Balancing new tires on Torq Thrust
11-26-2016, 11:01 AM
#1
Pro
Thread Starter
Balancing new tires on Torq Thrust
Installed new Cooper Cobra tires on AR Torq Thrust D's and the balance measurements were horrendous! One needed 7.5 oz on inner, and 8.5 on outer (That's ONE POUND!). The other was "slightly better" at 4.25 inner, and 9 oz outer.
The rims are 15" x 8" w/ 4" backspace, so when adding weights for outer side, I'm actually adding weight to the center, but the machine (Hunter 9600) was set up w/ the correct measurements/parameters, so takes this all into account when displaying where and how much weight to add. Used stick-on style.
I've had these rims for 10+ years w/ BFG's and FS Firehawks, but never had balancing numbers like this! Tire size: 255/60/15, C3 Vette.
Are tires defective? Is there a better way to balance these? I'd hate to use "tap-on" style on the outer/face-side (if that's better...?)
Ideas/suggestions...???
The rims are 15" x 8" w/ 4" backspace, so when adding weights for outer side, I'm actually adding weight to the center, but the machine (Hunter 9600) was set up w/ the correct measurements/parameters, so takes this all into account when displaying where and how much weight to add. Used stick-on style.
I've had these rims for 10+ years w/ BFG's and FS Firehawks, but never had balancing numbers like this! Tire size: 255/60/15, C3 Vette.
Are tires defective? Is there a better way to balance these? I'd hate to use "tap-on" style on the outer/face-side (if that's better...?)
Ideas/suggestions...???
Last edited by DR'76; 11-26-2016 at 11:23 AM. Reason: ...
11-28-2016, 12:45 PM
#2
Burning Brakes
Did you try rotating the tire? Maybe the heavy side of the tire and rim are to close to each other.
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DR'76 (11-28-2016)
11-28-2016, 06:42 PM
#4
Team Owner
If you've had these wheels for over 10 years, and used them with other tires, with good results, then at least IMHO, you've got a questionable set of tires!! I've mounted/balanced HUNDREDS of tires, over the years, and while rotating the tire on the rim is an old trick, when you've got a situation where you're 2-3 oz. of imbalance, as you've stated, you're looking at ONE POUND. There's NO WAY rotating the tire on the rim will fix that??
Are you sure the tire machine is in calibration? Is it just with two tires?
Are you sure the tire machine is in calibration? Is it just with two tires?
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DR'76 (11-28-2016)
11-28-2016, 09:10 PM
#5
Pro
Thread Starter
leadfoot4: I agree w/ your thoughts. While I've balanced MANY sets of tires myself, I was going to run it by our dedicated "Tires & Front-end guy", but he was out today. I'll double check w/ him on the calibration of the machine, too. I wasn't even going to bother trying to balance them w/ those measurements, but did so just for kicks. I had to stack stick-on weights 3-high to obtain a balance. The rims wouldn't even clear the calipers!! I also ran the "road force" measurements and they were surprisingly good: 5 lb and 7 lb. Our machine (Hunter 9600) warns us when this measurement exceeds 25 lb, so was surprised to see these numbers. It's also an indication that rotating the tire on rim will not change the results by much...
I also have a set to install on the front, but size 235/60/15. I am afraid to see what results I get w/ those!
These were an "eBay Deal" from Discount Tire Direct, so not a local store that I can return them to. Now (if they will take them back), I'll have to deal w/ all the hassles of boxing and shipping... Ugh! I guess you get what you pay for, but thought that Cooper's on an occasional driver would be OK!!!
I also have a set to install on the front, but size 235/60/15. I am afraid to see what results I get w/ those!
These were an "eBay Deal" from Discount Tire Direct, so not a local store that I can return them to. Now (if they will take them back), I'll have to deal w/ all the hassles of boxing and shipping... Ugh! I guess you get what you pay for, but thought that Cooper's on an occasional driver would be OK!!!
