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balancing beads

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by edwardob, Jul 3, 2013.

  1. edwardob

    edwardob Member

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    check the link at first post...email the guy and ask him...he using them last 3years
     
  2. bedrock8x

    bedrock8x Senior Member

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    Did he take the tire off after 3 years and inspect if there are any damage?
    BTW, these BBs are sometimes used for sand blasting.
     
  3. edwardob

    edwardob Member

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    ask him!

    i have emailed him to comment..so maybe he will

    anyway after three years new tyre may be on the menu .....so question is probably...how many miles/km he done
     
  4. edwardob

    edwardob Member

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    SO the guy who made first link ...first post has answered my email
    its long but it answers a lot of objections and questions

    although looking at his driving video at the end link...maybe we needs beads in his head to balance his brain[just jesting]

    Hi Edward,

    I'll give my reply to you so that you can fwd it to the forum if you like. The last thing I need is to get another forum login. . . ;-) So here goes. . .

    I'm Nate; the guy who wrote the pages in question. I get skeptics ALL THE TIME, so I'll try and address the conserns that have come up.

    - "The balls have no ability to seek out the areas that are causing the tire and wheel to be unbalanced."
    - The balls actively counter any movement of the tire as it happens. They are NOT just stuck to the inside by centrifigul force and not moving. They are constantly in motion like a shock absorber is countering the wheels up and down movement (since up and down are the only movement allowed by the vehicles suspension). This is an "active" balance that constantly adjusts. It even counters stones that may get momentarily caught in the tires tread unbalancing the tire for even a few revolutions.

    - "So every time you accelerate from a stop, you have unbalanced wheels? How about emergency braking that basically locks up the wheel?
    Or loss of traction on wet pavement?"
    - Event a grossly unbalanced wheel will have little to no effect on a vehicle under about 20mph since there's not enough rotational force to turn several onces of imbalance into enough pounds of force to be able to move a tire up aginst the suspension much less feel in the steering. Since it only takes approx 5-7 MPH to get the beads flung onto the tire, it's just a non-issue. BTW, they stay flung until about 2-3 MPH. A locked wheel needs no balancing. . . Even with a loss of traction, the wheels are still spinning; they've just lost the grip to the roads surface and so there is no balancing issues.

    - "OK this is crazy"
    - That's what they said about "hybrid cars" 25 years ago. . . ;-)

    - I'd think green slime would be a better choice, it's going to stop any air leaks, it's going to stay in the position it is flung into by centrifugal force, evenly coating the interior walls, filling depressions, and balancing the wheel. It isn't always moving, causing friction, wearing out the inside of the tire and actually decreasing the efficiency of the wheel as the car moves."
    - Umm,. . . I hate to burst your bubble, but slime settles to the bottom of the tire too when it's stopped. Maybe not for a momentary stop, but if you stop at a long stop light, a majority of it migrates to the bottom. It then takes a few revolutions of the tire to get it evenly distributed again. As for wear on the inner lining of the tires, I have seen ZERO evidence when I've removed the tires. In fact the inside a really nice and clean. Ever removed a Slimed tire??. . .
    Yuck!!

    - "The only down side is the beads may damage inside liner of the tire when the beads flying around before settling down or during deceleration. The bead manufacturer probably won't tell you that."
    - When the beads are loose in the tire, they are loose at basically walking/jogging speeds. Since the beads that i use are only
    .20 grams each (and made of plastic) no damage can occur. If these beads were able to damage the inside of a tire, it would have to be made of marshmallow or some other sweet, gooey, confection and wouldn't be a rubber of any kind or a tire that anyone would buy. ;-)

    - "Did he take the tire off after 3 years and inspect if there are any damage?
    BTW, these BBs are sometimes used for sand blasting."
    - As of this writing, the page is almost 4 years old and I've been balancing ALL my cars tires this way for the past 8 years. So I've had several opportunities to remove the tires at replacement and inspect. Again, I have seen ZERO damage to any tire/wheel. In fact, other than the usual camber wear that you find on a car with slightly cambered tires, they wear has been very even with no bald spots or other signs of un-even wear.

    My conclusions: After 8 years of balancing tires this way, I have not had a single issue. My Porsche sees track days, auto-Xs and some very aggressive driving; never once a balancing issue. Here's a couple videos I have of my heavily modified '67 VW Squareback shop-car attacking a twisty road with tires balanced with the beads. Other than some loss of grip due to some hard driving (which is expected), I have no balancing issues. You be the judge. . .







