a 1200 dollar option (polished wheels) .... I have had some nice wheels in the past and every tire shop that I went to and watched over their shoulder used inside the wheel stick on weights .... so what does GM know verus the tire shops or is it $'s for GM?

PS - I've seen a number of guys post wheels for sale with marks from the tire wieghts!!!!!

 

My local Goodyear guys have always managed to get a good balance just by using inside weights. Not one wheel weight scuff on MY wheels. :nono:

 

Every tire shop I've taken custom wheels to has told me they will do their best just adding weight to the inside, but they can't gurantee a perfect balance in doing so. Of course anyone with high dollar custom wheels doesn't want visible weights on the outside lip, so it becomes a sacrifice in looks vs. perfect balance.

If GM did this, they would likely have numerous complaints and warranty claims from new car buyers for out-of-balance wheels.

:cheers:

 

So is it really that GM gets a better balance on the outside of the wheel .... seems to cheap for the GM bean counters to be true!!!!! :grouphug:

 

:iagree: with Z28Z28

 

I never noticed a difference after running the tape weights on the inside only

 

So how is it you get a better wheel balance by putting the weights on the outside vers the inside? I would think to be perfect you would have to do both.

 

No wheel/tire balances exactly the same. No one said you can always achieve better balance by only placing weights on the outside. If you need weight inside, you add to the inside, if you need weight outside, you add to the outside. It depends where and how the wheel/tire is out of balance. But it does have to do with the mass of the wheel, which generally leans towards the outside of the wheel.

Since much of the mass of the rotating assembly is towards the outside of the wheel, especially on a C5 with very high wheel offsets, it is usually difficult to overcome an out-of balance situation by only using weights on the inside. That's not to say it's not possible, just not likely. Just because you don't notice any shimmy doesn't mean it's perfectly balanced. Balancing with weight only on the inside (behind the center of the wheel) can get you close enough, but more than likely, it will never be ideal.

Think of a see-saw here...if one side goes down (added weight causing the out of balance), you can't counteract it too well by adding weight in the middle, which is about as best you can achieve adding weights behind the wheel center. True wheel balance is more than just radial forces, a good balancing machine will show the axial imbalance as well.

:cheers:

 

I would love to know the answer to this myself! Just got my ride out of the dealership shop for tire change and balance. They took the factory weights off and put new ones on... on the outside AGAIN!! Even after seeing what the factory weights did to the wheel. :cuss :nono:

 

My take on the GM factory (or any factory) putting weight on the wheel rim is simple...it's easier, faster and cheaper for them to do it that way. when the marks are seen, it's not their problem. I have been trying to get the balancing weight marks off the wheels by having a wheel refinisher polish the wheels and then clear coat them. It's expensive and I probably should have just bought a new set of wheels. But I now have so much invested in refinished wheels that I'll stick with what I have. My 2003 Blazer (with 2K miles) has the weights on the rim and I'm thinking of getting them all re-balanced with inside weights.

 

This is how I have it done on my truck--I haven't needed to balance tires---yet

 

:iagree: :iagree: :rofl:

 

Ok, regardless of why they did it, now that I have news tires and rebalanced wheels....

How do I clean the wheel where the old weights were without runing the clear coat or scratching the wheel?

 

If washing it doesn't clean it up, your clear coat is already damaged where the wheel weights were.

You can try some to clay and scratch remover (if the clay doesn't work) to see if you can remove the damaged part of clear coat. It the clear coat is clouded or scratched down to the metal, perhaps you can strip the clear coat in that area and touch up with new clear coat. Good luck!

 

Would it be possible to put a small piece of protective plastic under the weight? Like the stuff people put on their cars in the winter up north to protect the finish. I would think that would protect the wheel.

 

That's the point, you can't clean the mark off. If the factory hasn't damaged the wheel when the weight was attached, than the road vibrations will. The longer the weight is on the rim, the more likely your wheel will show a balancing weight mark. A good tire store will place the weights on the inside. The best way is to clean the inside surface of the wheel and cement the weights in place using double sided tape or RTV silicone and maybe even duct tape over that. It depends on how good the cement is.

 

I'm not familiar with protective plastic (Pennsylvania is far north enough) material. However I can't imagine anything that would protect the wheel. A tire dealer that I use says that the stick on weights placed on the inside do just as good a job balancing the wheel as the clamp on the rim weights the factory uses. It's just that the tire dealers would rather not use the inside weights because they are more expensive.

 

A forum vendor Zip sells cleartastic (www.cleartastic.com). That is what I had in mind.

Yes, Pennsylvania is far north. Heck, my definition of "North" is if you get snow EVERY year :crazy:

 

Recently had new tires put on at a great shop. On the rears they were able to put the taped weights on the inside pretty much out of view. They tried to do the same on the fronts, but even though they were thin weights, (thinner than stock at least) the weights rubbed on the brake calipers. So they had to be moved to the outside to avoid problems.

 

[QUOTE]So how is it you get a better wheel balance by putting the weights on the outside vers the inside? I would think to be perfect you would have to do both.
No wheel/tire balances exactly the same. No one said you can always achieve better balance by only placing weights on the outside. If you need weight inside, you add to the inside, if you need weight outside, you add to the outside. It depends where and how the wheel/tire is out of balance. But it does have to do with the mass of the wheel, which generally leans towards the outside of the wheel.

Since much of the mass of the rotating assembly is towards the outside of the wheel, especially on a C5 with very high wheel offsets, it is usually difficult to overcome an out-of balance situation by only using weights on the inside. That's not to say it's not possible, just not likely. Just because you don't notice any shimmy doesn't mean it's perfectly balanced. Balancing with weight only on the inside (behind the center of the wheel) can get you close enough, but more than likely, it will never be ideal.

Think of a see-saw here...if one side goes down (added weight causing the out of balance), you can't counteract it too well by adding weight in the middle, which is about as best you can achieve adding weights behind the wheel center. True wheel balance is more than just radial forces, a good balancing machine will show the axial imbalance as well.

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree: Like it or not thats the facts