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Balancing Tires

Tommy4949 said:
I have read the few threads on here about this, but I want to know anyones experience with using antifreeze to balance the tires. Thanks.
Never saw that thread,but water has always been used for "weighting" a tire,I think it's to "thin" to work as a balance material!
 
userbmx1315 said:
use airsoft bbs theyr what i run now, works like magic
what's a thumbrule for tire size vs. amount of pellets? i'd like to do this on my 31s.

edit: i clicked the link KarlVP posted before i posted, but read it afterwards....
 
I used 10 ounces in each of my 33's.
Look at the website posted above, should be a chart on it.
 
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asp387 said:
what's a thumbrule for tire size vs. amount of pellets? i'd like to do this on my 31s.
I think the [SIZE=-1]consensus[/SIZE] is to use between 8oz and 10oz on a 31" tire. I've got 9oz in my 31s right now and they are smooth on the highway.
 
RCP Phx said:
Never saw that thread,but water has always been used for "weighting" a tire,I think it's to "thin" to work as a balance material!

Thanks, at least one person is replying about what I posted...

I was thinking antifreeze because it is winter a lot more than it is summer up here. Would it also help with heat building up in the tires when on long trips? Especially with these TSL Radials...
 
Tommy4949 said:
Thanks, at least one person is replying about what I posted...

I was thinking antifreeze because it is winter a lot more than it is summer up here. Would it also help with heat building up in the tires when on long trips? Especially with these TSL Radials...

It won't help with heat. Once the water or antifreeze gets heat soaked it has no way to shed the heat because it's trapped inside a tire. I've personally never heard of using water or antifreeze to balance a tire, and I'll have to agree with RCP, probably not viscous enough to balance a tire at speed.
 
I doubt you'd see any cooling effect from the anti-freeze on your internal tire temperatures.

the benefit of antifreeze in radiators is that it has a higher boiling point than water and a lower freezing point. Neither of which will help the temps inside your rubber with out fabbing up some sort of very cool heat exchanger that runs inside your tires.\

If you do design such a device, include an internal beadlock feature - you'll make a bazillion dollars...
 
RCP Phx said:
Never saw that thread,but water has always been used for "weighting" a tire,I think it's to "thin" to work as a balance material!

I also was under the impression that water (or any other viscouse material) was used for "weighting" not for balancing. I believe it has been used in rock buggys? and also Off Highway/Ag/Con large trucks? but I don't believe any of these vehicles are worried about balancing the tires due to low speeds?

Out of curiosity why would you want to use water/antifreeze instead of beads for balancing? the water will evaporate and condense over time so it would not be as consistent of a balance material.

Michael
 
ok i have been researching this one for quite some time .. i just put 7 ounces of airsoft pellets in my 33'' procomp x terrains.. and i have never ever had a smoother ride.. the charts said 6 to 8 ounces for 33's depending on widths and sidewalls and different ply tires so i went in the middle.. i too have heard about water and or anifreeze with the pellets and my spin on this and i could be wrong .. as i am no expert..but here goes anyways.. where i live we get a preety good winter.. now airing down the tires every time you wheel then filling them up agian youre gonna get moisture in there. will this make the pellets freeze and clump together in the cold weather maybe?? so running an ounce or two of antifreeze along with the pellets may not be a bad idea.. my thought is antifreeze might be a bit corrosive so i chose not to use it .. for now.. come winter time i may change my mind.. the tire shop i deal with also uses a silica sand as a balancing agent and i know of some guys that use golf balls the truckers have been using golf balls for yrs.. this is not new technolgy.. i wish i had done it a long time ago
 
I use 12oz of airsoft BB's in my 33" bias TSL when mounted on Aluminum rims, They balance great. With steel rims (VERY heavy) I will likely put more weight in them.

I air up and down my tires ALL of the time and I have dismounted tires many time and NEVER seen any moisture in any of the tires I have dismounted. I believe that any moisture that does enter will evaporate as the tire temp goes up during driving. This is exactly my concern with running water/liquid. Will it remain a constant balance agent over time?

The only time my BB's have been clumped together is when I have had mud get into the tire (loosing a bead) and had to clean it all out before re-mounting.

Michael
 
I have seen it posted several times that moisture in the tire will evaporate when the tire gets hot, but where will it go? The tire is sealed, so unless the water is in a vapor state when you air down I don't see any way it could get out.
 
antifreeze itself holds less heat than water. the reason it's used in cars is to lower the freezing temperature of the coolant water. water is actually one of the best things to use for coolant, the only bad part is that it expands when it freezes. for comparison, water can hold 4 times as much heat as the same weight of room temperature air. if you wanted to cool your tires your best bet would be a 70-30 mix of water and antifreeze, the same ratio that goes in the radiator. why you'd want to cool you tires i don't know. also, i've heard water in tires is not good for balancing... so stick to airsoft.
 
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Tommy4949 said:
Thanks, at least one person is replying about what I posted...

I was thinking antifreeze because it is winter a lot more than it is summer up here. Would it also help with heat building up in the tires when on long trips? Especially with these TSL Radials...

What you posted was bullshit, its weighing, not balancing, we took if for the balanceing aspect and responded, there.
 
i run air softs in my 33's on bead locks.. works great.. Water weights down the tire,,actually most of the comp guys are running calcium in there tires.. Dont mess with the water.. Just get some air soft bb's and call it a day..
 
SWAMPMAN said:
SOUTHTEXASXJ said:
so you are putting the BB's in then spin balancing the tires and applying weight where needed?[/quote

nope.. if your'e gonna use the airsofts or anything like that then you do not want to put weights on the wheels...

so you dont use a balancer you just put the BB's and go?
 
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