Hi there everyone :seeya

I have a friend who is having problems getting a proper balance on their new tires. They have been to the tire store several times, and had them balanced on the newest machine by Hunter.

What are the different steps you would run through with your service technician to narrow the problem down to the rims, tires, or suspension. I know the Hunter machines are very sophisticated, and can tell the technician quite a bit of information, given the technician is properly trained in the full capabilities of the mahcine he's using.

I went for a ride with him as he was asking my opinion about new rims, since that is where he thought he narrowed the problem down to. I can almost be positive that it's the balance though. There are quite a few weights on each rim. Front left and right rear both had in excess of 2oz. of weights.

Please share your experiences and any tips you could offer so I can help him be happy with his ride.

Thanks for your time and attention, it is most appreciated :smash:

 

Try rotating the tire 180 degrees on the rim.

 

My AFS wheel/tire combo was balanced on a Hunter and the operator did a poor job of interpreting the info. Way too much weight. Scroll down for pics in this thread... http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=510861

Have your buddy take the car to a shop that has something less "sophisticated" than the Hunter. The machine obviously gives the average wheel jockey more info than he can handle.

If your bud has to go to the same place, make sure he asks for the most experienced guy they have. You'll find that a proper balance will cut the wheel weighting by a large margin.


[Modified by Dan Parker '96, 9:15 PM 3/25/2003]

 

Thanks Mojo, Dan :cheers:

Anyone else have anything to add? Experiences to share?

When I originally bought my vette, the previous owner said I probably needed a balance. Took it to the shop and they were impressed that someone actually got all the weights to stick, there were so many, lol.

Fortunately, I didn't have any problems though. The tech broke the bead and did the 180* rotation trick and they all balanced out @ 3/4 oz. or less per wheel. My friend is not having such luck :crazy:

J

 

I had a problem Goodyear GSC on mine when I bought it. Guy would spin it, add the proper weights and spin again to check and it would be way off. After about three rounds of this the guy was getting very noticably pissed. Found out what the problem was later when it blew out on a very hot day in mid Missouri. Best I could come up with was the tire was coming apart inside the carcass and they heat finally did it in. Now try finding one of them tires in rural MO.

 

Do the tires have an apparently random red or yellow dot on the sidewall, down near the bead? If so, that is supposed to be lined up with the valvestem. Spinning the tires 180 on the rim won't help if the tire was off 90 degrees to start with ;)

 

Another thing to check would be the rotors. Some have weights in the fins that could come out.

 

I suspect the tire shop does not know what they are doing.
You can coerce the shop into doing it correctly if you know what to tell them.


Read this post to learn what they need to do:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=473933

 

Thanks Joe, Z51 Racer,John and BBA. He was to the point that he was just dealing with it and putting up with it. That is until he met me and started driving faster, lol :reddevil

:cheers:
J


[Modified by JCAIRE2, 6:50 PM 3/28/2003]

 

Is it the *absolute* latest Hunter machine? The 9700 with the Stabil-Trak feature? Those things are supposed to work miracles for high-performance wheels and tires.

 

You need a Hunter GSP 9700 and an experienced operator who knows what to look for.

You need roadforce measurements taken first, if your having this big of a problem with balancing, you almost certainly have an excessive roadforce issue.
The tech/machine will then measure the rim for roundness. The machine will do a calculation and make a recommendation as to whether OEmatching will bring the combo into specs. OE matching is neat, the machine finds the rim high point and tire low point, has the tech mark the rim/tire then remount with the marks lined up. (not an arbitrary 180*) The result is the roundest possible assy from that wheel/tire. I have been able to take off 15-20#'s of roadforce doing this. Noise and/or vibration is not always necessarily a "balance" problem, a perfectly balanced square still makes for a rough ride...

OEmatching will not always bring the combo into specs, the machine will tell you if it won't. And most often be able to determine which is the culprit, bent/out of round rim or a bad tire. Where you go from here depends on the results.

The coolest thing that machine does...
You can tell it where the wheel spokes are, and it will allow you to balance hiding the weights behind the spokes :cool:

Best of luck, let me know how it turns out...

Oh yeah, the machine has a very simple "print screen" command, before and after readings are available at the touch of a button.
And cheap tires show their stuff with consistently higher roadforce numbers, there is a difference.


[Modified by Ski2Tee, 7:29 PM 3/28/2003]

 

A defective wheel is a possibility as sometimess wheels are out of round, but if your buds having problems with all four thats probably not a possibility :confused:

 

Thanks Matt, Ski2Tee, and TA. The store he's dealing with has a hunter gsp9700, but I'm not certain if it has the stability program or not. I don't think the business is giving him the attention this problem deserves. Thanks again for your thoughts and suggestions.

:cheers: