Bead Balancing Tires?

[Mayhem]

Anyone have experince with this? See some are using airsoft BBs, others 177 cal galv steel BBs. I have some P235 75 R15 tires I want to try this on. Looking for info on which beads, how much, etc.

Thanks

[colt45]

I have been using bead balancing in my 3/4 ton truck for years. I get the tire shop to put them in when I buy the tires, the work good for people who work in muddy conditions. The beads will balance out with muddy rims in a short while and your good to go, unlike balancing out on outside of rims, where you have to clean rims to get back to a balanced tire

[sweld]

It's a little more precise then just adding bb's to your tires lol. There are pre packaged beads that you put in when u mount the tire. Depending on tire sizes you put in a certain ounce package of beads.


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[Mayhem]

Sorry, should have clarified, I am mounting the tires so would put them in at that time. I don't want to just "wing it". Where are they available? Any certain brand/type to use or avoid?

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by sweld

It's a little more precise then just adding bb's to your tires lol. There are pre packaged beads that you put in when u mount the tire. Depending on tire sizes you put in a certain ounce package of beads.


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x2
I have been using beads for years. Honestly can't remember the last time I had a set of wheels with weights. At least 15 years ago, probably closer to 20.
If I remember right, they actually spin the tires and use the amount of beads accordingly. Could be remembering wrong though

[jcrayford]

Originally Posted by Mayhem

Anyone have experince with this? See some are using airsoft BBs, others 177 cal galv steel BBs. I have some P235 75 R15 tires I want to try this on. Looking for info on which beads, how much, etc.

Thanks

Yep, used them on my last set of off road tires on my xterra, really helped out by reducing the shaking.

Also used PJ1 Balance Plus (gel-like substance, similar to Tire Slime) in my crotch rocket for years. The PJ1 was exceptional! Perfectly balanced well into the XXX digits of the speedometer with never the tiniest bit of shaking. Crystal smooth.

While I do not currently run beads in my vehicles (because I have better highway specific tires) I will not hesitate to use them again if I feel the need. And like colt45 stated, because the beads / PJ1 is an active balancing system, they will re-balance the tires on an on-going basis.

For example, once while riding my street bike, I came around a corner and a deer jumped out in front, causing me to lock up the brakes exceptionally hard. The back tire laid down a strip longer than 100 feet. Once rotating again, you could feel the flat spot (really soft tire) but the PJ1 spun back up and the flat spot was negated within 200 yards and I never thought about it again.

I.

[Coiloil37]

I've been using airsoft beads in super swampers for a few years now. When I started I picked up a bottle of the heaviest beads they sold at crappy tire and put a quarter of the bottle in each 34-10.5x16" LTB. Those tires drove straight without any vibration even when mostly worn out. When I upgraded to q78 swampers I used the same amount but had a little vibration so I bought some more beads and put a little more in each tire. My steering wheel, seats, rear view etc don't vibrate doing 120k an hour down the highway and as already mentioned the mud in the rims doesn't seem to affect it much.

[ctd]

http://innovativebalancing.com/chart.htm

[does it ALL outdoors]

This stuff comes highly recommend from the Harley forum I'm on. It will balance like beads do and protect from punctures too


http://www.ride-on.com/

[Iron Brew]

Buddy of mine runs centramatics. I've been thinking of ordering some.

http://www.centramatic.com/wheel-bal...ype=Light-Duty

[silverdoctor]

I've never heard of bead balancing, interesting when it's explained.

[Rockyman41]

Im a big fan of bead balancing. It works well on oversize tires, heavy lugged tires such as mud tires, and rims that can't be properly balanced with weights on both edges.

For most other applications a standard weight balance would most likely be better.

[Iron Brew]

My understanding is the dynamic balancing really helps when you get snow imbalance or mud imbalance. That works for almost any vehicle.

[blgoodbrand1]

I run it in my MTs and wouldn't go back to rim mount weight. They do seem to be less effective at high speed but I don't speed so doesn't effect me.


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[Headdamage]

I use 8oz of the heavier Airsoft pellets in my 235/85/16 tires, works great. I use the cheap princesauto tire machine (approx $75 on sale) to install my tires and put the beads in at the same time.

[Mad_On_Fishing]

i had 285/75-16's on my toyota 4runner. they were great, until you would hit any bump on the hwy, they the tire would unbalance and it would take an other 5-10 seconds to figure itself out.

personally, I liked it, and if you have smooth roads you should be fine, great thing is you don't have to worry about knocking any weights off and it balances to any caked on mud you may have in your rims.

[tirebob]

Personally I am not a huge proponent of bead balancing, but that doesn't mean they don;t have their place. For the average person, my view is that if you have a tire that is so bad it can't be balanced without bead bags, you should be not buying those tires. Now for you guys who get seriously down and dirty for work and play, they can be nice in that when you end up with the inevitable mud caked behind spokes etc, they can definitely keep you teeth from chattering out of you head until your wheels are clean.

I do get a lot of people who come in asking me to clean them out of their tires because of bad experiences, but in all honesty that is usually because someone did a bad job installing them. You want to make sure the inside of the rims and tires are clean and not caked with lube or have any fluid floating around in there. also make sure your airlines are dry and not injecting condensation/water into your tire at all (we use air dryers on our compressors). This is because the fluids etc can cause the beads to get all stuck together and clump which makes your balance worse.

Like anything, there is a time and place where it is suitable and places where it is a waste...

[warriorboy10]

I have used 6 oz. beads in my last 3) F350 pick ups with factory size rubber. Heavier the rubber the better the beads work. Also my son put them in his Toyo`s on his Tacomo pick up. Worked great and have never had tires wear as even than they have with beads. But no way do I buy from the tire shop at $28 bag. Manufacturer confirmed that compatible with tire sensors as well.
Highly recommend!!

If your feeling vibration in your tires use a fairly heavy bar or hammer and hit around the radius of the tire tread, go for a drive and the beads will reset. Have had to do this myself with good results!!

[Tfng]

I've been wondering about using beads in my tires. I find the worst thing for me is ice and snow build up in the rims. Sometimes it'll just about shake me out of the truck when I get back on the highway.

One point raised which I didn't realize was that hitting bumps will upset the balance. Does it take a big bump or even a smaller one will do it. I wouldn't consider any of the highways I travel to be smooth. How badly out of balance will they go?

I run 35x12.50r18.

[Sooner]

Curious, would they not wear the tire from the inside out somewhat over the tires life? Never heard of this method before. Sounds interesting.

[warriorboy10]

Originally Posted by Sooner

Curious, would they not wear the tire from the inside out somewhat over the tires life? Never heard of this method before. Sounds interesting.

Not any of the tires I have replaced after 80-100k, km. Not that I have looked specifically for the internal wear but I did notice that the ribs inside the tire look like new.

[oldgutpile]

You guys do realize that all this bead stuff is screwing up my supply of bullet casting material

[jcrayford]

Originally Posted by blgoodbrand1

I run it in my MTs and wouldn't go back to rim mount weight. They do seem to be less effective at high speed but I don't speed so doesn't effect me.


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Hmmmmm... Read my post above. The PJ1 that I refer to (much like the beads) are EXCEPTIONALLY good at high speeds.

I have travelled at much higher speeds than what's good for me and the bike was SO smooth... Could release the handlebars and glide without any worries of the shakes.

I'm my experience, the higher the speed, the more refined the balancing seemed.

But, then again - my signature says it all....

J.