Tire Balancing...MUST READ!

[vipergrhd]

Very well said

I hate to say it, but I'm kinda with ceerhis on this matter. Not that it's going make a difference weather 2 newbs agree on something or not.

I don't know much about this new adapter. All I know, is the procedure that my shop follows when balancing a tire.

Step one, peel tires off rim and run rims alone on balancer
Step two, install new tires on rims already prooven to be strait and balanced
Step three, run all tires on balancer, install weights
Step four, take vehicle for test drive, running through all speeds to make sure no vibration.

Thats it. The shop I work at isn't a tire shop, but does have all the proper equipment, it's not a dealer either, it's family owned and run(except me). They have a 6 year old balancer with all of the proper cone adapters and they have never had a single costumer complane that their tires were vibrating after taking it to this shop. The reason for that is simple. It's not because they have the latest and greatest technology, it's because they run a calibration on their machine every 10 sets of tires they balance, and every time they bump the shaft, and because they drive the vehicle afterwards to make sure the job was done properly. That's it. The owner of the shop(who is 65) told me this summer he is going to show me how they used to balance tires when he got his mechanic ticket, with a cone on the floor and a buble ruler. A balance can be done properly that way as well it just takes longer and has a lower success level.

Now, I'm sorry if I've offended with this post, I certainly don't want to start making enimies so early on. But what I'm trying to get at is that, these machines are great, honestly real cool and makes a mechanics job so much easier. But it just makes it easier, that's it. These new machines just help you detect what is wrong with the tire without having to take it for a test drive and waste time.

Mechanic, I like your idea of different steps.most tire installers or technician follow this simple and true reliable steps.since you mentioned a bubble balancer (i have used) it's the same application when it comes to tire and machine technology,back in the old days when cars only travelled down the road at 30mph this balancer (bubble level) work just fine for this tires, of course things evolve and so thus cars and machines we use.I think we can all agree that technology changes every second and things do get better for the most part,cars have been around long enough for most of us to see the changes in the last decades and we have to embrace the fact that tire technology will come with machines that would make them even better on the road.

 

[slapdappy]

I am an absolute believer in the lug-centric balance method via the Hunter gsp 9700. The combination of a road force balance with straight track diagnosis eliminated the steering wheel shake shimmy vibration AND alignment pull to one side. There is absolutely NO vibration anymore and truck tracks dead straight. no wander, no pull, nothing. Just straight.
I read as many posts as I could find for 2 weeks about my front wheel vibration. Found info here on T4R. Got contact info off Hunter website for Regional manger and service reps. Called/emailed each. Received return recall from both the next day! Regional Manager pointed me towards local Les Schwab because they had the brand newest equipment (this info was also available on Hunters website, with simple icons indicating which shops have which equipment). I could not be more impressed with Hunter as an organization. The Les Schwab here in denver on Federal blvd. knew exactly what I was talking about re lug-centric. Nice clean shop. nice clean employees.
Absolutely go to Hunter website, find local shop with gsp9700 (heck, call regional manager and service reps for their shop recommendation) and have your tires force balanced via lug mount adapter AND make sure they do the Straight Track thing. This ain't no voodoo b.s., this is absolutely the way to go.
plus it is so dang cool, figuring out which tire should go on which corner of the vehicle. Gotta love free enterprise + technology applied to such a basic mechanical procedure as tire balancing.

 

[xdfhnvhu]

BEFORE you get your tire balanced by Toyota or anyone else,

 

[pluton]

Just to remind everyone who might be in love with the idea of having their wheels balanced on the newest miracle wheel balancing machine, I've had wheels balanced on those Hunter machines and the employees---I won't call them technicians---managed to screw up the balance job anyway. Better to have a skilled tech do it on a lesser machine than have an incompetent do it on the fancy machine.

 

[bigelliot]

To my knowledge yes...

I don't know if this is accurate or not, but I am currently having balancing issues (Cooper Disco AT3) that were installed and attempted to be balanced twice by Discount Tire, and they failed miserably (twice). None of the Discount Tires around me come up on the GSP9700 locator tool, but the Firestone places do.

 

[drichardson90]

Hey all,

In addition to above adaptor, it is best to have your wheel & tire balanced using this machine:

Hunter GSP9700 Wheel vibration Control System solves wheel vibration and tire pull problems that balancers and aligners can't fix

On the website above, you can enter your address to see what shop near you have this balancing machine...here is the direct link:

http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/search/findgsp9700.cfm

"The GSP9700 Vibration Control System extends far beyond the traditional functions of a wheel balancer. It not only solves wheel balance problems, but also "road tests" the tire/wheel assembly to eliminate virtually every variable causing vibration in relation to the tire and rim.

