Wheel balancing - How much weight is too much?

[Iain]

I got a set of used Wolf wheels a few years ago. There was some surface rust and a little pitting, but nothing that worried me.

I had them stripped and powder coated, and now fitted with Michelin Latitude Cross tyres.

However they've taken a lot of weights to balance. The front right has over 150grams.

How much is normal? Should I be worried this is a sign of problems with the wheels?

[hurbie]

this is the reason i put ballancing beads in mine .... (normally used in HGV )

https://www.rematiptop.com/products/automotive/precisionbalance-balancing-compound.html

 

plus with this , every time you start driving , it ballances your wheels again 🙂 

[Peaklander]

That could easily be the tyre rather than the rim, couldn't it?

[Bowie69]

Did it wobble before balancing? 

[elbekko]

Did they balance it correctly? As in flat plate on the back, centering on the stud holes, instead of just ramming it on a cone?

I've had to go back to a tyre shop twice because they couldn't get it balanced until I noticed what they were doing...

[miketomcat]

Mine aren't balanced at all, mainly due to them being mach5 beadlocks so tyre shops won't touch them. Mine is a daily driver and I do around 12k a year, I do get a little wheel wobble but just put the worst one on the back. It doesn't seem to cause any real issues. The wife's 110 has beads which work very well. Doesn't really answer your question but it might help.

Mike

[Maverik]

I've only found 1 garage that will add whatever weight necessary to balance my wolf/Wrangler MTR's. I've been to countless garages that say sorry we've exceeded the weight maximum bla bla, they dont seem to be able to consider its not an Audi with lightweight alloy rims...

My wolfs have a good bit of weigh on them.

[muddy]

I never balance any landcover wheels(getting on for probably 50 sets now), but for it to need that much they should have spun the tyre 180 degrees to see if that made a difference if you really want it balanced.

[Anderzander]

I don’t balance mine any more.

I had them done ages ago - and they put masses of weight on. Some fell off - so I took the lot of and there was no change in how it drove. 

So since then I just don’t bother.

I honestly don’t think they really know how to do it. Not just that they tend to balance them from the wheel centre rather than the stud holes .. but how they want to default to putting the weights on the outside of the rim for ease - when that’s not necessarily the best spot to balance it. 

I honestly wouldn’t bother - get the spot lined up with the valve and then that’s it. 

[Iain]

Sorry about that previous response. I can't figure out how to remove quotes from the reply box. It just kept adding more. I thought if I submitted it, I could then delete it. It seems I can't figure that out either.

The tyres are brand new road focused tyres from a reputable manufacturer. I didn't expect them to be particularly out of balance. I know some motorcycle tyres usually have a spot to mark the heavy point, but didn't know that was still a thing on car tyres. (maybe huge knobbly mud tyres)

The balancing machine knows where the weights are going, so gives different amounts for weights on the inside and outside rim.

The point about balancing on the wheel hole rather than studs is a good one, especially on these rims where the centre hole may well be imperfect. Not sure how to get round that.

All I can really do is finish getting this thing back on the road, and see how it drives.

These were supposed to be the every-day road use wheels. I have another set which are mangels rims which were going to get something lumpier fitted. I can swap them round if need be.

[elbekko]

45 minutes ago, Iain said:

The point about balancing on the wheel hole rather than studs is a good one, especially on these rims where the centre hole may well be imperfect. Not sure how to get round that.

Find the old guy at your tyre shop and ask him to balance it like in the old days. The young guys most likely haven't even heard of a wheel that isn't hub-centric.

[landroversforever]

Another vote here for the beads that go inside.... it will always rebalance as you drive whether you've got chunks of rubber missing or added mud. 

[Anderzander]

1 hour ago, Iain said:

The balancing machine knows where the weights are going, so gives different amounts for weights on the inside and outside rim.

I’m saying that because I’ve seen someone put loads of weight on and a more experienced operator change the location to the centre of the wheel and get a better balance with less weights - I've also seen other operators struggle with what it’s telling them.  Mud tyres and the wheel type may be the source of that …. But it eroded my confidence in them balancing them well. 

[Anderzander]

Just looked - I think Michelin’s don’t have a spot, perhaps others don’t either. My Toyo’s have them though.

[simonpelly]

The beads for balancing sounds interesting. Anyone managed to source these in the UK?

[hurbie]

18 minutes ago, simonpelly said:

The beads for balancing sounds interesting. Anyone managed to source these in the UK?

every tyre shop that does HGV tyres has these in stock .

[smallfry]

I would agree with Elbekko on this one. Either that or the tyre, but I would expect Michelin to be not far out. Budget brands are a bit hit and miss for balance.

Also, try breaking the bead and turn the tyre in relation to the rim.

This is why you should have your very own tyre machine, and balancer 🙂

[Diff]

I have been using 6mm .20g precision BBs for many years in several sets of road tyres. They work perfectly. Several threads on balancing here:

Regards, Diff.

[bishbosh]

17 hours ago, Diff said:

I have been using 6mm .20g precision BBs for many years in several sets of road tyres. They work perfectly. Several threads on balancing here:

Regards, Diff.

Wot he said. Airsoft BB's. Cheap as chips, break the bead , pour in about 150g, re-inflate and you're done.

[Jon White]

I rarely bother to balance tyres on any vehicle. Never find it makes any difference at all. It’s just something else the tyre places can charge you for.

I certainly never bother on landrover wheels.

Same with prop shafts - never bother with balancing and dont suffer from vibrations. 

It probably makes a difference on an F1 car, but not on a Land Rover.

[landroversforever]

Just now, Jon White said:

I rarely bother to balance tyres on any vehicle. Never find it makes any difference at all. It’s just something else the tyre places can charge you for.

I certainly never bother on landrover wheels.

Same with prop shafts - never bother with balancing and dont suffer from vibrations. 

It probably makes a difference on an F1 car, but not on a Land Rover.

Prop will have already been balanced, unless you're DIY shortening/lengthening. 

Wheel balance does make a difference on normal cars... Over the ~110k miles I've put on the daily, I've had a couple of set of tyres that had a vibration at ~60-70ish. Which were instantly gone as soon as the tyres were changed (same bits of road). Probably makes less of a difference on a LR, but still worth doing IMO.

[Jon White]

Yes I’m DIY shortening, modifying, changing ends over to suit differing trans etc. Have never bothered with balance. Just set up a DTI on it to make sure it’s straight. Never had a vibration.

I fit my own tyres on anything classic or that i have built and again never bother with wheel balance - even on my hot rod. (Wheel weights are unsightly).

I can DIY fit low profiles to the daily, but mostly cant be bothered so just let the tyre guys do their thing.

IMHO its not worth it on an off roader - one big lump of mud, or one big chunk of tread chewed off on a rock and its immediately out of balance again.

[Sigi_H]

Don´t worry about the amount of weight per wheel.

Worry about loosing them. The more peaces there are, the bigger is the chance so lose some offroad.