MG MGB and MGB GT Tech Talk
Has anyone ever used anything like this to balance their tires? http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200338053_200338053?cm_sp=Customer%20driven-_-Recently%20Viewed-_-Search%20Page
It looks like it could work in our cars and put an end to troublesome steel wheel (and wire wheel for that matter) balancing.
Hurst
No, not a joke. It works because when the tire has a heavy spot, it accelerates in that direction, while the beads will be pushed up opposite of that heavy spot. Also, will an out of balance tubeless tire cause me to lose air out of the tire when driving on the highway, but not lose any when going slow or sitting parked? Or is that a bad valvestem or bad seat?
Hurst
But man, think of the results if someone uses a fix a flat in the tire just to get home. That goo will turn the shot into clumps of sticky bbs!
Anything wrong with wheel weights? They're cheaper. In fact even paying someone else's labor they're cheaper.
If a wheel can't be balanced on a computer-controlled wheel balancer with a trained operator at the helm, then some heavy grit sand stuff sure isn't going to do any better! I suspect the problem with most "trouble wheels" is that they are physically bent in more than one plane.
This subject came up several months ago on either this board or the MG Enthusiasts board. One guy had tried such a product and had good results. IIRC he said he removed the valve stem and poured in an ounce or so in each tire and then replaced the stem and aired them up as usual. There was some question wheither it would work with tubes and wire wheels, but a lot of truck tires have tubes so I would think it would work there also.
Mercedes are now using a similar product in all their new cars and replacement tyres. The service guy said theirs is actually a liquid but it does the same thing, the tyre is automatically balanced throughout it's life.
Yeah, the balanced for life thing is what got me, and I have a spare tire that holds air, so fix a flat won't be used, plus, I have never had very good luck with it. Also, these beads don't absorb moisture. It costs what one tire costs to balance and one bag looks like enough to do all 4. Bill, do you think you could find the post? I didn't find anything on this forum, but the search can be hard to search with sometimes... I may give it a try and see what it does, worst case is I have to dismount the tire and dump it out...so I go to harbor freight and buy a 2 dollar big screwdriver :)
Hurst
It should work as good as the liquid that all the OTR reailer trucks use. This balance method all started with a gizmo that was like a Hoola Hoop with a moving weight in it. Later they figured out how to put the weight inside the tire and did away with the hoop. It's old tech and it works.
"Balances tires 15in. and larger" What about that statment in the add..
I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work in 14 inch tires. There are other brands of the same stuff that say they work on classic car tires, most of which are smaller than 15. I think the 15 and up is for truck tires because LT (light truck) tires can take 5 to 6 times the weight to balance compared to a passenger car tire. The one thing the other brand's stuff did say is you only use something around 2 ounces in passenger car tires. I may not get this after all though, I took it out tonight after airing up the tires in the front to about 30 and the car was a lot smoother. I have some bridgestones on it with fairly flexable sidewalls, so the higher pressures seem to make the tire a lot more stable and took away all the vibration (up to 80mph at least). knock on wood, hopefully it will stay smooth. I think I am going to get some string and stakes and square off the car again to check the alignment. Eyeballing it when parked on a parking lot line, I have a slight toe out, probably 1 or 2 degrees, which might also explain a little of the shaking at higher speeds since my suspension isn't quite "up to snuff"
Hurst
What would the filtered valve core and valve core identifier o-ring be for?
Its listed under Included and can be seen at the bottom right of the bag
FYI Link http://www.counteractbalancing.com/application1.html
It should work just fine. I've actualy seen golf balls used in larger offroad tires to get them to balance.
The only downside to it is every time you stop you may hear the bb's striking the rim.
There's a product similar to that used in our aircraft tires. If it works for them, no reason to think it wouldn't work on a car tire.