Using Tire Bubble Balancer
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,845
Likes: 30
Do you have a Discount Tire store near you? I find them to be super helpful. They fix flats for free and have given me new valve stems and TPMS rebuild kits for free. They go out of their way to make customers happy even if you are not buying anything. They want to impress you so you come back and buy tires from them when you need new tires.
We had one close but, they closed up......
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,845
Likes: 30
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,845
Likes: 30
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,845
Likes: 30
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,845
Likes: 30
The Hunter Road Force® balance system is a diagnostic wheel balancing solution designed to enhance vehicle performance and ride quality. Key features include:
- Fastest Diagnostic Balancer: The Road Force® Elite is touted as the fastest wheel balancer, capable of performing both traditional balancing and Road Force Measurement in less time than conventional methods.
2 - Vibration Problem Resolution: It helps solve vibration issues, providing a smoother "new car ride" experience.
1 - Increased Accuracy: The system's vision technology improves balancing accuracy and allows for single weight solutions, addressing the sensitivity of modern vehicles to static vibration forces.
1 - Comprehensive Understanding: Road force balancing involves matching the tire and wheel assembly to the vehicle's suspension, which can significantly improve ride quality.
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For more detailed information, you can visit the official Hunter Engineering website.
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I was asking and, dealing with the "HF" wheel balancer....Not all that critical to empty my pockets to get my wheels balanced......Thanks for the reply.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,064
Likes: 1,166
From: N. Alabama
Or mount an extra wheel bearing assembly on a stand and let the wheel settle with heaviest point at the bottom. Add some temporarily at the top and keep playing with it till the wheel stays stationary at any position. Motorcycle wheels use this. Of course the balancing stand is specifically used for this and has very free spinning ball bearing axle with very little drag.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,845
Likes: 30
Another quick question:
What is the stock OEM SPARE tire size that came with my "88" coup?
I asked this many years ago and,,searching on the net gave me a couple of answers (T155/70D17)......
The brand I do not care about, size/cost I do...If I recall, it is a full size tire..
What is the stock OEM SPARE tire size that came with my "88" coup?
I asked this many years ago and,,searching on the net gave me a couple of answers (T155/70D17)......
The brand I do not care about, size/cost I do...If I recall, it is a full size tire..
Last edited by Da Mail Man; Jul 24, 2025 at 09:58 AM.
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Drifting
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 635
From: St. Louis
Or mount an extra wheel bearing assembly on a stand and let the wheel settle with heaviest point at the bottom. Add some temporarily at the top and keep playing with it till the wheel stays stationary at any position. Motorcycle wheels use this. Of course the balancing stand is specifically used for this and has very free spinning ball bearing axle with very little drag.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,845
Likes: 30
Thanks for the reply...I was going to drop the spare and see what gives...It is at least 12 years old so, it's gotta go...I dropped it years ago and thought it was full size because of the rear posi....
Getting ready to rain here again so, will drop it hopefully tomorrow and see what gives...The number I posted is from another post in which that was the number given,,.....
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,064
Likes: 1,166
From: N. Alabama
Would have to sandwich the spacer plates on each side to maintain wheel perfectly vertical. That, too, would not be difficult to arrange.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 6,528
Likes: 752
From: South Dakota
I had a tire machine and a balancer.
I had a Coats brand bubble balancer. In use it needs to have the wheel mounted face up. however if you want the weight on the back side of the wheel, simply mark where it is on the front side and position the weight straight across from it on the back side. It worked well for me for a lot of years.
I was also an engineer at an auto assembly plant. Our cars were sensitive to wheel imbalance, so we did a survey. We had many shops from all over the state balance the wheels. What we found was that most of the spin balancers were off by more than 1/4 ounce. So from our survey a bubble balancer would have been better. When there is a spin balancer in good condition and calibrated, it is better than a bubble balancer, however, most of the ones in service were not.
As a check for whatever type of balancer, after the wheel is balanced, take off the wheel and remount it 180° from its original orientation. If the wheel is balanced it should still be balanced, but if there is a problem it will show additional weights need to be added.
Good luck.
I had a Coats brand bubble balancer. In use it needs to have the wheel mounted face up. however if you want the weight on the back side of the wheel, simply mark where it is on the front side and position the weight straight across from it on the back side. It worked well for me for a lot of years.
I was also an engineer at an auto assembly plant. Our cars were sensitive to wheel imbalance, so we did a survey. We had many shops from all over the state balance the wheels. What we found was that most of the spin balancers were off by more than 1/4 ounce. So from our survey a bubble balancer would have been better. When there is a spin balancer in good condition and calibrated, it is better than a bubble balancer, however, most of the ones in service were not.
