I stopped by my local Firestone service center this evening to schedule an appointment to have my wheels/tires balanced. ( 90, L98 coupe, Stock wheels and tires). Between 65-75 mph there is a definite vibration..

Low and behold the service manager took one look at my tires and said he could not help me as my tires were too wide and whenever they had tried to balance a vette they ran into trouble. He said I should take it to the dealer. ( I'd hate to think of the cost of doing that)

Whats the deal with this ? The tires are wide but nothing extraordinary. Is there a real reason behind his action ?

Will I run into this with most tire shops ?

Thanks

 

Additional proof that all Firestones suck...

Any decent tire shop should be able to handle it, but the dealer would be one of the last places I'd go. I've actually gone to an good import service center before, they handle large size wheels/tires all the time and do a good job.

Around here even Sears can put them on. Call around first.

 

I have not heard that one before. I tried a local tire place but the workers treated the car like they were working on a tractor. So I called a local 'vette repair shop and asked where they take their cars, whitch found me a very nice alignment shop. You could do the same.

 

I do the job myself and its no problem

 

I agree with the advice on the import service places if your having trouble getting it to balance out. I used to work for a chevy house that also was a mercedes dealer and we had machines and techs that were trained you use the road force balancers that were calibrated to balance within a gram instead of the 1/4 ounce scenerio most offer. Plus since they road force it they are able to test the run-out and see if all is straight and true. On my chrome 5 spokes I ran on my red car, the only way I got it to ride smooth was by having the tech road force and balance to as close to within a gram as possible. Road smooth as silk after that. Seems like all cars differ though because my yellow car doesnt have any vib issues and i just had a typical balance done on it.

 

Discount Tire around here was real helpful. I wanted a road force balance but they didn't think it would help with the wear I had on them. So they did a regular balance and it's good for now. Just told them I would probally be back when I needed a new set.

 

Try another dealer/Firestone/or any good tire store. My tires are balanced and hold the balance until the tires are gone. The shop you took the Vette to may have a problem with their balance machine.

 

With a C4, I've found that the Road Force is the only way to go.

After many attempts at balancing that failed, the Hunter Road Force machine worked miracles.
That's because it is more than a balancer, when done properly by someone that knows how to use it, it eliminates runout and other vibration related problems. Balance is only one aspect of eliminating vibration.

Tom Piper

 

That shop did the right thing in not working on your car. You don't want someone that does not know how, or does not have the right equipment trying to lift your car or balance the tires.

The local Firestone dealer here has a Hunter Road Force Balancer, and they have personal that know how to use it. They did a great job on my car.

Keep looking until you find a shop that knows what their doing.

 

Go to your area Corvette Forum (Events and Regional) and ask where there is a good place to go. I have seen luck at the Import tuner shops. They are used to wide wheels.

 

I found 2 local shops with the hunter road force balancer, and they do NOT know how to use the machine. The machine needs to be calibrated every morning, or it is a total waste. One shop even dismounts every tire to measure the runout on the rim. Then mounts the tire without matching it to the wheel. I don't see what purpose that serves... It's a waste, and I got tired of searching for a capable tire shop.

I found even if they do it correctly, it only last for 6 months, then the wheel starts shimmying again. The best solution is to trash the offending tire.

anybody wants to buy some tires real cheap

 

Thanks for all the advice.. I learn something new every time I visit the forum. I was unaware of the road force balance process. It sure makes sense to me to balance the tires in the same manner they are used.

I have posted a request in the Great Lakes regional forum for recommendations in the Columbus area. Someone will know of a good shop in Columbus.

 

I too have found that often the techs are not as skilled as the machine. In my opinion, this is especially true with the Hunter Road Force balancers. If the machine isn't calibrated regularly and accurately by a well trained tech, using it is a waste of time.

After dealing with a well known shop that obviously wasn't properly calibrating their Hunter, I found a local shop that will run the wheel on the balancer and then if the amount of weight required is too much in their opinion, they mark and then depressurize the tire. They rotate the tire and try again until the very minimum of weight required is found. Then that weight is added and the wheel road force tested. The difference is night and day. The car rides smooth, as if on rails and the balance lasts a long time.

 

I do agree that the Hunter Road Force machine is only as good as the operator.
A lot of new car dealers are getting the Hunter machine.
I have found that dealers invest more time in training their techs than the local discount tire shop.

But, one thing important to keep in mind is a regular balancing machine ONLY deals with balance -- nothing else.
The Hunter machine does balance and much more.
There is more to tire vibration than balance -- regardless of how much weight or how the weights are installed.

One of the biggest problems with someone trying to get a "road force" vibration analyzation (notice I didn't say balance) is they do it after they buy the tires somewhere else.
Not all tires will "true up" on all rims.
If you buy the tires at the same place that is doing the road force and one of the tires will not true up on your rims, they will put that tire back on the shelf and pick one that will.
If you buy the tires somewhere else and the tire will not true up on your rim, they aren't going to swap it with their stock.
They will do the best they can with what they have and call it a day.

I had a set of tires that I attempted to get balanced about six times with no success.
One trip to the Hunter machine was like heaven.

Tom Piper

 

Another place to research tire shops is www.tirerack.com, they actually list all fo the shops that have the most up to date equipment in their shops and they even have customer reviews. Up to date equipment is important because the new tire mount machines are using poly coated tools so they don't scratch the wheels. I was at one shop recently and asked for a static balance and they looked at me as if my hair was on fire, should have walked out the door right then and there. I took a tire and wheel to a chevy dealer to be mounted and balanced thinking that they would be careful, they scratched it. Do some research, good tire techs seem to be rare.

 

Try calling a honda dealer,they are supposed to have them.I use a hunter road force machine at work,and when balanced right it makes a huge difference.Ask for print out of each tire's roadforce and harmonic.Road force the lower the better,no more than 15lbs and the harmonics should go down from the first to the third one.Good luck

 

I watched a hunter road force balance. The road force drums rides on the tire, and if it is within acceptable limits, the machine then automatically spins the wheel for a regular tire balance, and the road force part is over and done with.

I had one tire on a work van, where they matched it to the rim, and the van still shook like crazy. Even though the hunter machine matched it, still had the virbration...

 

My local Honda and Ford dealers have them.

Companies like AFS wheels that sell their new rims with tires already mounted use road force.
The ones that don't make it, are sold at internet auctions.


Tom Piper