wheel balancing machines...all the same?

[flinter]

Hi,

I am about to purchase 4 new touring tires for my 2005 Hyundai
Elantra and was wondering if shops that use Coats, Hunter,Snap
On wheel balancing machines are all the same?

Is there a system thats actually better than another?

 

[jmsjags]

i would think that newness of the machine matters more than what brand it is. i know with the older machines the mechanic actually turns it by hand while the newer ones spin the tires for you. seems the newer ones would be a lot more accurate.

 

[rjundi]

Hunter can has a machine that can do road force balancing. Its more sophisticated than others.

That being said, the operator is what counts as much as machine. I go to the most old school shop with some antique machine. Yet they balance our low profile tires perfectly.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: jmsjags
i would think that newness of the machine matters more than what brand it is. i know with the older machines the mechanic actually turns it by hand while the newer ones spin the tires for you. seems the newer ones would be a lot more accurate.
I have not seen a hand spun balancer in decades!

 

[Eddie]

As an additional note: If the guy doesn't know how to do a good job or doesn't care, then the best machine in the country won't get you a good balancing job. In my limited experience, I've seen and heard more balancing jobs screwed up and need to be redone because of the operator.

 

[flinter]

Thanks...

I guess that brand does not really matter

 

[Nick R]

Talk to the critic, seems to be a fount of knowledge on balancing machines.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: Eddie
As an additional note: If the guy doesn't know how to do a good job or doesn't care, then the best machine in the country won't get you a good balancing job. In my limited experience, I've seen and heard more balancing jobs screwed up and need to be redone because of the operator.


Yep.

When I was doing the rear brakes on my PT, I happened to notice two large wheel weights directly opposite each other on the wheel. Within .5 oz of each other. So naturally, I took it back to where I bought the tires to have it rebalanced. The guy at the counter actually looked at the weights and asked, "Why?"
"Why? Because it's not done right."
"How do you know that?"

I used to really like Discount Tire but in the past year or so they've really messed up.

 

[jmsjags]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
When I was doing the rear brakes on my PT, I happened to notice two large wheel weights directly opposite each other on the wheel. Within .5 oz of each other. So naturally, I took it back to where I bought the tires to have it rebalanced. The guy at the counter actually looked at the weights and asked, "Why?"
"Why? Because it's not done right."
"How do you know that?"


yeah that's like rule 1 of balancing tires..you never counterbalance like that. i see it on cars all the time and it drives me crazy

 

[05foresterXT]

Some machines have the option of doing a static vs. a dynamic balance. Sometimes the guy doing the job just does a static balance, because it's harder to screw up, but it isn't a good balancing job. Insist on getting a dynamic balance, and if they try to feed you any [censored], take your car somewhere else.

 

[Quest]

Originally Posted By: 05foresterXT
Some machines have the option of doing a static vs. a dynamic balance. Sometimes the guy doing the job just does a static balance, because it's harder to screw up, but it isn't a good balancing job. Insist on getting a dynamic balance, and if they try to feed you any [censored], take your car somewhere else.


No offense but seriously: who-on-earth would do static balancing on tires these days on modern automobiles? (hindsight: whoever insists in doing static balancing on your tires should get a slap on his/her face, period).

Q.

 

[05foresterXT]

I took my car to Firestone, and the tech there did a static balance on a modern machine. I politely asked him why he wasn't doing a dynamic balance, and he had the deer in headlights look on his face. He said something about the snow and the wheel weights getting knocked offon the outer edge. It happens. Some people are lazy. It takes more precision to do a dynamic balance.

 

[CapriRacer]

To my mind, the only balancing machine worth having is a Hunter GSP9700 with all the bells and whistles. This machine is not only capable of doing both static and dynamic balancing (why anyone would do static is beyond me!!), but it is capable of hiding the weights behind the spokes!

It is also the only machine I am aware of that will do uniformity - what they call "Road Force". Note, this is NOT balancing - this is a form of uniformity (think "out of round" and you'll be close!) FYI: You can have a perfectly balanced tire that is out of round and that could cause a vibration.

If I were in the market (I do my own!), I would only frequent shops that use this kind of machine. No excuses as to why they don't have one - I would turn around and walk out if they didn't have one!

As others have said, even the best machine is only as good as the operator, but this machine coupled with a guy who knows how to use it can run rings around anyone else.

 

[UNC036]

My tires are balanced every time they rotate with...

Dyna Beads

Takes the Lazy Tech right out of the picture.

 

[Silver]

I've formed an opinion that the Hunter machines are better as well. What this opinion is worth is beyond me.

 

[UNC036]

CapriRacer,

Have a look at the John Bean BFH 1000.

I would be interested in your opinion.

Thanks, Jim

 

[Strakes]

Originally Posted By: Eddie
As an additional note: If the guy doesn't know how to do a good job or doesn't care, then the best machine in the country won't get you a good balancing job. In my limited experience, I've seen and heard more balancing jobs screwed up and need to be redone because of the operator.


+1

I am not an tire balance tech yet I was able to tell that something was afoot. I purchased a set of Continental DWS at a local independent tire shop and watched them install them. I went there because they said they'd use their hunter road force balancer. They balanced all of them without ever once allowing the machine's rolling drum to come down and measure/do it's thing. That balance was off, especially on the highway. I went back twice...same thing, just added more weights. I got angry and went to the car dealer, and watched them...same machine. The techs there spent extra time and allowed the machine to bring its drum down to contact the tire. The balance was excellent. I went back to the original tire dealer and showed them my $40 bill at the dealer for rebalance at only 150 total miles and waited until they credited me that amount. They were not happy, but I am convinced some shops skip steps, reduce quality, in the interest of production which equals short term dollars in their mind. Long term dollars? I'll never go back to that shop.

 

[UNC036]

Originally Posted By: Strakes
I am not an tire balance tech yet I was able to tell that something was afoot. I purchased a set of Continental DWS at a local independent tire shop and watched them install them. I went there because they said they'd use their hunter road force balancer. They balanced all of them without ever once allowing the machine's rolling drum to come down and measure/do it's thing. That balance was off, especially on the highway. I went back twice...same thing, just added more weights. I got angry and went to the car dealer, and watched them...same machine. The techs there spent extra time and allowed the machine to bring its drum down to contact the tire. The balance was excellent. I went back to the original tire dealer and showed them my $40 bill at the dealer for rebalance at only 150 total miles and waited until they credited me that amount. They were not happy, but I am convinced some shops skip steps, reduce quality, in the interest of production which equals short term dollars in their mind. Long term dollars? I'll never go back to that shop.


Lowering the drum on the Hunter Balancer had/has nothing to do with the tire/wheel imbalance measurement.

It is a sort of high spot measurement tool.

 

[Strakes]

Thank you for clearing that up. As stated before, my gut was telling me that they weren't doing a good job. The point I was trying to make is that time is usually sacrificed in the interest of production. If it means anything to you, the road force was 25 and 22 lbs on 2 wheels prior to dismounting and rotating the tire on the rim a few degrees. Also, they removed all the original weights... 225/45R17 tire size. After all was done, one tire was at 7 pounds and the other was at 9 pounds road force. A reduction in road force was also noted on the invoice for the other 2 wheels that the tech said probably weren't the cause of the felt vibration.

 

[UNC036]

Strakes,

It sounds like the dealer took good care of you.

Glad to hear of that, It is truly rare in this age of instant everything.

Jim