Balancing Beads for a Model A Tire
- Thread starter cigarman
- Start date
1crosscut
Well-known member
Wheel balance when driving my 29 AA truck was not an issue because the speeds were too slow. A couple years ago I put a Warford overdrive in it and the first time I got up to 40 plus miles per hour things got pretty exciting.
Contacted the Dyna Beads folks for their recommendation on how much to put into each tire and ordered some up.
The difference was amazing. I'm a believer.
To put them in let all of the air out of your tire while holding it up with a jack.
Remove the valve core and lower the tire down until it is close to having the wheel touch the ground but not quite. Then hook up the tube and bottle and start feeding the beads into the tire. Holding a palm sander against the side of the tube helps the beads move through the tube and into the tire. After a while the beads will resist going in and that is when you can jack up the tire a little bit creating negative pressure in the tire and the beads will flow better again. Repeat as needed.
Contacted the Dyna Beads folks for their recommendation on how much to put into each tire and ordered some up.
The difference was amazing. I'm a believer.
To put them in let all of the air out of your tire while holding it up with a jack.
Remove the valve core and lower the tire down until it is close to having the wheel touch the ground but not quite. Then hook up the tube and bottle and start feeding the beads into the tire. Holding a palm sander against the side of the tube helps the beads move through the tube and into the tire. After a while the beads will resist going in and that is when you can jack up the tire a little bit creating negative pressure in the tire and the beads will flow better again. Repeat as needed.
chrs1961815
Well-known member
I think the question to use them or not depends on how true the wheels are. Mine are very true and 50mph feels very good.
The Master Cylinder
Well-known member
I would think balance beads would have no effect on a wheel that was not true. Balance and trueness are two completely different issues.
Synchro909
Well-known member
I have never used those beads. To balance the wheels on my cars, I made a stand to mount a front hub on. Bearings lightly lubricated with thin oil and adjusted to turn freely. Bolt the wheel on and trial and error add weight to the top of the wheel once it comes to rest. It doesn't take long.
All of them are smooth up to 60+ mph. I don't think I need anything more.
All of them are smooth up to 60+ mph. I don't think I need anything more.
RandyinUtah
Senior Member
What effect do the beads have on the inside of the inner tube?
nkaminar
Well-known member
There is a critical speed for a rotating part that is supported by springs. This is the speed at which the oscillations are the greatest. In a car tire this is the speed at which you will feel the greatest amount of vibration. Below the critical speed the heaviest part of the tire has the largest radius. Above the critical speed the heaviest part has the smallest radius and the lightest part now has the largest radius. So, above the critical speed the balance beads will move to the lightest part of the tire and balance the heaviest part. The system is self regulating.
As Chrs said in post #5, this all depends on the inner surface of the tire being true. I have never used the balance beads and instead balance the tires using stick on weights using the front axles with the bearings and brakes backed off. However, I discovered that the hubs are not balanced and shifting the tires on the hubs will result in a different result. So I ended up temporally balancing the hub first. But the weights will not stay on the outside of the hubs at speed so this means that even with perfectly balanced wheels and tires they are not balanced when mounted on the car. So the balance beads may be the best at speed, if the tires are perfectly round.
As Chrs said in post #5, this all depends on the inner surface of the tire being true. I have never used the balance beads and instead balance the tires using stick on weights using the front axles with the bearings and brakes backed off. However, I discovered that the hubs are not balanced and shifting the tires on the hubs will result in a different result. So I ended up temporally balancing the hub first. But the weights will not stay on the outside of the hubs at speed so this means that even with perfectly balanced wheels and tires they are not balanced when mounted on the car. So the balance beads may be the best at speed, if the tires are perfectly round.
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