Lots of wheels weights?

[Brybo86]

Brother got a new to him car and it had 2 new tires on the front with these weights, they were similar on both wheels.

I've seen a like 3 separate chunks before but this seems excessive...

 

[oldcodger]

That is about same as our 2015 Avalon has.

 

[Jetronic]

It happens. With good tyres and wheels, it doesn't happen. In fact some don't need any weights at all. This is just on the other side of the spectrum

 

[hrv]

I have found over the years that Michelin tires that I have purchased required very little weights to balance...even some wheels that needed nothing and always got a smooth ride from Michelin tires too...

 

[Mainia]

I was in the tire biz in a custom rim/tire shop when younger. That's common, nothing to worry about, and the secondary stacked weight is ok, but not aesthetically pleasing. The installer did a second spin to check and with the longer weight tap still needed more in that specific area, so he added it at it's correct location to properly balance your tire.

What you don't what is two different placements of weights per rim. As per a group of weights set at the 12 o'clock to 2 o'clock area and then another (even a very small weight) at say 4 o'clock. While technically ok, I myself see it as a hack job and would pull the new tape weight at the shop's expense and redo it when I was installing.

 

[hrv]

I was in the tire biz in a custom rim/tire shop when younger. That's common, nothing to worry about, and the secondary stacked weight is ok, but not aesthetically pleasing. The installer did a second spin to check and with the longer weight tap still needed more in that specific area, so he added it at it's correct location to properly balance your tire.

What you don't what is two different placements of weights per rim. As per a group of weights set at the 12 o'clock to 2 o'clock area and then another (even a very small weight) at say 4 o'clock. While technically ok, I myself see it as a hack job and would pull the new tape weight at the shop's expense and redo it when I was installing.

I guess it looks OK to you....but if it was mine I would question it and at a minimum have them remount the tire 180 degrees and see if that help reduce the amount of weights needed...If not I would want another tire....

 

[CapriRacer]

OK, here's what is going on.

To balance a tire and wheel assembly, you need to add weights opposite the heavy spots.

The further away from the center of rotation, the more effective the weights are - and for dynamic balance the further away from the centerline of the wheel, the more effective the weights are.

What that means is that the wheel flanges are the best spots for balance weights.

But if you want to hide the weights behind the wheel spokes, it's going to take a lot more weight - up to 4 times the amount of weight! Further, the weights have to be thin to clear the brakes, so that means large!

 

[Mainia]

We all want our stuff to be perfect, when you mount 2,000 tire you see even spinning them can do such a small change. Nature of the beast of mass produced tires. I have 2 Michelin Pilot Sport 3+ A/S that have a long tape on them and they were Road Forced under just under ok spec. My rotary forged rims are mostly straight too. Did not bug me in the least. Nature of the beast. The tire is balanced, what more do you want?

And CapriRacer is correct, above this comment. Let them pound a wheel weight on your nice rims on the outer lip, you will have less weight. I do let them pound one on the back lip and then I Fluid Film the weight and it's access point going into the rim tire area to stop what ever corrosion could happen. I keep my rims on late fall and put them on early spring in Minnesota, so they get some salt baths here and there.

 

[hrv]

OK, here's what is going on.

To balance a tire and wheel assembly, you need to add weights opposite the heavy spots.

The further away from the center of rotation, the more effective the weights are - and for dynamic balance the further away from the centerline of the wheel, the more effective the weights are.

What that means is that the wheel flanges are the best spots for balance weights.

But if you want to hide the weights behind the wheel spokes, it's going to take a lot more weight - up to 4 times the amount of weight! Further, the weights have to be thin to clear the brakes, so that means large!

I guess but I have been using Michelin tires since the mid 80s and have found that they needed very little ot no weight to balance the tires....The last set of tires I can remember that took that much was a set of Goodyears back on a 1989 Plymouth Acclaim...

 

[eljefino]

CapriRacer is right, as usual.

Think of your wheel rim as a lever, and the weight acting on the end of the lever. The near-center of the rim takes more weight to actuate the lever.

A lot of tire shops use a rim-crimp weight on the inside but sticky weights on the "outside." But if you look your outside is, well, nearly in the middle!

Finally they stopped using lead weights in a lot of places so you got steel or zinc, which takes more size to have the same amount of weight.

Looks like the car just got a brake job, too. I'd say he did all right.

 

[John105]

I know that I had never considered it before until I saw it on my 2006 used car purchased in 2016, where the spare had never been used.

There is a red, and a yellow, dot on the tire. This even tells the tech where to position the tire in relation to the wheel.

I think if the wheel has a red dot, the tire and wheel's red dots line up.

But if the wheel has no dot, then the yellow dot on the tire, lines up with the valve stem on the wheel. This is from memory 7 years ago, I've never noticed until then, and really never since...but I can't help but feel lots of weights isn't a good thing...

 

[Marcozi]

I have found over the years that Michelin tires that I have purchased required very little weights to balance...even some wheels that needed nothing and always got a smooth ride from Michelin tires too...

I read an article this morning that ranked tire makers. Michelin was #1. I've been putting Michelins on my cars for decades, and they are hands down the best tires for my purposes.

 

[John105]

I read an article this morning that ranked tire makers. Michelin was #1. I've been putting Michelins on my cars for decades, and they are hands down the best tires for my purposes.

I'm a fanboy and usually not afraid to admit it, so that people can know the context.

All our tires are Michelin but I mostly like the Pilot Sport AS4s and the Pilot Super Sports on 2 cars.

The Xice Xi3's I think are not very good, and although I love the way the Premier LTXs ride (2nd set), they are terrible for wear. The first set started at 8.5/32. The 2nd one since Michelin got blasted every which way, started at 10/32. The problem with them is the appearance of things falling off the tire tread. They're not even made anymore in our size, prolly was a disaster for Michelin.

But as mentioned, the first two tire models I think are extraordinary. And the funny thing? They're not even more expensive than competitors, or if they are, marginal benefit > marginal cost.

 

[CapriRacer]

I know that I had never considered it before until I saw it on my 2006 used car purchased in 2016, where the spare had never been used. ........

Hot diggity dog! A variation of "dots on tires"!

There is very little commonality on marking wheels for high/heavy spots.
There is very little commonality on marking tires for high/heavy spots.

That's because each vehicle manufacturer has its own requirements and they don't seem to care what others are doing - they each do their own thing. BTW, each OEM requires some sort of marking so the tires can be match mounted to the wheels.

Also each wheel and tire manufacturer has to comply with the OEM requirements - and since those are all different, they are different as well - and some don't mark at all!! (except for what they supply to an OEM.)

You will - obviously - find marks on tires that match up with marks on wheels, but there doesn't seem to be a pattern.

Except to say that using a red dot on the tire for the high point is the most common of all of these marks. Next most common is using a yellow dot to indicate the heavy point of the tire. Beyond that, there is very little commonality.

It does not harm to match up the red dot on the tire with the valve hole, but it more often than not doesn't do any good.

Lastly, it doesn't matter how little or how much weight it takes to balance a tire/wheel assembly, once it is balanced, it's balanced. Reorienting the tire relative to the wheels changes where the weights need to go, but once it's balanced, it's balanced.