11-29-2016, 08:15 AM
#6
Team Owner
leadfoot4: I agree w/ your thoughts. While I've balanced MANY sets of tires myself, I was going to run it by our dedicated "Tires & Front-end guy", but he was out today. I'll double check w/ him on the calibration of the machine, too. I wasn't even going to bother trying to balance them w/ those measurements, but did so just for kicks. I had to stack stick-on weights 3-high to obtain a balance. The rims wouldn't even clear the calipers!! I also ran the "road force" measurements and they were surprisingly good: 5 lb and 7 lb. Our machine (Hunter 9600) warns us when this measurement exceeds 25 lb, so was surprised to see these numbers. It's also an indication that rotating the tire on rim will not change the results by much...
I also have a set to install on the front, but size 235/60/15. I am afraid to see what results I get w/ those!
These were an "eBay Deal" from Discount Tire Direct, so not a local store that I can return them to. Now (if they will take them back), I'll have to deal w/ all the hassles of boxing and shipping... Ugh! I guess you get what you pay for, but thought that Cooper's on an occasional driver would be OK!!!
I also have a set to install on the front, but size 235/60/15. I am afraid to see what results I get w/ those!
These were an "eBay Deal" from Discount Tire Direct, so not a local store that I can return them to. Now (if they will take them back), I'll have to deal w/ all the hassles of boxing and shipping... Ugh! I guess you get what you pay for, but thought that Cooper's on an occasional driver would be OK!!!
Sorry to hear about all of this. Just out of curiosity, what's the date code on the tires? Maybe they've been sitting too long on a rack in a warehouse, and/or at the bottom of a pile, and developed "issues". But then again, as your mentioned, those road force numbers are pretty good......
11-29-2016, 10:35 PM
#7
Pro
Thread Starter
Well, it looks like the tires aren't so bad after all! Here's what I did today:
I set the balancer up to measure for tap-on weights. The results were a much more respectable 2.25 oz per side (not "wonderful", but not terribly bad). I then removed the tire to see how much imbalance was from tire and how much was from the wheel. The bare rim had an imbalance of 1.25 oz outer and 0.75 oz inner, so that left 1.0 oz and 1.5 oz imbalance of the tire. Again, far-from perfect, but for what I paid for them, I guess I'm OK w/ it!
I now need to find "shiny" tap-on weights for the outer/face side of my polished aluminum rims. I work for a German manufacturer who's customers would never accept tap-on weights on their "precious" vehicle, so was only able to find a handful of them laying about the shop, but they were an awful "battleship grey", and I'd just hate to see these on the outside surface of the TT's!
So, I still can't explain how I had better luck w/ previous tires and was able to use stick-ons, but a majority of the imbalance was actually from my rims... Hmmmm??? And the date codes were "0915" and "0516" (a year apart, but not too old - I've installed much older tires on cars worth way much more than my house!)
Thanks again for the suggestions/advice/information
I set the balancer up to measure for tap-on weights. The results were a much more respectable 2.25 oz per side (not "wonderful", but not terribly bad). I then removed the tire to see how much imbalance was from tire and how much was from the wheel. The bare rim had an imbalance of 1.25 oz outer and 0.75 oz inner, so that left 1.0 oz and 1.5 oz imbalance of the tire. Again, far-from perfect, but for what I paid for them, I guess I'm OK w/ it!
I now need to find "shiny" tap-on weights for the outer/face side of my polished aluminum rims. I work for a German manufacturer who's customers would never accept tap-on weights on their "precious" vehicle, so was only able to find a handful of them laying about the shop, but they were an awful "battleship grey", and I'd just hate to see these on the outside surface of the TT's!
So, I still can't explain how I had better luck w/ previous tires and was able to use stick-ons, but a majority of the imbalance was actually from my rims... Hmmmm??? And the date codes were "0915" and "0516" (a year apart, but not too old - I've installed much older tires on cars worth way much more than my house!)
Thanks again for the suggestions/advice/information
11-30-2016, 07:21 AM
#8
Team Owner
Glad to hear you're making progress!
The last time I installed "tap-on" wheel weights on an aftermarket aluminum wheel (American Racing Vectors), was back in the late 70s/early 80s. Although they weren't shiny, as in chrome like, they were grey with a plastic coating, so as to not chemically interact with the wheels, and were Ford parts.
The last time I installed "tap-on" wheel weights on an aftermarket aluminum wheel (American Racing Vectors), was back in the late 70s/early 80s. Although they weren't shiny, as in chrome like, they were grey with a plastic coating, so as to not chemically interact with the wheels, and were Ford parts.