I used pellets to balance...now I get DW.

[Muddy Beast]

So I picked up some rims from a fellow guy and part of the deal was we'd mount them at his house and put BBs in them to balance them. Well I forgot to run to the store prior to going there and brought with me what I had from when I used to airsoft. We had just enough to put 6oz in every tire but one in the rear. Well I drove it that way for 2 days with a little bit of wobble and desided to finish off the tire with some more bbs. I went to my local discount tire co and they put in my BBs for free.

Well I drove it today to work and back from discount tire, and at 40mph and 60mph (cruising at this speed) exactly, I get some BAD vibes and even death wobble. So my question is, what can I do? Should I go to have them all centered and tell them to use BBs (can I do this?)? Or should I just scratch the BBs and have them put weights on?

I searched on the subject and didn't find much info considering everyone had big tires doing this. I'm running 31" BFG Mud Terrains on a 15" rim.

:huh:

~Scott

 

[cal]

If you're getting DW from that, something else is wrong and this is helping it manifest.

Do the normal "have someone shake the steering wheel violently" routine and check out your front end - trackbar at both ends, balljoints, unit bearings, steering, trackbar mount..

After that try lead weights sure, but in theory you have another problem.

 

[ECKSJAY]

Home or shop aligned? Do as cal suggests and look for other causes. There's also a chance that airsoft garbage is causing it. Why did you use airsoft in a 31" tire? You know it doesn't cost much to have them balanced, right?

 

[Muddy Beast]

If you're getting DW from that, something else is wrong and this is helping it manifest.

Do the normal "have someone shake the steering wheel violently" routine and check out your front end - trackbar at both ends, balljoints, unit bearings, steering, trackbar mount..

After that try lead weights sure, but in theory you have another problem.

Well that was my thought but when I say death wobble I mean like everything is shaking like crazy (at least from the inside) and I have to let off the gas or hit the gas to make it go away. It's almost like I can feel one wheel shaking as if the axle was bend really bad.

I'm not sure what to look for in the front end steering though...since I'm 17, I'm still learning, and don't really have anyone to go to who knows this modified rig stuff (my dad knows stock stuff, but he hates my modified problems).

~Scott

 

[Muddy Beast]

Home or shop aligned? Do as cal suggests and look for other causes. There's also a chance that airsoft garbage is causing it. Why did you use airsoft in a 31" tire? You know it doesn't cost much to have them balanced, right?

Shop aligned, but not with the new wheels...

I used airsoft because free was/is better than cheap at this current point in time. (have to go to court tomorrow for a ticket and need all the cash I can get)

~Scott

 

[cal]

Well that was my thought but when I say death wobble I mean like everything is shaking like crazy (at least from the inside) and I have to let off the gas or hit the gas to make it go away. It's almost like I can feel one wheel shaking as if the axle was bend really bad.

I'm not sure what to look for in the front end steering though...since I'm 17, I'm still learning, and don't really have anyone to go to who knows this modified rig stuff (my dad knows stock stuff, but he hates my modified problems).

~Scott

You described deathwobble sure enough, except more often than not it won't go away until you come near to a complete stop.

PM me for my #, and find someone who can follow basic instructions (turning the steering wheel). I can walk you through looking for front end problems easily enough. If you can have a floorjack and a crowbar handy it would not hurt.

 

[TRSCobra]

I remember reading somewhere that the "airsoft balance" would only help with static wheel balancing, not dynamic. A static imbalance would cause more of a high frequency, up-and-down hopping where a dynamic imbalance causes wobble. My 31" tire/airsoft equipped cherokee does the same thing at highway or near highway speeds. I've since replaced a tie rod end and track bar, and tried countless toe adjustments, to no avail.

I think I'll spring for a lead weight dynamic balance on the next set of tires.

 

[cal]

You mean lead weight static balance?


I'm on my 4th set of tires on my XJ airsoft balanced. My dads range rover had 3 sets airsoft balanced, my ford truck is done the same way and so is my trailer.

I've never had any problems. MT/R's, BFG's, street tires, it doesnt matter.

 

[TRSCobra]

You mean lead weight static balance?

Well, a dynamic balance is only good as long as the outside weights don't get ripped off on the trail. Static would probably end up the better idea.

 

[cal]

Well, a dynamic balance is only good as long as the outside weights don't get ripped off on the trail. Static would probably end up the better idea.

You need to re-read the def's of static and dynamic tire balancing. While using lead weights on a spinny machine is dynamic, using beads in a tire is not static.

 

[TRSCobra]

I've done static and dynamic wheel balancing for 4 years on many different machines, but I'm unfamiliar with the idea of balancing beads. Back when I first heard about it, I read somewhere (figures that now I can't find it) that putting balance beads would only balance the tire on a static plane, due to centrifugal force only applying pressure outward. And since the inside of the tire has a rounded cross-section (with the exception of the bottom of the tire that's contacting the ground), the beads would settle in the center of the tire.

To correct a dymanic imbalance, weight needs to be applied on the outer edges. I just don't see how these beads can move to either side of the tire accordingly.

That's my idiot logic.

 

[cherotron]

I'm not sure what to look for in the front end steering though...since I'm 17, I'm still learning, and don't really have anyone to go to who knows this modified rig stuff (my dad knows stock stuff, but he hates my modified problems).

~Scott

Hey man, I'll give you a hand.. you're welcome to swing by one of these days.

-Gus