Centermatics or Balance Beads ???

[Cummins12V98]

New tires arriving this week from Simple Tire. My aluminum wheels don't have a lip for weights and I don't trust the stick on weights to stay put. Money not to be considered any suggestions and reasons for why.

New tires are GY KMAX T 245/70/R17.5 LR "J" and 18 ply @75# each with a carrying capacity of 6k @ 125psi $2,206.72 out the door.

Centermatics $219 set of 4.

[Cummins12V98]

MFL wrote:
Why the new wheels?? The ones you have look great! Maybe a weight carrying issue?

The stick ons should work great! I'm curious though, as to questionable use on steel wheels, did the manager give a reason, that made sense to you?

Anyway...if you lose those stick on wts, you can always bill the guy recommending them, for the rebalance.

Jerry

I had a tire separate and do some surface damage to two wheels. I am also getting all new Continental "J" 18 ply tires so I figured for what I am getting for the two wheels it will make selling my one year old "H" tires with wheels much easier.

I will ask him his thoughts on the steel wheels when I get the tires.

Good price for Alcoa's $290 no tx or shipping.

[MFL]

Why the new wheels?? The ones you have look great! Maybe a weight carrying issue?

The stick ons should work great! I'm curious though, as to questionable use on steel wheels, did the manager give a reason, that made sense to you?

Anyway...if you lose those stick on wts, you can always bill the guy recommending them, for the rebalance.

Jerry

[Cummins12V98]

I have new Alcoa's coming so I will have Americas tire use stick on weights. I asked the store manager about the stick on's and he said on aluminum good to go and steel not so much.

[blofgren]

Dtank wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

hypoxia wrote:

Durb wrote:
My trailer bearings are sensitive to wheel offset which the Centramatics increase so I wouldn't use them.

You must have a different set of Centramatics than I have seen. Mine are thin sheet metal, 1/16" perhaps. I don't think your wheel bearings will notice. :h

I am not thinking the minimal thickness would be an issue.

That was what I thought also - until I tried the CMs. I have a two wheel drive 2005, 1-T Dodge Ram.

I bought the CMs, but I was not comfortable with the amount of "thread/s" remaining -"showing"- on the (front wheel) studs when the CMs were mounted. (behind factory Aluminum wheels).

Returned them. Nice lady in TX with a great Southern Drawl, said she had heard from others with similar problem.

No such problem with the Balance Masters - which are still on my (the same) truck....my receipt indicates I installed them Feb. of 2012. Maybe the CM metal is thinner now?

Tires have never shown any abnormal wear patterns.

BTW - thanks for the reminder! Had meant to put a pair on the rear wheels also....:W

~

This is very interesting; do you have your wheels/tires balanced? Or is it necessary with the Balance Masters?

[MFL]

With yours being hub centric, and disc brakes, a good balance should be easy for a quality shop. IMO...give the stick on wts a try. Suggest a prep cleaning, before sticking wts (they should know that anyway). Best to watch, but that's not always possible.

You can mark the weights, when returning, with a permanent felt tip pen, and check after several tows, that they are still there, for peace of mind.

Jerry

[Cummins12V98]

ChuckSteed wrote:
Since standard RV wheels are LUG CENTERED and not hub centered I would have to question these... Ive been towing trailers and fifth wheels for over 45 years and have never balanced a tire on the RV

If you have the bucks then go for it... Ceramic beads would be much better than these .. and I have been using those on my motorcycle tires for decades...

The heavier RV's have Hub Centric with 5/8" studs as shown on my DRV.

[ChuckSteed]

Since standard RV wheels are LUG CENTERED and not hub centered I would have to question these... Ive been towing trailers and fifth wheels for over 45 years and have never balanced a tire on the RV

If you have the bucks then go for it... Ceramic beads would be much better than these .. and I have been using those on my motorcycle tires for decades...

[Dtank]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

hypoxia wrote:

Durb wrote:
My trailer bearings are sensitive to wheel offset which the Centramatics increase so I wouldn't use them.

You must have a different set of Centramatics than I have seen. Mine are thin sheet metal, 1/16" perhaps. I don't think your wheel bearings will notice. :h

I am not thinking the minimal thickness would be an issue.

That was what I thought also - until I tried the CMs. I have a two wheel drive 2005, 1-T Dodge Ram.

I bought the CMs, but I was not comfortable with the amount of "thread/s" remaining -"showing"- on the (front wheel) studs when the CMs were mounted. (behind factory Aluminum wheels).

Returned them. Nice lady in TX with a great Southern Drawl, said she had heard from others with similar problem.

No such problem with the Balance Masters - which are still on my (the same) truck....my receipt indicates I installed them Feb. of 2012. Maybe the CM metal is thinner now?

Tires have never shown any abnormal wear patterns.

BTW - thanks for the reminder! Had meant to put a pair on the rear wheels also....:W

~

[ktmrfs]

Grit dog wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:
I've been using stick on weights for 20+ years, probably a total of over 500K miles on many vehicles. I've never had a stick on weight come off. It's the only weight I will let a shop put on a wheel.

Trust issues, lol. Probably the only guy requesting hammer on weights on his nice wheels.

I've actually had hammer on weights come off, rare but it did happen twice on different vehicles, different shops putting the weights on. But never have had a tape on weight come off.

[Cummins12V98]

Durb wrote:
I have Centramatics on all four corners of my truck. The difference of smoothness in the ride is noticeable and worth it to me. I never considered putting them on the trailer. I would think your air pin box is dissipating enough trailer energy that you wouldn't notice trailer tires' balance improvements in the cab of your truck. My trailer bearings are sensitive to wheel offset which the Centramatics increase so I wouldn't use them. Might try the beads for thirty bucks though.

I feel zero vibration from the RV without weights. I was thinking these tires being so heavy it's possible they could cause bearing damage from being unbalanced.

I do like the idea of the weights being centered on the inside of the wheel. Biggest concern is if they spend the time to make sure the surface is prepped properly.

Maybe I should just spend the money on Centermatics for the truck when it's time to replace the tires.

[Cummins12V98]

schlep1967 wrote:
The balance beads work in my motorcycle. Just make sure you follow the instructions for how much to put in the size tires you have.
Also, some installers don't like spilling little ceramic beads on the floor of the garage so they just throw the whole bag in. Thinking the bag will break. And it will eventually. But until it does your tire will be very out of balance. Make sure the bags are opened and emptied into the tire or installed through the valve stem.

I can see it would be a mess for the shop when it came time to replace the tires.

[Cummins12V98]

hypoxia wrote:

Durb wrote:
My trailer bearings are sensitive to wheel offset which the Centramatics increase so I wouldn't use them.

You must have a different set of Centramatics than I have seen. Mine are thin sheet metal, 1/16" perhaps. I don't think your wheel bearings will notice. :h

I am not thinking the minimal thickness would be an issue.

[Grit_dog]

ktmrfs wrote:
I've been using stick on weights for 20+ years, probably a total of over 500K miles on many vehicles. I've never had a stick on weight come off. It's the only weight I will let a shop put on a wheel.

Trust issues, lol. Probably the only guy requesting hammer on weights on his nice wheels.

[schlep1967]

The balance beads work in my motorcycle. Just make sure you follow the instructions for how much to put in the size tires you have.
Also, some installers don't like spilling little ceramic beads on the floor of the garage so they just throw the whole bag in. Thinking the bag will break. And it will eventually. But until it does your tire will be very out of balance. Make sure the bags are opened and emptied into the tire or installed through the valve stem.