Dynamic Balancing Beads
- Thread starter gatogordo
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Advocate I
I haven’t used the actual bead product, but have used the budget friendly way of using airsoft pellets in the 33” tires on my CJ7 and thought they worked very well.
From what I understand, they work well with a vehicle that is not quick to get up to speed. That allows for the beads to migrate to where they’re needed. I certainly don’t understand the physics behind it. The beads are smarter than I am.
From what I understand, they work well with a vehicle that is not quick to get up to speed. That allows for the beads to migrate to where they’re needed. I certainly don’t understand the physics behind it. The beads are smarter than I am.
I work in a tire shop, and we use equal on all steer tires for balancing. They ajust as the tire wears out and reballance the tire every time you drive. I run Equal in my tires, and I have had no issues. I'm running 46.5" tall tires also much harder to balance then smaller tires. I used to run a product called Tire Life it helped keep the tires cooler on the highway but after having a blowout and having that stuff cover the side of the vehicle I went back to using Equal.
Advocate I
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Yes I think that’s what he’s talking about. What Overlander runs 46” tires? The transportation industry, ( trucking ) experimented with using balancing beads decades ago. The experiment failed. Sound like the Tire Life product worked really well too. Does anyone remember when they had a lot of people convinced that nitrogen filled tires was a good thing for ordinary automobiles?
Member III
They don't "balance" anything, they function like a viscous dampener.
If the tire is round, correctly mounted and falls within the prescribed average degree of imbalance Equal or Counteract, or whatever will dampen perceived vibration to acceptable levels in most cases. When you accelerate or decelerate (such as passing on interstate) you will experience a brief period of vibration.
They have some benefits such as ease of install when mounting new tires, high profit margin, lowest level of training possible required, low entry cost, reduced shop bottlenecks, all of which are benefits to the dealer more so than the user.
For field installations they are sometimes better than nothing, but they are no replacement for a correctly balanced tire on a correctly calibrated balancer operated by a properly trained tech. Mounting irregularities which are the number one cause of vibration/ride control issues are masked by the tire/wheel assembly never being inspected on a balancer.
Most people arrive at "balancing beads" either at the suggestion of their tire dealer (see benefits above) or after failing to receive adequate results from in shop service, consequently their hopes are high and their expectations are low. For people who do not have access to a proper service facility, they may be the only choice.
There simply is no replacement for a correctly mounted and balanced tie/wheel assembly. Cutting corners produces tire/wheel assemblies lacking concentricity, and nothing will correct for concentricity issues. If you have tires that "won't stay balanced" either you have a mechanical issue that is wearing the tire irregularly which is manifesting itself as a vibration, or the tire itself has a fundamental flaw which will soon present itself in the form of a belt separation or similar.
Do they "work"? Well, depending on your individual circumstances they very well might, and they certainly sell a metric shit-ton of them so in that regard no other answer than yes. I however as you by now have almost certainly determined view them as little more than calling the plumber so he can pour some Draino in your pipe.
Also be aware that fouling of the valve core can/does occur unless you are using filtered valve cores, which themselves can be a problem in certain valve styles.
Personally if the dealers first suggestion is to install "Equal" or some similar product, I will move on down the road to another dealer.
If the tire is round, correctly mounted and falls within the prescribed average degree of imbalance Equal or Counteract, or whatever will dampen perceived vibration to acceptable levels in most cases. When you accelerate or decelerate (such as passing on interstate) you will experience a brief period of vibration.
They have some benefits such as ease of install when mounting new tires, high profit margin, lowest level of training possible required, low entry cost, reduced shop bottlenecks, all of which are benefits to the dealer more so than the user.
For field installations they are sometimes better than nothing, but they are no replacement for a correctly balanced tire on a correctly calibrated balancer operated by a properly trained tech. Mounting irregularities which are the number one cause of vibration/ride control issues are masked by the tire/wheel assembly never being inspected on a balancer.
Most people arrive at "balancing beads" either at the suggestion of their tire dealer (see benefits above) or after failing to receive adequate results from in shop service, consequently their hopes are high and their expectations are low. For people who do not have access to a proper service facility, they may be the only choice.
There simply is no replacement for a correctly mounted and balanced tie/wheel assembly. Cutting corners produces tire/wheel assemblies lacking concentricity, and nothing will correct for concentricity issues. If you have tires that "won't stay balanced" either you have a mechanical issue that is wearing the tire irregularly which is manifesting itself as a vibration, or the tire itself has a fundamental flaw which will soon present itself in the form of a belt separation or similar.
Do they "work"? Well, depending on your individual circumstances they very well might, and they certainly sell a metric shit-ton of them so in that regard no other answer than yes. I however as you by now have almost certainly determined view them as little more than calling the plumber so he can pour some Draino in your pipe.
