Balancing tires

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buyitsmart

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Who can balance my tires in the Orlando, Florida area? Or can I do it myself?

I am building a touring car and although I cannot drive too fast right now, I did get the car to 52mph this weekend and I noticed the front end shook quite a bit. I am reluctant to go much faster until I get the tires balanced. The front end was rebuilt by the men that restored the car before I purchased it a month ago.

My goal is to drive the car at a sustained 55mph. I have a Mitchell OD on order. Is there anything else I should be aware of when getting the speed up there?

I realize I can only go as fast as I can stop.....brakes are not my concern right now because the standard brakes are stopping the car real well and I know some things I can do to improve them. I could put floaters on them, I could add the bands or get cast iron drums or I could go with hydraulic brakes...

It is the front end and tires I am concerned about. I called around and no one seems to be able to balance the tires or work on the car. I need to check with some buddies in the club here in town...but thought I would get the barns opinion...
 
Dynabeads is what I use. Since you said you might be up this way in a few weeks, remind me then and I'll show you what they look like.
 
Re: Balancing tires/Dyna Beads

:) Well, I finally put the Dyna Beads in my front tires on my '31 Tudor today. It took about 30 - 45 minutes per tire using my vibrating sander to shake the beads down the stems, but you know I think it was worth it. The rain cut my shakedown cruise short, but I drove it about 3 miles and it was much better. I have had a pretty good vibration come in about 40 MPH and it was not quite, but almost gone! I am satisfied with the results.
All in all a good day: Attended a Tech Meet this morning conducted by Wiley Higgins from our MARC club, Goldmine Region, about rebuilding the two-tooth steering sector and adjusting the steering. It was a very informative session: We are fortunate to have Wiley in our club. I took the left over donuts (Almost 2 dozen) from our Tech Meet to a fire station near my home so the 'guys' could have a little afternoon snack.
Also finally figured out where the short was in the ignition system; the key switch! One of the terminal connectors was arcing to the switch housing causing a short.
I fixed it by putting a piece of electrical tape over the screw hole for the terminal with the tape extending over the edge of the switch housing and punched a hole in the tape and pushed the screw with the connector from the distributor wire through the hole in the tape and tightened the screw down. The electrical tape keeps the connector from arcing to the switch housing and all is well.
Hope all have a great Sunday and a good upcoming week!

Evan Lewis
 
I can only echo what your hearin here. Sometimes the stems van be problematic but once in they make a noticeable difference. Just make sure those brake can stop you.
 
You can get reasonably close by jacking up the wheel, loosening the brakes enough so there is no drag and maybe loosening the wheel bearings a tad. The heavy part of the tire will go to the bottom, so add weights to the top until the wheel will stay where put in all angles. If a lot of weight is needed, spread them apart a few degrees. This balances it statically but not dynamically, however with narrow tires it will be quite close.
 

Are you certain that you don't have a bent rim? Or a tire issue. If so the beads may be a Band-Aid repair. I live in Cocoa.
 
My local tire shop did mine and they are great! They used the stick on lead weights which do show but the difference is unbelievable. I had 2 new tires put on and all four balanced. $208.00.
 
Similar to what Jim B suggested,Wrap some solder around a spoke on the light side & try it out.You could even leave it on & paint it wheel colour.
 
We did an article about having a local shop balance the tires, it was a great way to go, I think it was about $10 a wheel to have them done.
 
It costs about twelve bucks to have a Model A wheel balenced at Goodyear here in Kansas City.

If you want to do it yourself then make a disc out of plywood that just fits inside of the outer edge of a wheel hub. Find the exact center of the disc then drill about a 1/8 inch hole. Through this hole pass an eye bolt. At a secure place in the ceiling of your work shop, a ceiling joist will do nicely, place a fairly large screw hook. Connect a wire or rope securly to the disc eye bolt, put the disc inside the wheel hub lift the whole assembly up and hook the wire or rope to the screw hook. Adjust the rope to a convienent length that allows the assembly to hang freely. The tire and rim will tip to the heavy side. Place tire weights on the outside diameter of the rim on the side oposite the heavy side. Keep laying on weights until the tire and rim are balanced. If you use stick on weights, after you find the correct amount for balance, you can stick them to the back side of the rim where they are less likely to be noticed.
 
Check out your local big truck tire dealer. They balance the big tires using "beads". They refer to the process as "sanding". My local dealer in Elgin, Illinois did my tires for 5 bucks apiece. I don't think you can even buy the "dyna-beads" for that price
 
a contrary anecdotal opinion.....

driving Model As since 1986, probably in the neighborhood of 50-60,000 miles so far, lots of it on long tours at 55mph.

have never felt the need to have wheels/tires balanced. I have run Insa, Garfield, Firestone and Goodyear 19" tires without any vibration or abnormal wear.

"your results may vary", but so far so good for me! :cool:
 
Sometime just turning the tire on the rim to put the heavy spot on the rim --and the light spot on the tire together is enough to have good balance --no weights needed.
 
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