Centramatic Wheel Balancers

[bjbear]

Just installed a couple of sets of Centramatic Wheel Balancers. First test drive did not show that much improvement, but things were already pretty smooth as I just had new tires and some front end work (new ball joints, drag link and steering stabilizer) done a couple of weeks ago. We are heading out on a long trip (3000 km ++) on Sunday so we will see how it goes. Will report back after the trip.

[Bedlam]

Sorry you're having so many balancing issues. My Dynatracs are rolling along with about 25K miles on them now and I only touch the lug nuts to rotate front to rear every 5K miles. Twice a month, I check pressures and really have only adjusted for ambient temperatures.

[billyray50]

Update on 19.5 vision and Dynatrac PD 890 245s. After 2000 miles I still have bad vibration after reaching 50 mph. Going to take it to Firestone here in Syracuse, N.Y. tomorrow morning. Since I have lifetime alignment and balancing will let them take a shot at it.:? Hope for the best. I am looking at some commercial truck places too here in central new York area. I stopped at a truck shop near Ohio on way up 2 weeks ago and was told they do not have any weights that small and do not work on 19.5s tires. Trying to find places that do the truing process if need be too. I will say there is a big improvement in sway and handling than my stock wheels and Nitto Durras 285/75r/17s.

[bjbear]

Just got back home from my trip ... > 3000 kms across British Columbia to Gabriola Island and then back through the Okanagan. All kinds of road from highway to gravel.

There was a definite improvement in ride quality using the centamatic balancers. No vibration through the steering wheel. Made it a pleasure to drive.

My conclusion is that they work and I feel I got my moneys worth.

[pappawheely]

I run 37" tires on beadlock wheels. Worst case scenario for conventional balancing. I run Centramatics. They give me an incredible ride quality and I can take my beadlocks apart to repair a tire and put them back together and they will be just as balanced.

In my 40 years of working with vehicles I have maybe seen one tire that did not require balancing. That covers everything from low profile racing tires to 40 inch tall mud tires. I had a set of street tires trued on my sportscar many years ago and they still needed some weight to balance. At a minimum, you need to compensate for the valve stem. I love my Centramatics!

[Mike_and_Terry_]

Took northern route from Pa to washington and down the coast of oregon ,now i'm in idaho and didn't have any problems with beads in my tires . I kinda think the ride has less vibration. yes vote for the beads.

[Wheelholder]

After truing the tires, would get them rebalanced and you may not need any extra items to make them ride smooth.

Also,you might want to see if they are mounted properly. There is a line around the tire that should be equidistance from the rim. There are times when a tire is mounted and the shop did not use enough lubricant, causing the tire to seat improperly. Any good truck tire shop should be able to either help or send you to a place that can.

[Reddog1]

artguys wrote:
... they now reside in my back yard collecting rust. And by the way were purchased in 1999 for $50.00 each, seems like the price hasn't changed. ...

I bought a set of Centramatics for my previous tires and wheels. They were aluminum. You post yours are "collecting rust", are you sure they are Centramatics? I was not aware any Centramatics made of steel.

Wayne

[billyray50]

Thanks Larry37. I will definitely heed your advice. I hope it is only 1 tire. I talked with wheelrack before purchasing wheel/tire combo and he brought up that sometimes truing process has to be done. He said people do not realize that these are HD commercial trucks tires and that when put on regular pick ups it is totally different than regular light duty tires.

[Larry37]

Billyray50
I bought the same setup from same shop and they vibrated terrible.
Wheelrack wouldn't do anything about it. Long story. So I had to get it fixed.
I tried balancing to no help and ended up finding all 4 tires out of round , one as much as 1/4 inch best was 1/8 inch out. The way I found this was jack up one tire until it's just off the ground then slowly rotate and if it hits ground it's not round.
Only way to fix is have them trued, some semi tire shops can still do this but you will have to search.
As far as balancing I used air soft pellets ( works the same as centramatics and dyna beads but much cheaper ) do a search off this forum and there is lots of info.
Use the heaviest beads you can find and each tire will need about 3 cups ( after truing they will be really out of balance and need the extra media too much won't hurt anything ).
I'm currently in alaska with about 8k miles and no issues now.

[jimh406]

I'd try calling wheel rack. Rickson is in Maryland. I think it is going to be ok for your trip.

