Hunter Road Force Elite

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https://www.autosphere.ca/carcarebusines...lite-sema-2016/

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Road Force Elite is the fastest diagnostic wheel balancer on the market and performs both a traditional balance and Road Force Measurement in less time than it takes to complete a conventional balance.

Hunter’s patented vision system determines wheel dimensions and wheel runout measurements on the Road Force Elite to save time, eliminate data entry errors, ensure accuracy and enhance ease-of-use. The vision system also completes a 3D scan of the wheel.

This scan enhances Hunter’s patented SmartWeighttechnology, making Road Force Elite the most accurate and efficient balancer on the market. The system also features automatic spoke detection, which guides technicians to place wheel weights behind the spokes.

The Road Force Elite is Hunter’s fifth generation design to utilize a loaded roller since the platform was introduced in 1997. The Road Force Elite load roller applies up to 1,250 lbs. (567 kg) of force against the tire to measure the assembly as it would perform under the weight of the vehicle. Force Matching guides the technician to index and match the lowest spot on the rim with the stiffest spot on the tire to capture the best possible ride and prevent comebacks.


With this machine, can a tire tech still screw up the match mounting and balance?
whistle.gif
 
What's the phrase? The world will always build a bigger idiot?

LOL

But hey this sounds like a cool machine that should make the process go more smoothly.
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
What's the phrase? The world will always build a bigger idiot?

LOL

But hey this sounds like a cool machine that should make the process go more smoothly.


Nothing is foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
 
I would hope a shop that paid the extra nickel to get one would go the extra distance to have the staff trained on them properly.

I just did a search to see who has them and Discount Tire is about the only tire store that has it besides dealerships.

http://www.hunter.com/gsp9700
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
I would hope a shop that paid the extra nickel to get one would go the extra distance to have the staff trained on them properly.

I just did a search to see who has them and Discount Tire is about the only tire store that has it besides dealerships.

http://www.hunter.com/gsp9700


My indy shop has one. So do Tire Discounters, and Firestones, around here.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
My indy shop has one. So do Tire Discounters, and Firestones, around here.


Do they have the "Elite" machine? You have to check the box for that feature. I know Firestone uses a Hunter machine at the newer store here but it isn't the Elite one.
 
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
My indy shop has one. So do Tire Discounters, and Firestones, around here.


Do they have the "Elite" machine? You have to check the box for that feature. I know Firestone uses a Hunter machine at the newer store here but it isn't the Elite one.


Negative, thanks for clarifying.
 
Here's the issue, even though it now does more checks in one step, to properly road force match a tire you'll still need to break the bead and reposition the tire on the wheel. That's something that's often skipped.

So, I foresee that this will be used like many RF machines: it will just be used like an old-fashioned balancer much of the time. That's because people won't want to take the time to break down the bead and in most cases optimizing the RF number won't be necessary. That's not necessarily a knock on shops that do it this way. RF machines are good for tracking down problem vibrations, but in most cases you won't need to optimize the RF number to get a smooth, vibration-free ride. A simple balance is all that's needed in most cases.
 
I've been at tire stores a couple times that had the old Hunter GSP9700, which none of the on-duty staff knew how to fully operate. So I showed the employee how to use it. I also didn't pay them for my mounting and balancing my own tires.
 
Yes the "tire Tech" will still screw up the mount and balance.
He will use the machine as a traditional balance,bang the weights on almost where they should be
and tell you that he did the best job possible.
 
Originally Posted By: dareo
How much does one of these things cost?


Our dealership got one of the new Hunter automatic touchless tire machines and latest Hunter balancer. Was over $100k.

As for the automatic "hide weights behind the spokes". Does hiding the weights like that not increase the second and third harmonics? So, actually does not balance as well?
 
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Originally Posted By: mightymousetech
....... As for the automatic "hide weights behind the spokes". Does hiding the weights like that not increase the second and third harmonics? So, actually does not balance as well?


Balance doesn't deal with harmonics. If you do a vector analysis, you can resolve a pair (or more) of weights down to a single vector.

That is not true of Force Variation, because the source is internal to the tire and deals with roundness and stiffness. Force Variation can result in 2nd and 3rd (and higher) harmonics - but the good news is that these force are usually fairly small.

So hiding the weights behind the spokes only results in using more weight to get the same level of balance.
 
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: mightymousetech
....... As for the automatic "hide weights behind the spokes". Does hiding the weights like that not increase the second and third harmonics? So, actually does not balance as well?


Balance doesn't deal with harmonics. If you do a vector analysis, you can resolve a pair (or more) of weights down to a single vector.


We can measure the harmonics independent of the road force.

You can have two wheel weights on the same side of the rim, but opposite each other. Will still be primary balanced, but will be a second harmonic.
 
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Originally Posted By: SubLGT

With this machine, can a tire tech still screw up the match mounting and balance?
whistle.gif




This marketing material pretty much screams, make the capital investment so you don't have the ongoing expense of smart employees.
 
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
Here's the issue, even though it now does more checks in one step, to properly road force match a tire you'll still need to break the bead and reposition the tire on the wheel. That's something that's often skipped.

So, I foresee that this will be used like many RF machines: it will just be used like an old-fashioned balancer much of the time. That's because people won't want to take the time to break down the bead and in most cases optimizing the RF number won't be necessary. That's not necessarily a knock on shops that do it this way. RF machines are good for tracking down problem vibrations, but in most cases you won't need to optimize the RF number to get a smooth, vibration-free ride. A simple balance is all that's needed in most cases.


This is pretty much my experience as well.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: mightymousetech
[quote=CapriR
We can measure the harmonics independent of the road force.

You can have two wheel weights on the same side of the rim, but opposite each other. Will still be primary balanced, but will be a second harmonic.


Sorry, but when tire manufacturers measure for force variation, they only need to dynamically balance the tire and the higher order harmonic forces they detect are purely force variation.
 
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: mightymousetech
[quote=CapriR
We can measure the harmonics independent of the road force.

You can have two wheel weights on the same side of the rim, but opposite each other. Will still be primary balanced, but will be a second harmonic.


Sorry, but when tire manufacturers measure for force variation, they only need to dynamically balance the tire and the higher order harmonic forces they detect are purely force variation.


Thank you!
 
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