Every time I rotate, I take my pocket knife and pry out all them rocks stuck in the tread grooves. I know if I would take my car to get "re-balanced" I know they don't bother removing those rocks, so how are they even getting a good balance reading??????
How do rocks in tread affect balance???
- Thread starter Vern_in_IL
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Just my opinion.
I don't think that little rocks/stones in the tread effect balance of the tire that we'd notice. However, if a tire were just balanced and driven afterward(picking up lots of stones) and then brought back in the shop immediately for a re balance, the balance machine would probably pick up the out of balance error.
However, if a tire(s) are getting close to being out of balance anyway(we'd never know till it happens) then, small stones may in fact take a tire out of it's balance to where we may notice at certain speeds.
I don't think that little rocks/stones in the tread effect balance of the tire that we'd notice. However, if a tire were just balanced and driven afterward(picking up lots of stones) and then brought back in the shop immediately for a re balance, the balance machine would probably pick up the out of balance error.
However, if a tire(s) are getting close to being out of balance anyway(we'd never know till it happens) then, small stones may in fact take a tire out of it's balance to where we may notice at certain speeds.
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If your tires require re-balancing that often, then you should find a shop that does it correctly and removes the stones from the tread first. But if you have that many stones in your tread and they don't get flung out once you reach the pavement, then balancing may be an exercise in futility; your tires will always be off balance to some extent.
After years of living with a rock drive and a number of years of living on gravel (it was paved about 20 years ago) I've never had stones in the tread cause a balance issue.
After years of living with a rock drive and a number of years of living on gravel (it was paved about 20 years ago) I've never had stones in the tread cause a balance issue.
I once had a tire mounter say as he removed the little tire size sticker, that he always did that so the balance wasn't affected. I smiled and nodded approval.
)
)try centramatic "as you drive" tire balancers..........they are one of two companies in the US that make them........kind of a plate like thing that mounts between rim and hub......I have them for my airstream trailer, and 2005 jeep wrangler with mudders..........night and day difference ...............i mean really hard to put into words how great it is...........my jeep went from being a real handful at 65 on the toll road...........to being nearly limousine smooth.............I can't say enough about them......it was astonishing..............
I think the tiny rocks in between treads are always coming and going.
^^ Kinda what I was thinking ^^
I don't live anywhere near gravel but my last Ford F250 came with long running smooth General Grabbers
but they loaded up with every stone they seen. I mean crazy loaded up. and often they never came out. But I didn't notice much bad.
but they loaded up with every stone they seen. I mean crazy loaded up. and often they never came out. But I didn't notice much bad.
i only get tires at a local discount tire, because of stuff like this. while i was shopping many years ago, i watched some 18yo kid quickly picking rocks out with a hook, balancing the tire, taking a wire wheel on a air tool to both the hub and wheel surface, and use a torque wrench that he had to set from zero to remount the wheels. this was on a customer's car that was in for the free 5k mile rotation. because of this, i only use this particular shop no matter what sale any one else has.
So I went out to the drive way and picked up a bunch of rocks about the size that would fit in the grooves of a tire. The largest one weighed about 1/16 oz.
So, yes, a couple of rocks could affect the balance.
So, yes, a couple of rocks could affect the balance.
Do rocks weigh anything? See above.
With all the other forces working on a tire I don't think stones in the tread blocks will throw the balance off any appreciable amount. For reference, on my race car there are typically large amounts of rubber chunks that get stuck on the inside of the wheel or on the outside edge of the "spokes." None of these ever make a difference that can be felt in the car even at 120+ mph.
In an ideal environment you could probably tell but in the real-world it will be hard to notice a difference.
In an ideal environment you could probably tell but in the real-world it will be hard to notice a difference.
I think this is one of those things where in theory rocks in the tread could affect balance, but in the real world it's probably very rare that it would actually happen.
you'd have to get multiple rocks close together in one area of the tire to really start throwing off the balance. Then it would only be noticeable at high speeds, but the centrifugal force from the tire would likely throw any sizeable rocks from the tread at high speeds.
Only once have I had external debris cause a balance issue. It was on my truck after a big snow. One wheel somehow got snow tightly packed into half of the rim, and it caused a vibration at highway speeds. I knocked out the snow with my foot and it fixed the issue.
you'd have to get multiple rocks close together in one area of the tire to really start throwing off the balance. Then it would only be noticeable at high speeds, but the centrifugal force from the tire would likely throw any sizeable rocks from the tread at high speeds.
Only once have I had external debris cause a balance issue. It was on my truck after a big snow. One wheel somehow got snow tightly packed into half of the rim, and it caused a vibration at highway speeds. I knocked out the snow with my foot and it fixed the issue.
over here, tyres are generally balanced to around 5 gram accuracy so technically if you have that weight of rock stuck in your tyre then it can go out of balance.
Not all steering have/ show the same sensitivity to wheel balance. I had a RWD for whose tyres had to be balanced to 2g accuracy. While on some other cars, 10g out of balance may not be noticeable.
Also don't forget the averaging effect if you pick up a number of stones
Not all steering have/ show the same sensitivity to wheel balance. I had a RWD for whose tyres had to be balanced to 2g accuracy. While on some other cars, 10g out of balance may not be noticeable.
Also don't forget the averaging effect if you pick up a number of stones
Another thing to consider is that a pebble is at the maximum distance from center, and will have more effect than the same weight further in on the rim
I would say it throws the balance off by an anal retentive amount.
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