beads or weights

[berg bronco]

wich is better? i am trying to decide Ive always used weights but the tire shop told me that the beads are the way to go im runnuing 35" TIRES

 

[HoosierDaddy]

No expert on this at all , but the few posts here I have read over the years , the guys using the beads were quite happy with them. The beads would work in cases where clip on's would not.

I would think that 35's are on the edge if what can be done normally , after that the beads would probably work best.

 

[NC-Fordguy]

I've run them both. If it's a street rig I'd use weights, if it's something that gets wheeled use beads

 

[00gyrhed]

the beads will not adress a problem with lateral imbalance across the tire (side to side) very well. So if one side of the tire is heaier (like where the radial bands overlap) that is best addressed by wieghts. What I do with all my tires is let the tire shop do their best. I even harrass the crap out of them and take it back over and over if i have to. I try to make them do their job even though I know the beads are going in. I stand there in th shop and watch them. I make them pull multiple small wieghts off and replace with a larger one. I make sure they actually follow the machines directions and I make them show me the wheels are straight before they mount the tires. I make them dismount the tire and rotate it on the wheel if the wheel weights stack up on bothe sides of the tire for more than 1/4 of its perimeter, at least until they prove they have no choice. Yeas I am an @$$ but in 30 years of running large diameter tires I have learned one thing. I know more about balancing tires than they do. You will too. All it takes is one set of tires that they can't quite get balanced, and 55 MPH max speed is not acceptable. Period. They will have a ton of excuses and they will out right lie to you with a problem tire, but in the end they owe you a tire that will run comfortably at highway speed.

Your goal is to leave their shop with the best balance you could possible get. On any tire wheel combination under 35" they should be able to provide you with a ride that is at least tolerable at 70 MPH.

If you can find a good shop with a hunter machine with the glue on wieghts that they glue to the inside on the tread they can get almost any tire perfect if they know what they are doing. Unfortunately the only guys that know how to use the machince were trained when the machine was bought new and don't work there anymore.

Don't be afraid to tell the to take their crappy out of round tires and cram them if they cant get them balanced close.

There is a reason for all of this. Yes they owe it to you if they sold you the tires, but beyond that if they cant get a large tire baalanced it is often an indication that the tire is not anywhere near round. Some large tires are so bad you can measure the differnece with a tape measure. I had a set of uniroyal P255/85/16s that were 1/2" higher on one side of the tire than 180 Deg across the tire. I fought that problem with NTB for two months. A tire that is that far out of round will wear out faster and will give you problems the entire time you own it.

Once the balancer has done the best he can I break the tires down in my drive way by putting the highlift jack on the bead and using another vehicles weight to break the bead on one side. I put in enough beads to balance the tire without wieghts. That is a safe gaurd in case I loose a weight or mud accumulates and dries on the back side of a wheel or hub cap.

I have had great luck with this method. I have been doing it for at least ten years now, and evey vehicle has runs smoothly up as fast as I want to run them.

The tires will last longer too.

 

[jw0747]

go with beads especially if you go off road. Weights get thrown or knocked off too easily during off road trips.

 

[berg bronco]

thanks guys Ill try the beads

 

[NYLES]

Buddy runs 38 boggers with 3 tennis balls, youd never believe it ....ride great!

 

[Lebe]

There is a reason for all of this. Yes they owe it to you if they sold you the tires, but beyond that if they cant get a large tire baalanced it is often an indication that the tire is not anywhere near round. Some large tires are so bad you can measure the differnece with a tape measure. I had a set of uniroyal P255/85/16s that were 1/2" higher on one side of the tire than 180 Deg across the tire. I fought that problem with NTB for two months. A tire that is that far out of round will wear out faster and will give you problems the entire time you own it.

Once the balancer has done the best he can I break the tires down in my drive way by putting the highlift jack on the bead and using another vehicles weight to break the bead on one side. I put in enough beads to balance the tire without wieghts. That is a safe gaurd in case I loose a weight or mud accumulates and dries on the back side of a wheel or hub cap.

I have had great luck with this method. I have been doing it for at least ten years now, and evey vehicle has runs smoothly up as fast as I want to run them.

The tires will last longer too.[/QUOTE]

Man, you're more anal about your wheel balancing than I am.

