Yes, the fact that the custom stems are 180-degrees from each other must help with the balance.
That is certainly a field-expedient method of breaking a bead. Seems like a lot more could get broken too ;)
Tire techs have a machine that does that with a push of a button. They are also really good at slipping the new stem in, not losing the nut, and getting it angled and torqued just right. So I was glad to have the tech do that part.