Balancing tires on bent steel rims?

[jyrostng]

I've had more experience than I EVER wanted on this subject but didn't see much in a site search.
A electronic balancer using lead, can show a perfect balance on a bent rim, however, if you were to place that rim on a static bubble balancer you would see that the tire wasn't balanced because the machine compensated for the bent rim by making the tire out of balance.

One bent rim on the front, you may not notice much but a steady vibration. Two bent rims on the front will cause the vibration to come and go as you travel down the road. The rims always rotate at slightly different speed. As the bend opposes and counteracts each other the vibration comes and goes gradually, you can feel it in the wheel.

[wa8yxm]

On the electronic balancers I've seen in use if the rim is bent the OPERATOR will see it and reject the rim.

I then go to a specific Welding shop on Telegraph road As I recall between 5 and 6 mile) in Detroit and hand them the RIM. Come back a day or two later and have the tire re-mounted and balanced.

Even if it's a mag alum rim with a chunk missing

Yup, they are that good.

[T18skyguy]

For many years I did dynamic balancing of aircraft engines and propellers. The measuring system is the same, and the principle's are the same. The rule was never try to balance something that's fundamentally defective. Balancing augments a good product, but does not cure a bad product. One thing to consider is that if you try to balance a bad wheel, it may look like you succeed, but it won't keep the balance, then your just as bad off as you started. Be safe, get a new wheel.

[All_I_could_aff]

When I had an auto repair shop many years ago people would often come in with complaints of vibration on the highway. Sometimes the spin ballance would be the solution, other times it would reveal the bent rim or distorted tire.
Most people understood that the balancer was not the solution, but every once in a while I'd have a customer insist I could still balance it away.
Id tell them " I could spin balance a square tire for you if you like, but it still won't run down the road smooth."

[wildmanbaker]

Try a truck tire, repair shop. They should know about used rims, and some rim rebuilders. About half of new prices. Some shops can straighten bent rims.

[jyrostng]

Most used steel rims are bent some, you won't know till the tire is being balanced on a machine and you see it for yourself. 2 Accuride steel 19.5 rims are around $700 new. I bought 2 from southwest wheel.

[time2roll]

If the wheel is bent... are you not looking for a new one?
Why even put it on the balancer?

[Gjac]

Tire run out also, an out of round tire won't balance either. The easiest way to check for this is to jack the tire off the ground and spin it by hand and you will see the run out. To measure it put a board under the tire and spin it and and measure the gap between the board and tire. I don't know who still shaves tires to eliminate this run out but I can't find a store near me that still does it.

[sch911]

Wheel run out cannot be fixed with any type of balancing period.

[Sam_Spade]

rgatijnet1 wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Install Centramatic balancers and your problems go away.

Only replacement or repair will fix a bent rim. Balancing beads or the much more expensive Centramatics can smooth out the ride but still not correct the problem.

A really LOT of people, including some who work in the retail tire business, don't seem to understand that a tire/rim can be perfectly "in balance" but still be defective.

Out of round, out of true, slipped belts, flat spots, etc. will NOT be cured by simple balancing.

A savvy tire installer will watch the tire/rim while it's on the spin balancer; most important defects will show up at low spin speeds.

[rgatijnet1]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Install Centramatic balancers and your problems go away.

Only replacement or repair will fix a bent rim. Balancing beads or the much more expensive Centramatics can smooth out the ride but still not correct the problem.

[Bill_Satellite]

Install Centramatic balancers and your problems go away.

[Jim]

For most of my driving life, I've always checked the rims simply by rolling them on a flat cement floor and watching them roll away. A true rim will roll straight and true, while a bad rim will wobble. Have been doing this for so long, can't even remember what caused me to do it in the first place. 🙂

Did you also have excessive tire wear? And an odd pattern to tire wear?