Tell me about balance beads

[chaosjake]

I just bought a set of 315/70 r17 KO2's on Method 705 wheels from an online discounter. They were supposed to come mounted and balanced, and they had an upsell option to add balance beads, which I checked without knowing much about them.

When the order arrived, I was surprised not to see any stick on weights anywhere. At highway speed, they wobble so much my teeth almost rattle out of my skull.

A local tire shop said to drive it for a couple hundred miles to see if the balance beads settle in. Is that a thing? Shouldn't beads be a little extra on top of lead weight? Somebody school me.

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[kevman65]

I've had them in motorcycle tires, didn't care for them.

The quantity needed for large tires would be huge. Personally I feel they are snake oil, but some people swear by them.

Centrifugal force being equal, they should evenly distribute around the inside of the tire and not balance anything.

 

[Hootbro]

I would bite the cost and have the beads removed and have the set normal weight balanced. That is a 35" size with a reputable make tire brand. It should not need beads to get it balanced.

 

[Renegade]

I don’t like them. They go in and out of balance as you drive, then stop again. Not worth the trouble.

 

[Rahkmalla]

If I were interested in a perpetual balance I'd probably go Centramatic. Never heard a positive story about balance beads tbh.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Do some searching on the web - you'll find them called all sorts of names, mostly not good. Maybe ok for BIG tires (bigger than any Jeep can run) but not for ours.
Few actually like them.

 

[Puch]

I just bought a set of 315/70 r17 KO2's on Method 705 wheels from an online discounter. They were supposed to come mounted and balanced, and they had an upsell option to add balance beads, which I checked without knowing much about them.

When the order arrived, I was surprised not to see any stick on weights anywhere. At highway speed, they wobble so much my teeth almost rattle out of my skull.

A local tire shop said to drive it for a couple hundred miles to see if the balance beads settle in. Is that a thing? Shouldn't beads be a little extra on top of lead weight? Somebody school me.

I had never heard of balance beads until a couple months ago. I went to have my new tires mounted at a local shop and they guy told me to go buy these beads and come back. I thought he was nuts. It sounded like some old timer technique. Like something that was done before the tire balance machine was invented??
I went to a different shop and had it done the usual way.

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