I used Innovative Balancing beads on my EB with BFG KM2 37's and was so happy with the peformance that I changed over the balancing on my two (2) other trucks. Bigger, heavy lugged tires wear more so the beads are a dynamic balancer. They're not perfect but they don't change.

 

[00gyrhed]

I'm sorry but I am an old fart that can still remeber when you bought a set of tires they rode down the road nice and smooth without a need for the beads. I have been running something in my taller offroad tires off and on dependant upon the balancer since 1977. These airsoft pellets weren't arround then. I even used copper BBs once. DO NOT DO THAT. The copper wears off they rust and get rough and then start wearing the tire from the inside.

tried tennis balls and golf balls. Golf balls come apart and make a mess. we even tried liquids. Back then a 36X15 was huge and almost all of them were out of round.

 

[bknbronco]

Beads do work well most of the time. Until you stop, turn, and head down the ramp onto the freeway. The beads will go to one side after you stop then take off during a turn. If you dont stop again to allow the beads to reset they will stay off to the side and cause the tire to be unbalanced. This isnt a big problem driving around town, but the driver has to learn to munipulate them beads so you dont have that problem. It sucks when you have to pull over on the freeway and let them beads settle!!

 

[ep67bro]

I feel a good tire shop should be able to balance a 35" tire with weights. I ran 35"s on a F250 I had for years with just weights and it was fine. My f250 now has 315 75 r 16 on it and it has weights. But it all depends on the guy running the balancer and the tire you are balancing. I had a set of Mickey Thompson Baja Belted radials that were 31" the tire shop could not balance them! They were so out of round it was a joke I used them for a while on a heavy solid axle truck that just hauled fire wood then I sold them.

 

[GrillMaster]

You would think they could make these tires better. The guy I took mine to had trouble balancing my new 35" KM2s but after an hour or so and about 20 weights they are balanced and ride nice at 70 MPH. I do notice some noise at certain speeds around 40MPH but I believe it is from the large lug tread design.

 

[Pedestrian]

I just used the airsoft pellets, 12oz in each of my 38.5s and they ride smooth as fast as I want to go.

 

[bknbronco]

Until you turn a corner and take off!%) Im going back to the old school weights!

 

[SloppyDawg71]

I run 35s with beads and regularly run 60-70 with no problems at all...runs super smooth down the interstate.

 

[jw0747]

have any of you guys with out-of-round tires ever considered having them shaved? we have a local brake and alignment shop that does it. never had it done on big mud tires but had it done to a set of ATs and it fixed a vibration we had at 70mph. it works and they don't remove much of the tread. just the high spots.

 

[00gyrhed]

Shaving tires works graet but you will be sick at how much rubber they carve off a heavy lug tire. A tall heavy lug tire can be out of round enough to have very little tread left. Its also very expensive and performed on each corner so you can't rotate.

I have been driving with beads on many other things in my tires since the late 70s. I have never had a problem with stopping, turning and getting on the highway. But I also run the minimum amount of beads it takes to balance. I start at 4 oz in a 33, and if It is not smooth I add beads by teh 1/2 ounce.

I did experience the problem once with a powder we tried (not gonna tell you what it was) but it happend because there was water in the tire and the powder got sticky and hung to the side.

Friend of mine in Amarillo had all his beads freeze to the bottom of the tire in addition to the flat spot for sitting. that was fun.

 

[Broncobowsher]

I remember years ago we had a chevy truck that came in. It drove weird. It wasn't a steady vibration but just an all around disconnected busy feel. Drove other trucks that were a lot better. Couldn't figure it out. But one day we caught a screw in a tire and had to fix it. Broke the bead and there were all these little balls inside the tire. Strange, scooped them out, fixed the tire, didn't mark it when it was pulled so balanced it. Thought for a little bit, pulled another tire and knocked it down, same thing. So the other 2 tires did the same. Got rid of all the little balls and did a correct off car balance. Wow, the truck drove so much better. Felt like the 30,000 mile truck that it was and not a 300,000 mile truck that it was feeling like.

Were those balls fixing a balance issue? Maybe by covering a fixed vibration with lots of white noise. I will never run those balls.

 

[ken75ranger]

Street rig or on-off road I use weights. Usually stick-on or on the inner edge.

 

[Madgyver]

what's this talk about beads? please educate me.