Fallow up on balance beads

Standing Elk

Senior Member
Sometime ago I posted a question on how effective balance were in model A tires. Several of you responded and some asked for a fallow up. I finally got around to putting them in. Kind of a slow process getting them down the valve stems, about 15 minutes a tire. I used some old hair clippers to help vibrate the stems and that helped. Before I installed the balance beads, my front fenders would vibrate some at road speed. After I put the beads in there is no bounce or vibration. In my case the beads made a significant difference.
 
Sometime ago I posted a question on how effective balance were in model A tires. Several of you responded and some asked for a fallow up. I finally got around to putting them in. Kind of a slow process getting them down the valve stems, about 15 minutes a tire. I used some old hair clippers to help vibrate the stems and that helped. Before I installed the balance beads, my front fenders would vibrate some at road speed. After I put the beads in there is no bounce or vibration. In my case the beads made a significant difference.

Thanks for the follow up. I had the same results after I installed the balance beads. Now if I could just get the rest of the car to stop vibrating. :rolleyes:

Using the clippers was a good idea. I used my tool engraver the vibrate the stem.
 
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I had gone into a local tire shop for balance beads for another vehicle and he recommended a green liquid balancing material. Can't use it with pressure sensors but my "A" came out before they were a thing (LOL). Said that the liquid trans the rubber and helps it last longer. Don't know if that is true but it was 1/4 the $ of the beads.Was easy to put in (used a syringe) and works very well. It's called "Tire Life".
 
I took my wheels to a local garage that has a spin balancer with the correct adapter to take my 21" wheels. He put the stick on weights where needed and I painted them wheel color. That was in 2014 and they are still good to go. I had beads in my Model T and never thought they worked well.
 
Drove my 29 AA truck for years with no issues with tire balancing. Of course my cruising speed was just shy of 30 mph. This last winter I put in a Warford overdrive and with the increase in speed I began to experience problems. I put in Dyna Beads and they smoothed things out straight away.
 
how many beads per tire
It's not the number of beads but the weight of the beads. Directions as to the weight for tire size are available from their web sight. The beads are about the size of a grain of salt or sugar. They worked great for me.

John
 
Sometime ago I posted a question on how effective balance were in model A tires. Several of you responded and some asked for a fallow up. I finally got around to putting them in. Kind of a slow process getting them down the valve stems, about 15 minutes a tire. I used some old hair clippers to help vibrate the stems and that helped. Before I installed the balance beads, my front fenders would vibrate some at road speed. After I put the beads in there is no bounce or vibration. In my case the beads made a significant difference.


Hair clippers. What a novel idea. Good job.


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Thanks for the follow up. I had the same results after I installed the balance beads. Now if I could just get the rest of the car to stop vibration. :rolleyes:

Using the clippers was a good idea. I used my tool engraver the vibrate the stem.


Tool engraver. That’s a good idea too.


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I slipped about 12” of 1/4” clear vinyl tubing over the valve stem, filled it with beads using small funnel and then vibrated it with a Craftsman vibrating tool without a tool in it. It filled the inner tube quickly.
 

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I slipped about 12” of 1/4” clear vinyl tubing over the valve stem, filled it with beads using small funnel and then vibrated it with a Craftsman vibrating tool without a tool in it. It filled the inner tube quickly.


Do you have metal valve stems, or do you have rubber valve stems?


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I recall a posting that described the addition of a certain volume of antifreeze into the tube, with the same result as the use of Dynabeads. I have lost track of the posting.
 
The nice thing regarding dynabeads, is they balance the drum as well, while a balanced tire/wheel could still have balance issues if the drum isn’t perfectly balanced. Don’t know if that is a viable concern or not, but it’s a consideration.
 
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