As a check for whatever type of balancer, after the wheel is balanced, take off the wheel and remount it 180° from its original orientation. If the wheel is balanced it should still be balanced, but if there is a problem it will show additional weights need to be added.
Good luck.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,845
Likes: 30
Re: Spare update -
I dropped the spare about 20 min ago and found it still has some air but, not the required amount..I aired it up to just under 60psi as what it said on the sidewall...
I flipped the tire over and found a 5'' split in the sidewall...OH WELL.
Here are the numbers pulled off the tire (oh, you were correct in that, this is a small temp tire)..
T155/70D17
60psi
TPC SPEC 511
MAX LOAD AT 60PSI = 2326
3PLY CORD
Other numbers =
264315-3A3AVZZC
**WHERE WOULD I FIND A "DATE CODE" ON A TIRE SUCH AS THIS?
I dropped the spare about 20 min ago and found it still has some air but, not the required amount..I aired it up to just under 60psi as what it said on the sidewall...
I flipped the tire over and found a 5'' split in the sidewall...OH WELL.
Here are the numbers pulled off the tire (oh, you were correct in that, this is a small temp tire)..
T155/70D17
60psi
TPC SPEC 511
MAX LOAD AT 60PSI = 2326
3PLY CORD
Other numbers =
264315-3A3AVZZC
**WHERE WOULD I FIND A "DATE CODE" ON A TIRE SUCH AS THIS?
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 635
From: St. Louis
Look for a 4 digit code on the sidewall - usually in a slightly raised oval. the first 2 numbers are the week and last 2 numbers are the year.
For example (0711) would be the 7th week (Feb) of 2011.
For example (0711) would be the 7th week (Feb) of 2011.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 25,394
Likes: 2,741
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,845
Likes: 30
I copied all the numbers of both sides of the tire.....The car was purchased new, sold to a 2nd owner for a month, then, sold to me........I figure it came with the car when new....
I have seen a number of tires on rims posted in places but, they are mounted of rims (ebay stuff)....QUESTION, is their any other "brands" of cars" with the same 5-bolt pattern as the vette?...Doesn't really matter in that, I am only interested in the tire...I figure if someone has a late model car that they got rid of, if I find a late model car with the size tire I am looking for, chances are the tire would not be dry-totted.....
I have seen a number of tires on rims posted in places but, they are mounted of rims (ebay stuff)....QUESTION, is their any other "brands" of cars" with the same 5-bolt pattern as the vette?...Doesn't really matter in that, I am only interested in the tire...I figure if someone has a late model car that they got rid of, if I find a late model car with the size tire I am looking for, chances are the tire would not be dry-totted.....
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 6,941
Likes: 1,490
From: New Jersey
I copied all the numbers of both sides of the tire.....The car was purchased new, sold to a 2nd owner for a month, then, sold to me........I figure it came with the car when new....
I have seen a number of tires on rims posted in places but, they are mounted of rims (ebay stuff)....QUESTION, is their any other "brands" of cars" with the same 5-bolt pattern as the vette?...Doesn't really matter in that, I am only interested in the tire...I figure if someone has a late model car that they got rid of, if I find a late model car with the size tire I am looking for, chances are the tire would not be dry-totted.....
I have seen a number of tires on rims posted in places but, they are mounted of rims (ebay stuff)....QUESTION, is their any other "brands" of cars" with the same 5-bolt pattern as the vette?...Doesn't really matter in that, I am only interested in the tire...I figure if someone has a late model car that they got rid of, if I find a late model car with the size tire I am looking for, chances are the tire would not be dry-totted.....
https://roadkillcustoms.com/wheel-bo...5x4.75-inches/
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,845
Likes: 30
Was looking at a few tires via net and had a question or two -
The spare that came out of my "88" had the tire size (in red) of::
T155/70D17
60psi
TPC SPEC 511
MAX LOAD AT 60PSI = 2326
3PLY CORD
I am seeing some that have size listed as: 10M T155/70D17 17X4. Whats' with the 110M?
*Would ALL tires manufactured in the industry/specs be as what I have listed above? OR, would the ply number, weight load, max psi be different for the application (or be altered depending on vehicle application, etc)?
The spare that came out of my "88" had the tire size (in red) of::
T155/70D17
60psi
TPC SPEC 511
MAX LOAD AT 60PSI = 2326
3PLY CORD
I am seeing some that have size listed as: 10M T155/70D17 17X4. Whats' with the 110M?
*Would ALL tires manufactured in the industry/specs be as what I have listed above? OR, would the ply number, weight load, max psi be different for the application (or be altered depending on vehicle application, etc)?
Last edited by Da Mail Man; Jul 27, 2025 at 09:56 AM. Reason: typo correction
