RE: Spotlight: Racing Green
Monday 2nd December 2002
Spotlight: Racing Green
The new TVR dealer in Hampshire - a fresh approach?
Discussion
PetrolTed said: I think the open day is towards the end of January. I went down last week just to have a chat with the guys there.
The TVRCC Berkshire region had an open day there last Sunday - they mentioned that they'd be having more in the New Year. It's certainly an impressive setup, especially the workshop, and the staff seem to know what they're talking about (at least enough to fool me!). I'd definitely consider using Racing Green if I had a car where franchised dealer support was an advantage.
Pete
Paul V said: So probably won’t do much more than a standard one, considering most balance weights only go down to 5g and most machines read within 1g.
But this one can diagnose/register precisely where the imbalance in the assembled rim/tyre is and then guide the repositioning of the tyre on the rim to minimize the resultant loading stress on the wheel and its bearing.
If this can be done by a standard device then I misunderstood the distinction when it was explained to me.
Hut49 said:
Paul V said: So probably won’t do much more than a standard one, considering most balance weights only go down to 5g and most machines read within 1g.
But this one can diagnose/register precisely where the imbalance in the assembled rim/tyre is and then guide the repositioning of the tyre on the rim to minimize the resultant loading stress on the wheel and its bearing.
If this can be done by a standard device then I misunderstood the distinction when it was explained to me.
This is precisely what they all do.
As far as minumum weight goes I have indulged in cutting weights to get to a very accurate value.
This is precisely what they all do.
As far as minumum weight goes I have indulged in cutting weights to get to a very accurate value.
To be honest, balancing to within 5g is normally enough for most cars, as you say a cut down weight will make it more accurate but once the car is driven for a few hundred miles the balance will change by a few g’s anyway, but still not notice until many thousands on miles or someone takes the weight off on a kerb
In answer to your query as to the validation that our wheel balance machine is probably the best available! The machine in question is the Hunter GSP 9700 and is a rare bit of kit.
When you balance a wheel you need to be aware of what you a trying to achieve. Light fast cars such as TVRs need to end up with a set of tyres that are both round and balanced. You can balance a square tyre but that is not going to make the car feel great at speed.
Firstly the wheel/tyre is mounted onto the machine in the same manner as on the car ie by the bolt holes and not the centre casting hole. Any variations in concentricity of the PCD are immediately accounted for.
The first stage of the balancing process is to log the size and width of the wheel and the position for the inner and outer line of weights. The spoke position is then marked to allow the machine to calculate to place the weights behind the spoke positions. The wheel/tyre is then spun up to speed with a roller loading the tyre to simulate road conditions. On a new tyre this is critical to seat the beads correctly prior to balancing. The machine then measures the variation in roundness of the wheel/tyre assembly against the loading roller and computes this into a radial force variation in kilograms. We have had wheel/tyre combinations from road cars with a radial force variation of 180kgs that had been recently balanced. If this force is excessive the machine analyzes whether the rim or tyre is defective or whether repositioning the tyre to a different place on the rim would conteract this loading and reduce it to an acceptable level. Only once this has been carried out to optimise the wheel tyre combination can it be accurately balanced. The machine is better than an on car balancer because of the radial force variation measurement. The results are worth the effort in terms of smoothness and lack of vibration. Sorry about War and Peace but the machine is good and we know how to use it and it does take time to explain!
When you balance a wheel you need to be aware of what you a trying to achieve. Light fast cars such as TVRs need to end up with a set of tyres that are both round and balanced. You can balance a square tyre but that is not going to make the car feel great at speed.
Firstly the wheel/tyre is mounted onto the machine in the same manner as on the car ie by the bolt holes and not the centre casting hole. Any variations in concentricity of the PCD are immediately accounted for.
The first stage of the balancing process is to log the size and width of the wheel and the position for the inner and outer line of weights. The spoke position is then marked to allow the machine to calculate to place the weights behind the spoke positions. The wheel/tyre is then spun up to speed with a roller loading the tyre to simulate road conditions. On a new tyre this is critical to seat the beads correctly prior to balancing. The machine then measures the variation in roundness of the wheel/tyre assembly against the loading roller and computes this into a radial force variation in kilograms. We have had wheel/tyre combinations from road cars with a radial force variation of 180kgs that had been recently balanced. If this force is excessive the machine analyzes whether the rim or tyre is defective or whether repositioning the tyre to a different place on the rim would conteract this loading and reduce it to an acceptable level. Only once this has been carried out to optimise the wheel tyre combination can it be accurately balanced. The machine is better than an on car balancer because of the radial force variation measurement. The results are worth the effort in terms of smoothness and lack of vibration. Sorry about War and Peace but the machine is good and we know how to use it and it does take time to explain!
very interesting 
g speed humps in Milton Keynes. 
Anyone own a JCB, road drill, 14 cones, a couple of reflective coats, and a stop/go sign? 
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