road force balancing

[mlm0]

Just for info, Discount tires in Georgetown, Texas does road force balancing if requested. I have an appointment today at 3pm to have the two front tires done. The cost with tax is 68.00 I have had them spin balanced, but still have vibration near 53 mph. The only problem will be if the tires are older then 10 years old,, they won't do them. My car is an 89 with 44,000 miles, and was stored along time. The tires still look good, with lots of tread left, and I have no idea if they were replaced.

 

[Tuna]

On tires manufactured after 2000, the sidewall of the tire has a code that can be read to see when it was made.

Check out http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

This tire tech will read these markings to see if the tire is too old.
I guess if the tires don't have these sidewall codes, then they are probably too old.

 

[mlm0]

thanks for info. I think the tires will be too old, but I will check them with the info you just posted. If so, the next step will be to try to determine the right tire to buy, money vs quality and what I really need just for normal every day driving.

 

[mlm0]

took my car to Discount Tire today and had the front tires road forced balanced. They had the right "Hunters" brand machine to do the job, but I am confused after what I saw and what I was told. I was told they charge more because it takes longer to road force balance then regular spin balance. I just happened to be sitting in a position to watch them do the job. I saw them take off the first wheel and put it on the machine. From the time he took off the wheel, balanced it and was putting it back on was less then 5 minutes. I contacted the manager and ask him what was going on, and that it had taken no time at all. I was told that the machine showed that the wheel and tire did not need to be road forced balanced. The same with the other side. He told me that if they had needed it, the machine would have indicated it and they would had done it. I was only charged 30.00 instead of 68.00. Bottom line, the balance did no good and I still have vibration around 53 to 57 MPH. The tires were made in 2006, and I know that one of them has a flat spot from car being stored so long with out being moved. At low speed, I can feel the flat spot. The tires are Good Year F1's Guess I am going to have to buy four new tires, but its going to be tough decision on which ones to buy. I drive the car just normal every day type driving, no racing or fast driving. I hope what I was told by manager was the truth and nothing but the truth.

 

[89blackvette]

Tires

Just remember that the tires are between you and the road, they are your first line of defense. Tires that sit for a log time with the car weight on them will distort slightly due to the steel cords taking a set. That is why you see stored cars on blocks to remove the cars weight from tires and suspension. Ideal situation would be to store with some car weight on them and suspension so that suspension is not fully extended, with tires properly inflated. You will probably just have to bite the bullet and replace the tires. Road Force balancing sounds like some sort of scheme to separate you from your money to me. Can someone shed more light on this operation.

 

[Huskerman]

Yeah....you need to lose those tires and start with a new set. They will be getting hard and will not perform like you need them to and could be putting you and yours at risk....

 

[Tuna]

Michelin Pilot Sport All/Season for all around driving.
Michelin Pilot Super Sports (if they come in your size).

 

[gmjunkie]

Road Force balancing sounds like some sort of scheme to separate you from your money to me. Can someone shed more light on this operation.

Not So! Road force balancing is the greatest thing since sliced bread! If performed properly by a Qualified Technician your car will never roll so smooth,you'll get at least 20-30% longer tire ware and your ball joints,tie rod ends,shocks and bushings will love you for it!~!!

It usually takes about 8-10 minuets a tire to do it right,and usually involves breaking down the tire to re-clock it on the wheel to get the least amount of tire/wheel lateral run-out!

 

[mlm0]

I do think road force balancing is the way to go, but what do you do if your told the machine calculates that you don't need it. Do I believe it, or go some where else Can the machine be forced to road force balance. Is the mech right in stating that machine will spin balance and advise if you need to continue with road force balancing
From what I saw, the tire is balanced, with a heavy roller applied to the tire as it rotates I then saw that a minor amount of wait was added and that was it. It was all done on the hunter road force balancing machine. I was told that road force balancing is needed when normal balancing won't work, and the tire has to be broken down and moved around on the wheel to obtain a balance

 

[89blackvette]

I do think road force balancing is the way to go, but what do you do if your told the machine calculates that you don't need it. Do I believe it, or go some where else Can the machine be forced to road force balance. Is the mech right in stating that machine will spin balance and advise if you need to continue with road force balancing
From what I saw, the tire is balanced, with a heavy roller applied to the tire as it rotates I then saw that a minor amount of wait was added and that was it. It was all done on the hunter road force balancing machine. I was told that road force balancing is needed when normal balancing won't work, and the tire has to be broken down and moved around on the wheel to obtain a balance

I also read "If performed properly by a Qualified Technician" If a tire will not balance there is a problem with the tire or wheel usually. I worked in a motorcycle shop for 10 years and balanced a ton of tires on the Coats balancer. We always balanced to "0" and NEVER had a problem. May of these motorcycles were used for Road Racing and Drag Racing and subjected to high speeds and loads. If we found a tire and wheel combination that required more than normal weight to balance we then checked wheel for trueness and took a very hard look at the tire. In those years we did find a few defective tires while attempting to balance. Remember a motorcycle only has two tires so each one is critical to safety so we took great care when balancing. My thinking is it is just a new technology way to get into your pocket for more money, a good tire and wheel normally balanced will roll as true and smooth in my thinking.

