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Thread: Low Cost Dynamic Tire Balancing with Airsoft Pellets

  1. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by paddlenbike View Post
    Luckily we don't have TPMS, but it sounds like balancing beads don't play nice with them. Both of our new cars have TPMS and NO spare tire at all. They come with an air compressor and a can of goo. On the Acura, the tire sealant is specially formulated to not destroy the TPMS sensors, but not so much on our Nissan Leaf and many other cars. And they call this "moving forward?"
    I have seen this trend as well on all the used cars I have been inspecting.
    I don't like the idea at all. If I get a new car, unless its a high end car), I will be fitting a full size spare in the truck, even if it means I loose a little cargo area.
    TPMS are not cheap for the part alone, then depending on the company you also have to have the dealer program the new one in.
    I didn't know there was a can of the goo that doesn't destroy the sensor, that would be good but the goo in general can ruin a tire or rim for that matter.
    I remember a customer came in, they put two cans of that gunk in the tire. well it went everywhere, and the stuff that actually landed on the rim hardened pretty good, and was a pain to clean off.
    You guys aren't techs so you don't have to worry about the dirty part, but I personally am not a fan of that stuff.

    I agree with Sean here, If you can get a good tire plug kit go with that option, cause 9 times out of 10 its a nail that gave you the flat and not a cut in the side wall, which the goo wouldn't be able to close up anyway.

    Quote Originally Posted by Seanz0rz View Post
    That is why I pay $75/year for AAA. I also would rather destroy a tire and wheel than stop in a sketchy place on the freeway. I have nothing against changing my own tire, but I rather not on a busy interstate, especially when I have already paid someone else to do it. So this works most of the time.

    For those trips down state highways or other back roads that have no cell coverage, I think you should add a couple things to the "compressor and goo" tool kit. Some tire plugs and insertion tools are a good idea. Also a can or two of fix a flat. It may destroy the TPMS sensor, but who cares when it is the difference of spending the night on the side of the road or actually getting to where you were going.
    AAA is a great thing to have, I don't have it though -_-
    I agree with you on not changing the tire on the side of a busy high way, unfortunately my last experience with a flat on the 4Runner left me just that, and on the fast lane side of the highway as well, can I tell you how scary it is to change a flat on a lifted truck as tractor trailers blow by you at 70+ miles an hour, oh and its starting to snow -_-

    Companies I think are smart in adding the goo to benefit themselves as well, I mean come on, instant need of new sensor right there right off the bat, then again the general public has no idea how to put a tire plug in, or let alone change there own tire anymore so I guess its a catch-22.


    I look forward to further reports on how well the beads work, I am def thinking this is going to be a project in the spring time to try out.
    The TRD rims I have for some reason just don't like holding on to the weights as well as I thought would, for the first few months I had them, I actually traced where the weights were on the rim and carried spares with me.
    After a long trip if I saw some were missing I would hammer on new ones -_- yes I am that particular about balanced tires it drives me up the wall!

  2. #12
    ^ I went to sticky weights on the inside and regular weights on the inside of the wheel lip cause the weights kept falling off and looked ugly on the mickey thompsons you sold me Avy. They ride sooo smooth.
    Marc<br />96&#39; T100 SR5 4x4<br /><br />Other rides:<br />00 Honda 416EX

  3. #13
    On one of my wheels, it was very apparent that I was missing at least one weight, maybe two.

    Stick on weights will not clear my brake caliper. That's the amount of clearance I have...
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  4. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by CJM View Post
    ^ I went to sticky weights on the inside and regular weights on the inside of the wheel lip cause the weights kept falling off and looked ugly on the mickey thompsons you sold me Avy. They ride sooo smooth.
    Even the sticky weights kept falling off too, and I made sure that rim was clean as a whistle before I stuck the weights on.

  5. #15
    Any downfalls so far? I hear the tires take a few mph to get balanced from a stop. Is that noticable?

    my tires get abused and i'd bet are never perfectly balanced. if these do a 90% job then they'd be better then a 100% initial balance over the life of the tires.

  6. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by YotaFun View Post
    Even the sticky weights kept falling off too, and I made sure that rim was clean as a whistle before I stuck the weights on.
    That sucks man, maybe the airsoft pellets would be best in your situation. Or perhaps superglue on the weights?
    Marc<br />96&#39; T100 SR5 4x4<br /><br />Other rides:<br />00 Honda 416EX

  7. #17
    Troy, didn't drive today. Actually, I don't drive much at all anymore. No where to go when broke and unemployed!

    From my test drive, I never noticed any vibes under 45. I don't think the tires are spinning fast enough to really cause any vibrations to transfer to the vehicle. Also, I noticed bumpy roads would sort of cause a redistributing of the beads and smooth out a previous vibration, or cause a temporary increase in vibration followed immediately by it smoothing out.

    It is definitely a dynamic experience. I suspect if you were not paying attention to it, you would never notice.
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  8. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Seanz0rz View Post
    I think the only improvement would be using a denser bead to better concentrate the mass where it needs to be. My tires are pretty wide (~11.5"), so I imagine they go pretty much where needed.
    Whatever you do, I don't recommend you use lead shot. We tried that with a vibration test on a small jet engine. Imagine filling the oil reservoir of a non running engine with lead and then shaking the bejesus out of it on a giant shaker table for 12 hours. When it was taken out for dissassembly and inspection, Safety was called, hazmat was called, the whole room went on lock down and everything had to be cleaned. It was pretty funny for us.
    -------------------------
    Steve
    1993 4runner, SAS, 3.0L, Auto Tranny
    2007 4runner, stock. For now.

  9. #19
    They sell 0.25gram Airsoft pellets, about twice as dense as standard (0.12g). More expensive, of course.
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  10. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Robinhood4x4 View Post
    We tried that with a vibration test on a small jet engine. Imagine filling the oil reservoir of a non running engine with lead and then shaking the bejesus out of it on a giant shaker table for 12 hours. When it was taken out for dissassembly and inspection, Safety was called, hazmat was called, the whole room went on lock down and everything had to be cleaned. It was pretty funny for us.
    I need a new job, or a jet engine at home to experiment with. That flat sounds fun.

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