Up until a few days ago, I never heard of Road Force when Balancing tires. Well I've been having a problem with a vibration on my Continental and could not get rid of it with a wheel balance. Heard that my local Ford dealer had a Hunter GSP9700 Wheel Balancer that also measures Road Force, so off I go and tell them I have a vibration and want to get it corrected. Tech shows me that the Road Force on the tires is (from bad to better) 42 lbs, 35 lbs, 27 lbs and 23 lbs. Then he says "the tires are no good, take them back where you got them and have them put on new tires". (Note that the ballance was spot on, but all he did was a "Road Force CHECK" not a correction. (I had him put the lowest Road Force numbers on the front). OK, I know that there must be a reason the Hunter GSP9700 would measure Road Force, that is, if the Road Force is off, it should be corrected. Checked both on the internet, and also a tire dealer up North that I have purchased from before, and told them. The response I got was "Whats so hard abour correcting the Road Force. The GSP9700 has you mark the wheel, and mark the tire. Deflate the tire, break the bead, slide the tire so the two marks line up, then reinflate the tire and then balance. No big deal, just takes a little more time.
Also learned that it measures the Loaded Runout of the wheel/tire combination, then measures, using other rollers, the runout of the wheel where the bead seats. THEN IT INSTRUCTS THE USER TO MARK THE TIRE AND WHEEL, remove from the machine, break the beads loose, rotate the tires on the wheel to match the marks, then re-inflate and remount the wheel/tire on the machine. Then spin it again to measure the results, and it s\then spins up again so balance weights can be applied in the usual manner.
Went back to Ford dealer and told him what I learned, and his response was that my tires were no good, (take them back) and that for him to do a Road Force Correction, it would take him an hour on each wheel and would cost me a lot. I told him to forget it (but I don't forget it). Lucky for me, must of my vibration is gone with the two lowest Road Force tires on the front.
Next, I telephoned a friend, who at one time was a Tech at this same dealer and told him what happened. He said, "Techs don't like to do Road Force Corrections because THEY DON'T MAKE MUCH MONEY DOING IT". Said if I bring it to his present dealership (about 100 miles away) he would do it reasonable. I told him no, I will live with it for now as it is a lot better.
Lastly, I telephoned that tire dealer up North, where I will be visiting in another two weeks, and he says that yes, they also have the Hunter GSP9700 and he will do the job for $17.95 per wheel. This is the best price I've seen, as my local dealer tech wanted to charge me three or four hours. (Idiot) Car is smooth at Interstate speeds, so I will wait until I'm up North, and have them do the Road Force Correction and re-balance up there.
Also learned that it measures the Loaded Runout of the wheel/tire combination, then measures, using other rollers, the runout of the wheel where the bead seats. THEN IT INSTRUCTS THE USER TO MARK THE TIRE AND WHEEL, remove from the machine, break the beads loose, rotate the tires on the wheel to match the marks, then re-inflate and remount the wheel/tire on the machine. Then spin it again to measure the results, and it s\then spins up again so balance weights can be applied in the usual manner.
Went back to Ford dealer and told him what I learned, and his response was that my tires were no good, (take them back) and that for him to do a Road Force Correction, it would take him an hour on each wheel and would cost me a lot. I told him to forget it (but I don't forget it). Lucky for me, must of my vibration is gone with the two lowest Road Force tires on the front.
Next, I telephoned a friend, who at one time was a Tech at this same dealer and told him what happened. He said, "Techs don't like to do Road Force Corrections because THEY DON'T MAKE MUCH MONEY DOING IT". Said if I bring it to his present dealership (about 100 miles away) he would do it reasonable. I told him no, I will live with it for now as it is a lot better.
Lastly, I telephoned that tire dealer up North, where I will be visiting in another two weeks, and he says that yes, they also have the Hunter GSP9700 and he will do the job for $17.95 per wheel. This is the best price I've seen, as my local dealer tech wanted to charge me three or four hours. (Idiot) Car is smooth at Interstate speeds, so I will wait until I'm up North, and have them do the Road Force Correction and re-balance up there.
