Howdy Guys,

 

First off I hope everyone has a wonderful day.  Secondly, I thought I’d share some stuff with yall.  I've been doing some monkeying with balancing my own tires.  I’ve got a tire changer and do almost all my own tire changing.  But if it’s for a truck then I still had to get it balanced.  So I researched a product called “dyna beads” some of you may already know what they are.  They are small ceramic beads that go in the tire and automatically balance the tire.  I was considering them, cause the cost for one tire worth was cheaper then the cost to get one balanced.  And tires apparently wear better with the beads (according to the forums).  But that one side of me took over and I tried some BB’s.  Your everyday steel .177 BB’s you can get at Walmart.  They have been in different trucks now for a couple months, and no issues.  After some research, the apparent problem with steel BB’s is the moisture in the tire will cause them to rust.  So I did some tests.  First, one of the trucks that has them sat for at least a month, and no issues.  Second, I took some BB’s that were left out in the rain and rusted into a clump, and stuck them inside an atv tire, after a couple days (around 5 miles), I pulled them back off and they were perfectly polished.

 

Here’s the chart to know how much to put in different size tires.  If yours is a dually, then you have to use the motorhome chart… haha

 

http://www.innovativebalancing.com/tirechartmap.htm

 

So long story short, you can balance your own tires for $.75!

Edited December 11, 201410 yr by Cowboy

So what you're saying is that the "tire/wheel" combo is still put on the spinning machine then???

 

You use this chart and look up the amount to put in the tire.  http://www.innovativebalancing.com/tirechartmap.htm

 

For Me, both 245&265/75/16's get 5 oz.

So what you're saying is that the "tire/wheel" combo is still put on the spinning machine then???

No, you add a set amount of weight and call it good. No spin balancing required.

Just out of burning want to know. I called my local tire guy in Ontario, OR and talked to him about the whole BB idea. He typically sells silicone beads for this purpose. But never had a complaint about balance issue. I asked him about steel BB used in air rifles and he didn't see a reason why it wouldn't work. Just measure out the proper amount and add them to the tire. So I'm going to see about getting some BB's and going that route.

I had my 19.5's shaved; yep they were out of round and then balanced on the truck. Rides smooth now