Continuous Tire/Wheel balancer

[Bigmellon]

I thought that maybe some of you out there would be interested in possibly smoothing out your ride a bit with bigger tires. I know I still have some vibration at speed!!!

Continuous wheel balancers are used heavily in the trucking industry to get maximum life out of a set of tires. It allows for dynamic balancing of the wheel as you drive!!! These are a device that bolts between the wheel and the wheel hub on your truck. They have a fluid and heavy metal ring that balances the wheel through centrifugal force. I think they can compensate for between 10 and 15 oz. total. That means that many of us wouldn't have to even spin balance the tires!!! That is unless they are already badly cupped.

There is a company that has now released a balancer in a 15" wheel size. I think these were used before on a lot of Jeeps. Thankfully, we share the same 5x4.5" bolt pattern and therefore we have a match!! Unfortunately, they had been having trouble with fit related to the disc brake calipers. I think they redesigned it to fit better.

I ordered a set and they will be here in just a few more days. I can post more information early next week with how they work and if I like them.... It does sound tantalizing, doesn't it?!!!

If you want to check it out in the meantime, here is the company link:http://www.centramatic.com/

Otherwise, you can do a search for continuous wheel balancer... There are a few companies that make them, but only this one that has them in a size that we can use....

 

[Jason_25]

Looks like they have them in 16's and 17's for the sport truck guys too!

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for them? and did you get 4?

 

[jimbo74]

i saw a review in a mag recently about a poly composite sand that always balanced the tire, bad part was, you had to inflate it with a special air dryer that dries out the compressed air source... they are supposed to be quite good.... i get my wheels balanced for free and i always make sure they are off no more than .03 of an once, thats close enough for me....

 

[Bigmellon]

I paid about $150 for a complete set of four. These work with a "heavy" metal and oil ring. It is almost like lead shot that is free to roll around in a viscous oil. No inflation or service is ever required. Just bolt them on! I am hoping to get them later today. Then, I may be able to get them mounted this weekend!!

I have heard mixed reviews from people. They either love them, or hate them!! Hopefully, I can try to give an un-biased oppinion when they get here!

 

[410Fortune]

Jimbena:

I know a guy who swears by that stuff! I am going to have it done on my MT's.....we shall see.....

Heck sounds like a perfect solution to me! truckers have been doing it for years, why not us!

You put in a certain amount of the sand based on the tire size, then it gets filled up just like normal......

 

[james t]

Originally posted by jimabena74
air dryer that dries out the compressed air source...

really not a big deal. same air drier you would use for painting. sears and other places have drier/filters for $25-60. only problem, you would allways have to use your compressor to air up tires. no Kwiky-Mart air ups.

 

[Bigmellon]

Ah!! The darn order was delayed... They are PROMISING it to be here this Friday........ Hopefully I can report better news when they get here.

 

[becker69]

Bigmellon; Dude let us know what you think.... at highway speeds and street. This would solve some of the difficulty they have with ballancing my wheels (the lip only allows them to put weights on the inside... which isn't too bad of problem for me). Because I have one wheel/tire that they can't ballance without at least 6 ozs of weight... (they told me have the tire re-mounted 180 degrees off of where it is currently and try). But with something like this I wouldn't have to worry about throwing weights while off-roadin'!!! Let us know how much install is, too.

 

[Byrd91]

So these bolt on between the hubs and wheels, how much width do they add?

 

[Bigmellon]

Supposedly, they will be here this afternoon... I'll let you know what I think IF they are here... I would imagine that they are less than 1/8" thick between the hub and the wheel. Check out their website for more info.

 

[Bigmellon]

I finally got them in. They fit on the back no problem, but were kind of a pain to get on the front. Regardless, they are on now, and they work!!! No vibration problems!!!

One bad thing though - They fill the "holes" in my wheels with a bright aluminum color. I think I may paint them black. They go between the wheel and the hub. I gues it could help with brake dust as well....

 

[ajevenson]

None of the pictures on the website are showing up. Do you have any pics of it installed or during install?

 

[Byrd91]

I'm bumping up this old thread, just wondering if you are still liking the continuous balancers or not...