Balancing beads?

[SnowDrifter]

Curious if they work. My vehicle is always caught between two extremes... Either it sits for a while un-driven and gets flat spots in the tires, or I put a 1200 miles on the thing in a week. Pretty annoying getting re-balances constantly when they end up a half ounce off-kilter.

Of note: Do they actually work? They're flat spots and sitting I'm dealing with. Not a gross imbalance that's turning into a back massager.

Smaller beads? bigger beads? Are our TPM sensors set up in a way where they could be introduced through the valve core? Or need to break a bead and drop them in?

How much is appropriate to put in each tire?

 

[Rocket Man]

I have used them on the tires on my Harleys, they worked great. But I believe our tires are too big unless you’re running 26’s or 28’s- the bead manufacturers have application charts and specific quantities to use for your tire/ wheel combination.
Edit: after looking at some charts it looks like 15-16-17-18’s are covered for the most part. Not sure if you can add them through the valve stems or if they work with TPMS sensors.

 

[Scottydoggs]

id pass on em, used em once, lasted a week, then had em removed.

i get them flat spots from sitting too, it goes away in a few miles, once the tires heat up.

 

[Tonyv__]

id pass on em, used em once, lasted a week, then had em removed.

i get them flat spots from sitting too, it goes away in a few miles, once the tires heat up.

Flat spots from sitting? Like how long are we talking? Ever since the newborn and covid. My Yukon only gets driven on the weekends when I’m home from work

 

[SnowDrifter]

Flat spots from sitting? Like how long are we talking? Ever since the newborn and covid. My Yukon only gets driven on the weekends when I’m home from work

1-3 weeks. Can lightly feel it on the freeway above 70, pretty pronounced at ~83 - seems to hit a resonance

 

[Tonyv__]

1-3 weeks. Can lightly feel it on the freeway above 70, pretty pronounced at ~83 - seems to hit a resonance

Interesting. Might explain why my drive home from the dealership was wobbly over 70mph... that’s all sorted out though and I have new wheels and tires. Now I’m worried about my new tires lol.

 

[Rocket Man]

id pass on em, used em once, lasted a week, then had em removed.

i get them flat spots from sitting too, it goes away in a few miles, once the tires heat up.

Why did you remove them? They worked great on my Harley wheels, especially the 26” front. There was no way I was putting external weights on a $3000 wheel.

 

[Scottydoggs]

Why did you remove them? They worked great on my Harley wheels, especially the 26” front. There was no way I was putting external weights on a $3000 wheel.

i used em in my drag radials. worked ok if you drove normal, but if yo ulaunched it hard and fast, like at the track the beads never balance and i had to get out of the pass at the 300 foot mark in due to massive vibrations.

they work great in large wheels like for commercial trucks.

Flat spots from sitting? Like how long are we talking? Ever since the newborn and covid. My Yukon only gets driven on the weekends when I’m home from work

a week or so will do it in summer temps, (i used to switch off truck car truck car for work) it happens mostly in the cold temps, just parked over night i get flat spots/cold ass hard spots. happens on the hoe, and the regal i sold. the SS is parked on carpet, yet to notice it on that car. but it also has top of the line tires.

thought it was the hwy for a long time, till they re paved it, and well i still feel it.

 

[Rocket Man]

i used em in my drag radials. worked ok if you drove normal, but if yo ulaunched it hard and fast, like at the track the beads never balance and i had to get out of the pass at the 300 foot mark in due to massive vibrations.

they work great in large wheels like for commercial trucks.




a week or so will do it in summer temps, (i used to switch off truck car truck car for work) it happens mostly in the cold temps, just parked over night i get flat spots/cold ass hard spots. happens on the hoe, and the regal i sold. the SS is parked on carpet, yet to notice it on that car. but it also has top of the line tires.

thought it was the hwy for a long time, till they re paved it, and well i still feel it.

So it’s ok with them driving normal? I’m pretty sure @SnowDrifter doesn't care how they perform in a drag race situation. And they aren’t designed for that anyway.

