Wheel balancing

[Nick-n1cz7]

Hi all,

Any thoughts on wheel balancing for high speeds. I’ve had mine balanced but still has slight vibration over 100mph but apparently high speed balancing is an option. Has anyone encountered this? Many thanks

[vernierMike]

By coincidence I have this at the moment! Over 90mph on the track, of course, but only then. Does get worse as the speed builds. Talked to the garage and they said to take them back to get them re-balanced... fingers crossed.

[AdamV12V]

ive never heard of high speed balancing before... .surely if they are correctly balanced then they are balanced for low or high speeds...? Sounds like somebody trying to charge more for the same thing.

[john ryan]

Almost goes without saying that a static balancer (bubble type) is useless for anything over an appreciable width, which I define as a bicycle wheel. Dynamic balance and a good machine operator will give the perfect result.

[AdamV12V]

Ive never seem anybody do a static balance with a bubble level? Do people really do that?

Everytime ive taken a car in for tyres and watched them balance them its been in a machine that spins the wheel then stops and says how much weight to add where. Been that way as long as I can recall (30+ years)

[john ryan]

And so thought I until I visited a well known specialist tyre supplier in S. Yorkshire who told me that static balance was just fine, despite my patient attempt to explain the physics. Nitwit. I was using a dynamic balancer 50 years ago.You can always tell a yorkshireman, but you can't tell him much.

[AdamV12V]

john ryan said:

And so thought I until I visited a well known specialist tyre supplier in S. Yorkshire who told me that static balance was just fine, despite my patient attempt to explain the physics. Nitwit. I was using a dynamic balancer 50 years ago.You can always tell a yorkshireman, but you can't tell him much.

Oi, less 'o that! I'm Yorkshire born n bred! And proud of it too!

[DB9VolanteDriver]

AdamV12V said:

Ive never seem anybody do a static balance with a bubble level? Do people really do that?

Everytime ive taken a car in for tyres and watched them balance them its been in a machine that spins the wheel then stops and says how much weight to add where. Been that way as long as I can recall (30+ years)

When I was in high school back in the late 60s, I had a part time job working in a new car dealership. One of the jobs I was taught was to use a tire changing machine (a simple pneumatic powered bead breaker and lever bar) and, ta da, a bubble balancer. Never had any complaints, but then wheels were 5-6” wide.

[8Tech]

AdamV12V said:

ive never heard of high speed balancing before... .surely if they are correctly balanced then they are balanced for low or high speeds...? Sounds like somebody trying to charge more for the same thing.

Absolutely agree here. There is no difference between high and low speed balance. Optimum balancing is with the wheel on the car so that all the rotating masses are balanced together, especially the disc, but I have not seen one of them since I quit Ford 30 years ago.

Try and make sure the guy balancing actually "Zeros" the balance, and does not accept <10g as acceptable. Also worn tyres can be perfectly balanced but slightly out-of-shape which will also cause vibration.