 

[mlm0]

I think I got this thing figured out. Doing some searching on the web, I have found that I don't think the rep. at Discount Tire knew what he was talking about. Hunter makes several different machines. The machine that my local store had, was not a Road Force Machine, but a Ride Matching machine by Hunter. Does apply a roller to the wheel as it spins, but does not do the same as Road Force machine. You can look up the differences by going to Hunter's web page. Now, knowing this info, I don't think I take the rep's recommendation on which tire to buy. There are several Discount Tire Centers in my area that do have the 9700 machine, which does Road Force Balancing. Tomorrow I am off to the local Chev dealer who is listed by Hunter's web page as having a 9700 machine. I need to know if my tires need replacing, because they have like new tread, but were made in 2006. I have vibration in steering wheel that I mostly notice it at 53 to 60 mph more, and what appears to be flat spot felt at very slow speeds. Moved the rears to front and no change. Don't want to spend money on tires if its something else.

 

[89blackvette]

Tires

So you are going to spend the price of a tire to be told you need tires !! Your tire are what, 8 years old and have sat for quite some time, THEY NEED TO BE REPLACED. I recently purchased a car that had sat for 7 years, tires looked great with 8/32 of tread left but car drove strange and had a small vibration at 45 mph. I looked closely and discovered age cracks in the tread. Replaced the tires and it drove great and no vibration. Just do not trust your car and or life to old tires. My last word on this matter.

 

[mlm0]

And the story goes on

this morning I took my car to the local Chev dealer to have my tires road forced balanced. They have the machine to do it I contacted the service rep who assured me they could and would do it, and the cost was around 100.00

i was in position to see tires taken off, but could not see when and how they were balanced After the car was completed, I talked to the guy who did it, and ask if they were road forced balanced. He told me no, but it could be done if I wanted it. He also told me the tires were out of balance. I had just had them balanced two days before, and was told then they were out of balance. I stormed into the office and ask them why I was paying for, but not getting the road force balance job. I went back and forth with them for a while, until they made some phone calls and found out I was correct. The service techs thought that if a tire needed to be road force balanced, the machine would indicate it needed it, but in fact it does not. Road force balance is totally independent from normal balancing. I don't mean to go on and on about this, but it shows you have to do your research and stay on top of things or you may not get what you paid for. Mr car is still at Chev dealer, but they gave me a loaner truck, I'm sure to get rid of me. That's see what the out come is at the end of this day

 

[89blackvette]

Tires

So now you are out $100.00 for a balancing that was not needed. If a tire needs to be moved on the wheel to get it balanced the tire is defective !!! At the rate you are going you will have the price of a couple of new tires invested and still have the old bad tires. I said that was my last word on the subject but you seem determined to somehow make old bad tires into new tires with some wheel weights. It just does not work that way. Replace the tires and stop risking your car and life on the old bad tires. Stop being hard headed and you will enjoy your Corvette with new rubber on it. This is absolutely my last word on this subject, promise. Replace the tires !!!!!!

 

[mlm0]

I thought the last reply was your last. Do us all a favor and make this one your second last reply

 

[89blackvette]

Tires

Ok

 

[BigJimZ16]

I thought the last reply was your last. Do us all a favor and make this one your second last reply

Hey mim0, Have you ever heard of the quote about making a silk purse out of a sow's ear? 89black is trying to save you some expensive heartache. The rubber you are trying to resurrect ain't worth the cost or the effort. Obviously you need some new rubber to make you and your ride safe for all of us. Would you try to make tires from the '40s into new rubber? Can't do it now either...

 

[mlm0]

For all you who seem to be worried about my money, don't I earned it and I wii spend it how I want. For all of you who are worried about my safety, don't. I have a brand new set of tires ready to be mounted after my experiment I have several other cars, and I just wanted to know if road force balancing was as good as I have heard, and if it is I might do it on my other cars and SUV Now if that troubles you, too bad. If you really are worried about my money, send me the 100.00

i was hoping to just share my findings , but there seems to be a few who just want to verbally bully others into thinking its there way and only their way

Too bad, because I'm sure it stops a lot of good people from posting on this site.

I have always liked feed back, but when I feel it becomes personal, it just turns me right off and from that point, nothing you have to say means anything. Looking back at other posting some of you have replied too, it would appear you need some help dealing with your emotions and how to deal with other people. I have been around bullies my whole life

 

[89blackvette]

Ok

For all you who seem to be worried about my money, don't I earned it and I wii spend it how I want. For all of you who are worried about my safety, don't. I have a brand new set of tires ready to be mounted after my experiment I have several other cars, and I just wanted to know if road force balancing was as good as I have heard, and if it is I might do it on my other cars and SUV Now if that troubles you, too bad. If you really are worried about my money, send me the 100.00

i was hoping to just share my findings , but there seems to be a few who just want to verbally bully others into thinking its there way and only their way

Too bad, because I'm sure it stops a lot of good people from posting on this site.

I have always liked feed back, but when I feel it becomes personal, it just turns me right off and from that point, nothing you have to say means anything. Looking back at other posting some of you have replied too, it would appear you need some help dealing with your emotions and how to deal with other people. I have been around bullies my whole life

I have been around bullies my whole life. No one here is trying to tell you how to spend your money, that is your business if you want to waste it. The concern was for your safety while ridding around on obviously unsafe tires, and the safety of the other drivers around you. If trying to give you advice and being concerned for you is bad then we are bad, but not bullies. Go ahead and drive around on your defunct tires and let us know how the wreck goes for you.

 

[mlm0]

Not only do you not read , you just proved my point