"The GSP9700 Vibration Control System includes Hunter's exclusive Road Force Measurement System. This system utilizes a "road roller" which measures the uniformity of the wheel and tire, simulating a road force test and verifying if the assembly is "round when rolling" under load. Now nearly all wheel/tire-related vibration problems can be diagnosed and/or eliminated in seconds."

The GSP9700 Vibration Control System measures lateral and radial rim runout without removing the tire from the rim and quickly indicates if runout is tire related. Runout can also be measured at the actual bead seat on a bare rim.
The GSP9700 Vibration Control System then calculates the contributions of the tire and the rim to the vibration problem and presents the technician with easy-to-follow repair instructions.

The GSP9700 locator on its website seems to be outdated/inaccurate. I contacted multiple shops that it listed as having the machine and they told me they did not have it. Still waiting to hear back from a Discount Tire store, think someone mentioned all their locations now have them.

Anyone know of any big shop brands that carry this machine/adapter plate at their locations? Trying to find a shop in San diego that has the machine and adapter, but many either have one or the other, or have no clue what I'm talking about. Lots of mechanics also say they don't think my vehicle needs it lol.

 

[THEROK]

Try hg Motorsports. They work on a ton of go fast cars but I believe they have the hunter machine.

 

[drichardson90]

Try hg Motorsports. They work on a ton of go fast cars but I believe they have the hunter machine.

I asked HG and they said they do "Road Force Balancing" but don't have the Haweka plate or GSP9700 machine.

I also heard from another shop that they use a fixed finger plate that's identical to the Haweka one. They also said they use a "Coats" machine that (according to him) is a more reliable machine. Does anyone know about Coats balance machines? He charges $7.50/wheel, which is a lot cheaper than what i've been quoted by others. Kinda skeptical...

 

[THEROK]

I recently used rubber on wheels mobile installer and they balanced my 33s perfectly. Ask for Moses. Not cheap but he did the job right with no scratches on my new wheels.

 

[drichardson90]

Hey all,

In addition to above adaptor, it is best to have your wheel & tire balanced using this machine:

Hunter GSP9700 Wheel vibration Control System solves wheel vibration and tire pull problems that balancers and aligners can't fix

On the website above, you can enter your address to see what shop near you have this balancing machine...here is the direct link:

http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/search/findgsp9700.cfm

"The GSP9700 Vibration Control System extends far beyond the traditional functions of a wheel balancer. It not only solves wheel balance problems, but also "road tests" the tire/wheel assembly to eliminate virtually every variable causing vibration in relation to the tire and rim.

"The GSP9700 Vibration Control System includes Hunter's exclusive Road Force Measurement System. This system utilizes a "road roller" which measures the uniformity of the wheel and tire, simulating a road force test and verifying if the assembly is "round when rolling" under load. Now nearly all wheel/tire-related vibration problems can be diagnosed and/or eliminated in seconds."

The GSP9700 Vibration Control System measures lateral and radial rim runout without removing the tire from the rim and quickly indicates if runout is tire related. Runout can also be measured at the actual bead seat on a bare rim.
The GSP9700 Vibration Control System then calculates the contributions of the tire and the rim to the vibration problem and presents the technician with easy-to-follow repair instructions.

Do you know if any other machines are capable of balancing properly, or is it only the GSP9700 that can do it right? None of my local shops carry that machine, but some say they can do road force balancing. Not sure if I should shell out the $50-100 they're asking for that type of balance if they don't have this machine.

 

[Vols77]

Had a tire balanced with a nail in it then discovered the nail and had it plugged. Just that changed completely threw off the balance

 

[DK327]

I just got a 00 LTD and the ride is really smooth till about 50mph then vibration starts at the steering wheel so I'm thinking front tires might need to be balanced... I looked up a shop near me that uses the Hunter GSP 9700 with Road Force and Straight Track and only 1 showed up... I called to get some info and they didn't seem sure if they had the right adapter for Toyota since they do Hondas and said only way to find out would be to actually take the vehicle there and try... Oh and it would be $150!! LOL!!!

Now, since the vehicle is used, I don't know if the tires are good, or the rims are out of round or if all is OK and they just need to be balanced...but $150 is hard to swallow...

