turbo50mike

I just swapped my Kuhmo 710's for some Hoosier A6's. Same rims I've always used, but this time, the tire guy said one front rim/tire wanted over 8 Ounces of weight. Basically an entire box.

He put about 5 on, and it still wanted more (We put it back on the computer balancer he had while I was there, and it wanted 4 more ounces). So he said "Drive it, and see how it feels".

So I bolted the fronts on, and took it up to 100mph (on a closed course) and it feels fine.

Do they even need to be balanced? Or don't bother?

c4cruiser

I balance my autocross slicks. Even though the typical speeds are 70 or under for me, that is still fast enough to have the tire and wheels balanced. You may oinly be at that speed for a coulple seconds, but it's still freeway speed and you will feel a completely unbalanced tire.

What sort of a balancer machine did the guy use? Find a place with a Hunter GSP9700 Road Force machine. This machine can split weights all around the rim and anywhere from the inside to the outside of the wheel. 8 ounces seems like a bit much especially if the machine used shows it to be at one location and either inside or outside on the rim.

I had a set of ZR-1 5-spoke wheels done on the GSP0700 and the operator was able to balance the wheel assembly so that he could place the weights on the inside of the spokes. They were compleely hidden from view.

Sometimes, just turning the tire 90 degrees on the wheel will change the amount of weight and the location. A6's are not directional so the tire could have even been flipped over on the wheel. Guess it's how hard the balancer guy wants to work to get the tire balanced properly.

CHJ In Virginia

I always balance my track tires. Absolute stability at high speed is a must !!! YOU NEED TO FIRE YOUR TIRE GUY!! The proper method for handling a situation like that is to demount the tire and rotate it 90 to 180 deg. on the wheel. That way the tire and wheel imbalance will cancel each other out. Both tires and wheels need balancing, sometimes when the bad tolerances line up - as in your case - you need a lot of weight. It might take a couple of times to get it right, but worth the effort. Take it back and make him do the job correctly. That 8 ozs out of balance would have shaken out your fillings !

mikahb

Yep, especially if you're going to run them on track (vs AutoX) you'll want them balanced. I am constantly throwing wheel weights on-track (take note racers who may be trying to pass!) and it's not a good feeling having that vibration to worry about on top of everything else.

Eight ounces does seem like an awful lot. I would suggest having them mark the tire, dismount it and mount it up 180 degrees opposite on the wheel. Wheels are usually pretty close but if the "kinda heavy" spots line right up on a wheel and a tire, it can get ugly. If you do that and it still takes 8 ounces - I guess it's just a really out-of-whack tire from Hoosier.

autoxer6

Or your wheel is bent... You could have the wheel put on the balancer by it's self and see how much weight it wants. Then you will know. Dont balcnce the wheel alone, just check it. Wheels get bent sometimes.

turbo50mike

That's the funny thing. When I took the tires off the car to have the Kuhmo's removed, the wheel weights were GONE! They flew off somewhere (I even put a healthy strip of duct tape over them before I put them on the car two months ago) - The tape, the weights - gone.

And I never felt a thing - (just the fronts, the rears still had the weights). So that's what made me think maybe weights aren't 'that' important on the race tires since they are constantly picking up rubber snakes, losing rubber here and there differently across the tire, and getting some flat spots from time to time...

turbo50mike

I watched the wheel on the balancer, doesn't look like it's bent or running out at all (We even re-set it on the balancer 4 times). Like I said. I drove the car up to 100mph, and not even a hint of vibration.

Plus, I haven't spun, gone off, hit a pot hole, etc, etc with these rims, and I don't drive the car on the street at all.

C66 Racing

I balance mine and haven't ever experienced the problem you've encountered.

Jason

Yup I balance them, but don't sweat the occasional missing wheel weight.

John Shiels

regular duct tape just melts from brake heat. That's why the rears were still on less heat.

turbo50mike

I thought I smelled something burning.....:o

varkwso

I have seen some massive wheel weight due to tire variations. High speed vibrations really stink. If tires have been used check for flatspots...I have had new ones that were not round and needed to be shaved round...

AU N EGL

Use HVAC aluminum duct tape over the wts




Balance my fronts, Rears, not sure it is worth it, as the tire moves sometimes and inch or more over a weekend.

Guess I need to take some emery cloth and scuff up the inside of the rim were the tire bead meets the rim.

rfn026

I'm all for balancing but after your first session the tires may have rotated on the rim. There goes your balance.

At your next session paint a yellow mark on the tire where the valve stem is located. When you get back into the pits see how much your tire has rotated.

We checked 3 cars in our group last weekend. Out of 12 tires 5 of them had spun around on the rim. No one felt a thing.

Richard Newton

mcar00

I've tried just about everything to keep the tires from rotating on the rim. I don't think you can keep them from moving in a road race environment. What I do is first balance the wheel only and note those weights as "wheel". Then mount the tire and rebalance and mark those weights as "tire". Before I run the car I will mark the inside or outside of the tire as to where the "tire" weights belong. That way when I get home I just remove the "tire" weights and stick them back where they belong (which is the light part of the tire). Use the aluminum HVAC duct tape over the "wheel" weights since you should only need to balance the wheels once.

05_Black_Z51

Mad genius...

ZR1 MK

I mount my race tires myself dry (no lube) and balance them too. Dry mounting is more difficult, but it prevents the tires from rotating on the wheel. Doing it myself means lower cost, no drop off & pickup, no excess moisture, no more going back because they didnt do it correct the first time and no more damaged wheels.
My wheel weights get marked, a bead of silicone around all edges and taped.