight and do a second time.

There is such a thing called balance powder, it is used in larger truck tires often. all you do is install required amount to the inside of the tire and they balance out as you drive. I believe most tire shops carry it.

[comfortablynumb]

a cheap bubble type wheel balacer from jc whitny or someplace like that is best. it will last you a lifetime and its easy to use. scavange the wieghts off junks... or parked cars at wal mart.
lol