 

[Tonyv__]

i used em in my drag radials. worked ok if you drove normal, but if yo ulaunched it hard and fast, like at the track the beads never balance and i had to get out of the pass at the 300 foot mark in due to massive vibrations.

they work great in large wheels like for commercial trucks.




a week or so will do it in summer temps, (i used to switch off truck car truck car for work) it happens mostly in the cold temps, just parked over night i get flat spots/cold ass hard spots. happens on the hoe, and the regal i sold. the SS is parked on carpet, yet to notice it on that car. but it also has top of the line tires.

thought it was the hwy for a long time, till they re paved it, and well i still feel it.

Whack! Lol. My express van is my rolling toolbox so I have no choice but to drive that everyday.

 

[S33k3r]

Seems like jack stands might be cheaper than beads... Just jack it up when putting it away for 1+ weeks. Then lower it when you are ready to roll.

 

[Scottydoggs]

So it’s ok with them driving normal? I’m pretty sure @SnowDrifter doesn't care how they perform in a drag race situation. And they aren’t designed for that anyway.

they are just ok, they never felt fully balanced to me. little vibration unless i got up to 70 mph. once rebalanced with weights its like rolling on glass. and i can launch it hard and not vibrate like the wheels were coming off it.

 

[Scottydoggs]

Whack! Lol. My express van is my rolling toolbox so I have no choice but to drive that everyday.

well the hoe is the full time daily now. was kinda nice to just flip a coin on which to take lol

 

[soulsea]

Smaller beads? bigger beads? Are our TPM sensors set up in a way where they could be introduced through the valve core? Or need to break a bead and drop them in?

Giggity.






Sorry, that was super unhelpful.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Seems like jack stands might be cheaper than beads... Just jack it up when putting it away for 1+ weeks. Then lower it when you are ready to roll.

Oh probably. Apartment complex would get ****** about a vehicle sitting on jackstands in their lot though

 

[S33k3r]

Oh probably. Apartment complex would get ****** about a vehicle sitting on jackstands in their lot though

My only response to that is you only need to jack it up enough that the tires won't get flat spots

 

[Jim b]

I have used balancing beads for years in most of my vehicles. From 22.5s on my motor home to 185 14's on my vw golf.
I have them in the 34's on the Tahoe and the load range F's on my Dodge pickup
They perform pretty well but a good spin balance will be better on some tires.
Beads work better in tires with taller aspect ratios.

I prefer the round ceramic beads to the sand style. I mount my own tires and install them during mounting.

I buy them in bulk and use a digital scale to weigh out the appropriate amount+20% based on the bead mfg recommendation for the tire size.
One downside is no fix a flat for a roadside repair! Some tire guys grumble about recovering them and putting them back during a flat repair.
If I had a rig that I wanted to drive 80mph and was having a tire shop put on the new tires I would start with a good spin balance.

 

[89Suburban]

Only time I tried using these was in my old suburban’s 15” rims/tires and I was not impressed. Not sure how effective they are with the newer larger rims and tires on later vehicles. I know guys running large super swappers and commercial truck tires swear by them. We experimented with them on another forum too. If you use metal BB gun pellets you can hear them tinking off the rims at slow speed lol. I can’t imagine anything any type of material bouncing around in a rim with pressure sensors would be a good thing though. But that’s just my thoughts. Certainly an option for some and their situations I just feel they don’t compare to a good spin balance IMHO.

 

[hyper z]

I have used the ceramic beads with 35’s on 20” wheels and 37’s on 22” wheels. No complaints.

 

[gooffeyguy]

Oh probably. Apartment complex would get ****** about a vehicle sitting on jackstands in their lot though

They make these wedge type wheel chocks that are supposed to keep tires from getting flat spots when sitting for extended times, mostly used for RVs and campers.

Maybe something like that would work well for you.

Called tire saver ramps
https://www.amazon.com/VaygWay-Heav...B082J3R3G2/ref=dp_prsubs_1?pd_rd_i=B082J3R3G2