    Regards,

    Nate M.
    Owner, ProVolks
    ProVolks; VW & Porsche Repair, Performance & Restoration
    Anacortes, WA
    (360) 299-8860

    Nate's AircooledTech
    Welcome to AircooledTech.com; Your virtual air-cooleded repair shop!!
     
    garm likes this.
  5. garm

    garm mpg + cool = win

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    Thanks for the thorough answer, I appreciate it.
     
  6. bedrock8x

    bedrock8x Senior Member

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    The video does not show anything about tire balancing.
    If he really want to show that, he should be driving on a straight highway driving at about 70 mph and the video show at close up the movement of the steering wheel with the hands off the steering wheel.
    If the tires are not in balance, the steering wheel will oscillate left and right slightly.
     
  7. edwardob

    edwardob Member

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    if you pay attention to video.there is no vibes movement steering....
    but anyway this guy does'nt have to prove anything to us...no more than i do
    i have no vibration/movement at 100kmh either....but people would have to see me putting beads in to believe it...then have it checked by csi miami..............if i did make video![i may do]

    what more can we do for you folks......this works....saves money..........a great "mod"
     
  8. gliderman

    gliderman Active Member

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    Are you selling this stuff, or do you just want a pat on the back? Stuff your tires with beads all you want. Its not a new idea. If these were so great tire companies and consumers would be filling all their tires with beads.
     
  9. edwardob

    edwardob Member

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    Are you selling this stuff?......no but available ebay cheap

    do you just want a pat on the back......like is button just below post?

    Stuff your tires with beads all you want!..........3-4oz will do[100grms] it's not a turkey

    Its not a new idea!.......i did ask first post..has anyone tried it?

    If these were so great tire companies and consumers would be filling all their tires with beads!!!........

    tyre companie sell tyres.....they don't balance them!
    consumers are putting them in..as companies are selling these products successfully for this purpose!!!
    the point here is air-soft BBs are cheaper @10euro to do 4 wheels



    @gliderm
    maybe you work in a tire fitting shop and may lose some cash....
    hey!!! idea!!! why not offer to fill [3-4oz remember] with beads!
     
    Maroon likes this.
  10. edwardob

    edwardob Member

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    risked life and limb and arrest to make this video at 100kmh ..
    did touch steering at one point to stop running someone of road as there was slight bend

     
  11. edwardob

    edwardob Member

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    update...being using the beads for nearly four months now...have to say ..amazing

    no wobbles...no vibrations....no odd behaviour
    i'll never pay for balancing again!
     
  12. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    How about the TPMS sensors? any chance of them being damaged?

    I checked a Frontier truck forum where I sometimes post, people on there who have tried them report mixed results. It seems to depend on how badly the tire is out of balance to start with. Also there are apparently some tires the beads will not work on because they have radial ridges around the inside of the tire and the beads can't move freely. Some others posted that they seem to work OK. The tires most of the truck guys tried them on were 265/75-16, there are reports they work better on larger tires such as these.

    I also found a caveat on one of the seller sites stating that they may not work well on lower profile tires, i.e. under 65 aspect ratio.
     
    edwardob likes this.
  13. edwardob

    edwardob Member

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    useful info......
    i don't have tpms sensors.or know where they are in wheel...but the beads hit the roof of tyre after about 5mph and stay there..moving slowing as balance reguires
    of course you can't know unless you try!
    they're cheap so no big issue if they don't work.....just go and get them balanced later
    may not work also if not enough beads put in!
     
  14. kknguyen1168

    kknguyen1168 Member

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    edwardob


    how many oz Dyna Beads you put in each tire? I am interested and I am going to try that with my spare set rims and tires.

    my tires are 195/65/15 too

    V/r

    Khoi nguyen
     
  15. edwardob

    edwardob Member

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  16. kknguyen1168

    kknguyen1168 Member

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    edwardod

    understood, would like to know How many OZ. of Dyna Beads per tire.

    V/r

    Khoi Nguyen
     
  17. edwardob

    edwardob Member

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    i suggest you read link in total??!!!....they are not dyna beads,,,,,they are bb pellets[cheaper]

    Your typical car tire requires 3.5oz of beads...as suggested in link
     
  18. kknguyen1168

    kknguyen1168 Member

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    edwardod

    you are talking about the first post right Edardod?

    V/r

    Khoi nguyen
     
  19. edwardob

    edwardob Member

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  20. kknguyen1168

    kknguyen1168 Member

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    edward

    I read them all, still my question is where the phone that you can call and from? and you said it is not Dyna beads but bb beads but all I can see is Dyna beads I want to try like the one you did.

    V/r

    Khoi nguyen