Also be aware that fouling of the valve core can/does occur unless you are using filtered valve cores, which themselves can be a problem in certain valve styles.
Personally if the dealers first suggestion is to install "Equal" or some similar product, I will move on down the road to another dealer.
Pathfinder III
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The only advice I have is, that if you use beads make sure they are steel so you can use a magnet to get them out if you dismount the tire in the field.
I totally agree with @bgenlvtex, his post is spot on.
I totally agree with @bgenlvtex, his post is spot on.
Off-Road Ranger I
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Advocate I
I have to disagree on some points. For road use and light trails, then I agree, beads should not be the initial go-to.
I used them on my CJ with good results, because I used it as a road legal rock crawler. Having chunks taken out of the tires while wheeling was not uncommon. So dynamic balancing was effective. Plus, it’s a CJ, so getting quickly up to a fast wheel rotation just isn’t a thing.
There was quite a lengthy discussion I read years ago on an off-road forum. Many different types of beads were discussed. The brand name, I think it may have been Dynabead were small ceramic pellets, about the size of large grains of sand. The instructions for installation were to pour them in through the valve stem.
Some suggested using bb’s. Others stated they tried bb’s, only to have them rust and clump together from condensation moisture. Plastic Airsoft pellets was the most popular choice. At that time a large container could be had at Wallyworld for around 20 bucks. The first time I used them, I carefully measured out the weight as prescribed for my tire size. After that I simply divided the container into even amounts.
Amusingly, if I recall, the thread got started because someone wanted to know how many golf balls to put in their tires. I knew nothing of the concept and thought it was a joke.
I used them on my CJ with good results, because I used it as a road legal rock crawler. Having chunks taken out of the tires while wheeling was not uncommon. So dynamic balancing was effective. Plus, it’s a CJ, so getting quickly up to a fast wheel rotation just isn’t a thing.
There was quite a lengthy discussion I read years ago on an off-road forum. Many different types of beads were discussed. The brand name, I think it may have been Dynabead were small ceramic pellets, about the size of large grains of sand. The instructions for installation were to pour them in through the valve stem.
Some suggested using bb’s. Others stated they tried bb’s, only to have them rust and clump together from condensation moisture. Plastic Airsoft pellets was the most popular choice. At that time a large container could be had at Wallyworld for around 20 bucks. The first time I used them, I carefully measured out the weight as prescribed for my tire size. After that I simply divided the container into even amounts.
Amusingly, if I recall, the thread got started because someone wanted to know how many golf balls to put in their tires. I knew nothing of the concept and thought it was a joke.
Off-Road Ranger I
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That looks like pet cereal. Is it any good for human consumption?
We just put a gallon of Green Slime in each tire.
Balance, dampen, and seals leaks. Some had golf balls too. But everytime you stop at a light, your truck will sound like spokey dokes for a bit.
Balance, dampen, and seals leaks. Some had golf balls too. But everytime you stop at a light, your truck will sound like spokey dokes for a bit.
Advocate I
I have the Counterbalance beads in my WJ (metric 35"s). IMHO they work excellent, that thing is smooth all the way to 85-90 MPH (and probably past that, but that's the fastest I've pushed this thing, lol) other than one very specific speed around 20 MPH where some weird physics must be going on and they bunch up together and it gives the Jeep a "bounce." It's seriously only that very specific speed, and only a 1-2 MPH window. Other than that it's insanely smooth with no shake or shimmy or anything, which is pretty wild for what it is...
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Dynamic balancing is the only way to go for large (35"+) mud terrain tires, typically results in less weight used and better results. That said I have never had any complaints with a shop doing a spin balance on A/T or highway tires. I do the air soft BBs trick when doing trailer tires because I'm cheap and do the mounting myself on the less critical equipment.
@tjZ06 that weird bouncing is probably due to the lower speed. In my experience the beads don't do anything until past 20mph, that's the point where there's enough centrifugal force to get them flung out and balancing effectively.
@tjZ06 that weird bouncing is probably due to the lower speed. In my experience the beads don't do anything until past 20mph, that's the point where there's enough centrifugal force to get them flung out and balancing effectively.
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I use them in my class A motorhome tires. They have worked perfectly for thousands of miles. My off-road tires are still machine-balanced, but only because I have had to buy a set in a while. I'll be using beads in the next set I mount.
Off-Road Ranger III
We run beads in our defender tyres as the tyre shops in France have a meltdown if you aren't running standard sizes. We found out they are great at dynamically balancing the tyres over their entire life especially with large muddies, it also does away with loosing wheel weights on rocky trails.