[billyray50]

This subject is concerning me in realtime right now. As some of you know i just had my 19.5 vision wheels and Dyna trac pd 890 16 ply 245/19.5 tires. Ordered and delivered from wheelrack. They come match mounted, weight balanced, 2 balancing bead bags. Firestone near me mounted new wheel/ tire combo for free, know the manager, and he asked me if i wanted him to check balance with road force and i told to hold off and lets see how they felt for a little bit. Well a week of driving with camper loaded tires felt great but never got over 55 mph with them. Packed of for trip Dw, granddaughter and I and after during 900 mile trip so far i am experiencing vibration and shimmy when truck gets over 58 a little. Set cruise to 62 not too bad just a little shimmy in front end and steering wheel. Alignment is good. Increase speed to 64 to 68 and it is pretty bad . One of these tires is off balance. I am in KOA in buck eye lake east of columbus Ohio. Anyone know a good place in Ohio to take truck in that deals with these commercial tires? Really like to take care of this before getting back on road to upstate new york.

[JumboJet]

joeshmoe wrote:
Just let this ol boy do it. I'm sure it's fine.:S

balancing by "feel"

My mechanic used the same mechanism to spin the tire, but used a strobe light and kept his hand on the car.

I am all for whatever works for you, just do it, and whatever works for me, I do it. I have seen people balance wheels/tires in a tub of water.

[joeshmoe]

Just let this ol boy do it. I'm sure it's fine.:S

balancing by "feel"

[JumboJet]

I call BS on not needing to balance a tire and wheel on a car or truck.

A good friend of mine (now passed away from Mesothelioma)who worked on front ends, brakes, and balancing tires, always balanced on the vehicle and showed me the exact reasons for doing so. I would watch the radio antenna as he would spin the wheel/tires up to my normal driving speed. Once he had everything set correctly, the radio antenna would stop vibrating. I have also noticed the passenger seat in a vehicle vibrate when a tire is out of balance. Charles would then take the vehicle out for a test drive and take the vehicle up to your normal driving speed. He was even pulled over a time or two for speeding on a road that was not equivalent to Interstate speeds.

I have used Equal and now have the Centramatic balancers. My truck wheel combinations weigh 110 lbs. each. That is a lot of spinning mass that if left unbalanced would destroy front end parts and irritate you while driving.

Tires are not perfectly round and some are not straight on the wheel when mounted (excess run out - wobble). Some tires will never balance perfectly.

What I like about the Centramatic balancers is they adjust on the fly and take into consideration all the moving components.

I admit I am no expert, but 52 years of driving everything on the planet except the Space Shuttle mover, I will use some method of balancing wheels and tires.

Just for the heck of it, go knock those weights off your drive shaft.

[ticki2]

artguys wrote:
Happy you asked...to start, I own a 2009 F250 with camper package and just bought a set of tires from Discount tire. Not only was the balancing refused on this set but it's been many years since I've had any balanced.

1. Because of the quality of tires being manufactured today, unless you own a Porsche 911 or a like vehicle it for the most part isn't needed on most vehicles. Especially so the larger the vehicle becomes. Now a disclaimer...for anyone intent on buying the absolute cheapest tire they can find then balancing may be needed.

2. Revolutions of the tire wheel combination. If at normal highway speeds 35 to 65 on average the revolutions aren't high enough to create a issue.

3. Unsprung weight...wheel and tire are part of a vehicles unsprung weight. To use my truck as a example the tire and wheel weight are about 75 lbs. That alone is enough to negate any unbalanced condition that could come from the tire or wheel. And I use steel wheels, no alloy, because they work better with radial tires. More can be given on that if needed.

4. Suspension...today's suspensions are more in tune with overall design than ever, even frame twist is part of that equation. From reason 1 thru 6 all are connected. Especially so the way vehicles are sprung. On mine the front is sprung so well the OE shocks may never be replaced.

5. Weight placement. Most conventional way of balancing is with wheel weights, tape or clip. The size/amount have been coming down for years, this again because of the quality of the tires being produced. So where are they placed...too close to the center too matter. Same goes for the Centramatics.

As for Equal or other like products the need is so small it's too much of a risk allowing them inside your tires. I've tested them and found no appreciable damage to the liners. However given that the liners used in tires today are not as robust as they once we're and knowing that they probably aren't needed anyway why push it.

6. This is not a opinion, I've spent many years, too much money and resources, along with giving this advice and giving up additional revenues as a result. But the relationship with the customer made it worth the effort.

Again you have to consider each point made and the fact that when tied together the result is convincing. By the way as a consultant I used to charge for this, to you it's free.

So if I am understanding you correctly you are saying it is not necessary to balance tires by any means , except cheap tires .


In over 50 years of driving I have had exactly one tire that needed no weights to run without vibration .