Difficulty balancing 35s

[Tim]

So I bought a set of 35x12.5 Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/Ts and had them mounted on 17x8.5 Icon Alloy Vector 5 wheels. The package was mounted and balanced by Quadratec and shipped to my house. At highway speeds I had a vibration that was not present prior to the new wheels and tires.

Since I work about a mile from a tire shop (not a national chain) I took the truck there a couple weeks ago and had them re-balance the tires. Before even working on them the service writer advised me that he would not guarantee they could perfectly balance tires that large and aggressive and that I might still have some vibration at higher speeds. Anyway, they didn't make things better and may have actually made it worse.

I live near a Goodyear service center so I made an appointment there to have the tires balanced yet again. While on the phone I mentioned my previous experience and the guy confidently said 35s wouldn't be a problem. When I arrived for my appointment they took one look at the truck and said they couldn't help me. They claimed that 35s wouldn't fit on their machine.

So I went home, de-beaded the tires and threw in some balancing beads. The beads improved the situation but there is still some vibration at higher speeds. I left the stick on wheel weights on the wheels. Should I take them off if I'm gonna use balancing beads? Am I way off base using beads in 35s? This is my first experience with tires bigger than 33's so maybe my expectations are out of line?


TL/DR: Is it really that hard to balance 35s? Am I being unreasonable to think 35" "hybrid" tires should ride as smooth as my stock Falken AT3W 33s did?

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[Mac]

You need to remove any wheel weights if using balancing beads, I have used them and never thought they worked very well. I just had a set of 35s mounted and balanced last week with a Hunter machine and also had them Hunter Road Force balanced they are very smooth with no issues. If you go to the Hunter site you can put in your zip and the site will tell you where the nearest place is with their equipment.

 

[Tim]

You need to remove any wheel weights if using balancing beads, I have used them and never thought they worked very well. I just had a set of 35s mounted and balanced last week with a Hunter machine and also had them Hunter Road Force balanced they are very smooth with no issues. If you go to the Hunter site you can put in your zip and the site will tell you where the nearest place is with their equipment.

So the local shop I work near uses Hunter stuff. That was the shop where the guy wouldn't guarantee a perfect balance and, in fact, the tires were not perfectly balanced when they were done. This seems to contradict everything I have ever heard/read about Hunter Road Force Balancing.

 

[Mac]

So the local shop I work near uses Hunter stuff. That was the shop where the guy wouldn't guarantee a perfect balance and, in fact, the tires were not perfectly balanced when they were done. This seems to contradict everything I have ever heard/read about Hunter Road Force Balancing.

What were the numbers from the Road Force?

 

[Tim]

What were the numbers from the Road Force?

I was not provided with that information. I did some more word of mouth type research through people I know. I am going to try a different local shop that was recommended and also uses Hunter Road force balancers.

 

[Mac]

I was not provided with that information. I did some more word of mouth type research through people I know. I am going to try a different local shop that was recommended and also uses Hunter Road force balancers.

Mine were 12-23, from what I have read anything more than 25 will be noticeable. It measures the tire being out of round not static balancing.

 

[LostWoods]

So the local shop I work near uses Hunter stuff. That was the shop where the guy wouldn't guarantee a perfect balance and, in fact, the tires were not perfectly balanced when they were done. This seems to contradict everything I have ever heard/read about Hunter Road Force Balancing.

Road force matches high spot on the tire to low spot on the wheel to give you the best chance of zeroing out the balance with the least amount of weight but they're frequently not perfect with large AT/MT tires. Mickey Thompson tires used to be notoriously difficult but it's been 10 years since I've worked in a shop.

I'd bet this is just the shop not wanting to do the work because Road Force balancing is generally a loss compared to other work. It at least used to not be a perfect system and frequently took 2-3 tries on meaty tires (much better with passenger car tires) to line up correctly before you moved on to the balance itself. It was something we only did for good customers or for the occasional problem child.

That said, I had a shop do my 35" KO2s and it made all the difference in the world. Could feel it at 65 or so before but even 15k later I can do 85 and not have the slightest hint of a vibration.

 

[Tim]

I'd bet this is just the shop not wanting to do the work because Road Force balancing is generally a loss compared to other work. It at least used to not be a perfect system and frequently took 2-3 tries on meaty tires (much better with passenger car tires) to line up correctly before you moved on to the balance itself. It was something we only did for good customers or for the occasional problem child.

That said, I had a shop do my 35" KO2s and it made all the difference in the world. Could feel it at 65 or so before but even 15k later I can do 85 and not have the slightest hint of a vibration.

At this point I think I agree. My wife asked a coworker whose husband runs a local repair shop and he gave me number. The tire place he recommends has a Hunter Road Force balancer. I called them up and asked about balancing 35's and I could hear the hesitation in his voice. I explained the situation in it's entirety and they scheduled an appointment so hopefully this get's resolved on Tuesday...

 

[Tim]

UPDATE:

The balance beads didn't work. Full disclosure, I should have removed the wheel weights when I put the beads in but I didn't. In any case, the beads didn't make it worse but certainly didn't fix anything, either.

I had to call around a little to find a shop willing to work on 35s but Road Force balancing and about 2.5 hours of time solved the issue. The truck is now smooth as silk all the way through 80+mph.

 

[jac04]

... Road Force balancing and about 2.5 hours of time solved the issue.

That's excellent that they were able to fix the vibration. The problem that I have had in the past is that the tire shop will have Hunter Road Force machine, but they will not use the roller, essentially using it like a regular balancer. The shop needs to have the Road Force machine, but, more importantly, they need to have someone who knows how to use it and is willing to take the time to do the job right. Most shops don't want to spend 2.5 hours balancing a set of tires because they charge a flat rate. Looks like you found a good shop.

 

[Tim]

...more importantly, they need to have someone who knows how to use it and is willing to take the time to do the job right. Most shops don't want to spend 2.5 hours balancing a set of tires because they charge a flat rate. Looks like you found a good shop.

Yeah I finally found a good shop. I paid for the time, too, though. I am fine with that as I got the result I was after.

 

[Uparms]

I have not seen many or any 35 AT balancing issues on these pages. My 35 BFG ATs on Mopar 8.5 wheels have no issues.

 

[JustinLentz]

I just had my 37's installed by discount tire yesterday and they had no troubles balancing them at their show here. I would suggest maybe setting up an appointment with them. They would be happy to help I'm sure. Everyone I've spoken to or worked with has been very helpful.

 

[Mac]

Yeah I finally found a good shop. I paid for the time, too, though. I am fine with that as I got the result I was after.

Just curious what were the road force numbers? I recently had a set of 35s mounted, balanced and road force checked they were between 12 and 23

 

[Minty JL]

The 35s on my JL balanced easy as hell. I mounted them at the shop and shop owner had the magic touch on the balance.

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