Edit: I just widened the search area (was set to 5 mile radius) and found and called Tires Plus and they quoted me $55.30 after tax.. MUCH better! Made an appt for this Friday noon, hoping I won't have to replace my tires or rims or both!!!

 

[Sportfury70]

I don't know if this is accurate or not, but I am currently having balancing issues (Cooper Disco AT3) that were installed and attempted to be balanced twice by Discount Tire, and they failed miserably (twice). None of the Discount Tires around me come up on the GSP9700 locator tool, but the Firestone places do.

I was just going to mention this. I always needed road force balancing for my bimmers, most firestone shops have the ability to do it, or at least know where to send you. That machine balanced some pretty decent sized bends in aluminum rims to zero vibrations. A huge help until I was able to find a wheel repair shop I trusted enough to touch my AC Schnitzers.

 

[endgame56]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a balance in the Boulder, CO area? I got a set of General Grabber AT2s (285/75r16) mounted and balanced at the Discount Tire there and I think after 4 trips to two different DT's (one in Broomfield, too) all they've managed to do is move the vibration around. To his credit, the guy at the Broomfield one did say he was going to use the lug adapter during their last attempt but the shimmy is still there. Moving the wheels front to back does change (not eliminate) the vibration so I'm fairly certain that's where the problem lies.

My office moved recently so I'm putting a lot more highway miles on and the 60-70mph shimmy is getting pretty aggravating.

 

[BrnxBomr2]

Hey all,

In addition to above adaptor, it is best to have your wheel & tire balanced using this machine:

Hunter GSP9700 Wheel vibration Control System solves wheel vibration and tire pull problems that balancers and aligners can't fix

On the website above, you can enter your address to see what shop near you have this balancing machine...here is the direct link:

http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/search/findgsp9700.cfm

"The GSP9700 Vibration Control System extends far beyond the traditional functions of a wheel balancer. It not only solves wheel balance problems, but also "road tests" the tire/wheel assembly to eliminate virtually every variable causing vibration in relation to the tire and rim.

"The GSP9700 Vibration Control System includes Hunter's exclusive Road Force Measurement System. This system utilizes a "road roller" which measures the uniformity of the wheel and tire, simulating a road force test and verifying if the assembly is "round when rolling" under load. Now nearly all wheel/tire-related vibration problems can be diagnosed and/or eliminated in seconds."

The GSP9700 Vibration Control System measures lateral and radial rim runout without removing the tire from the rim and quickly indicates if runout is tire related. Runout can also be measured at the actual bead seat on a bare rim.
The GSP9700 Vibration Control System then calculates the contributions of the tire and the rim to the vibration problem and presents the technician with easy-to-follow repair instructions.

Great info! Thanks! Maybe explained why I had a shimmy after getting the TRD Pro wheels installed

 

[neoguri]

To my knowledge yes...

what about SEARS Auto stores?

They should, right...?

 

[Maka4runner]

Thanks for the info. I'm having vibration issues. Had tires installed by Walmart and if they don't fix the vibration issue with a re-balancing of the tires, they will refund me my money so I can get it done properly elsewhere. I know, Walmart was the first issue. Lol

 

[cyclist]

Last time I was at Tire Rack in South Bend, I believe the guy said they like to see 20# or less on the GSP9700.

 

[turftech]

I worked for VW back when they introduced the Super Beetle with Macpherson struts. Brand new they had trouble with the vibration that mimicked wheel balance issues on every new vehicle and not cured by "just" balancing tires. In that era all OEM tires on VW's were Continentals.

Unfortunately my memory isn't serving me well but the balancer we used with success was designed for "on car" balancing routine. Manufacturer will appear in my memory likely next week, but it will appear!

We could spin the "wheel assembly" up to over 100 mph and we would attach a human hair to the fender as the telltale. Essentially you balanced all the spinning components using this method and we made an index mark showing position of wheel relative to brake drum.

Worked just fine in this application and quite possibly would be successful in the "tough to balance" scenarios.

It was a Hunter, just wasn't sure. I notice Alemite made a very comparable machine, same era. Here's the entire setup. Likely OSHA outlawed this!

Hunter Wheel Spinner Balancer with Adapters Portable RARE Works Great | eBay

 

[WVman]

Thanks for all the information, just bought a 13 and I got vibration.

I also noticed after the fact that all four tires are cupped. :-\