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Re: Balancing wheels - DIY

To: <shop-talk@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: Balancing wheels - DIY
From: "Elton Clark" <lotus.tony@airmail.net>
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2003 01:03:52 -0600
Someone wrote:

> I would estimate that the out of balance force due to dynamic imbalance
> is 10% or less of the total unbalanced force. Modern hype & sales pitch
> aside - the bubble (static) balancer will solve 90% or more of the
problem.

Maybe so but I would add the caveat that the need for dynamic balance
increases hugely with the width/diameter ratio . . wide tire dynamic
imbalance will be magnified compared to the same weight imbalance of a
narrow tire.  I remember that when the tires widths grew from 80 to 70 to 60
to 50 aspect ratios,  tire dealers were forced to buy all those high priced
combination balancers to satisfy customer complaints (and to add a new
profit center!)

Someone added:

> > While several people have mentioned dynamic balancing, I have to wonder,
> > How were tires balanced in the days before digital modern machines?

Several things were possible before computers!   There were/are  perfectly
adequate machines for doing a good analog job of measuring tire balance,
even on the vehicle . .  A motorized roller device spun the wheel mounted on
a non-driven spindle of the vehicle.    A fast spinning tire will show
_static_ inbalance by a jiggling straight up & down motion measured at the
ball joint.   Dynamic imbalance of the same tire will show as a left-right
jiggle as measured at the tie rod, brake device, etc.
One _could_  rig a tire spinning method and do the diagnosis yourself but:
you'd STILL need to take it to a proper balancer  for a decent balance.





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