wheel balancing - 340g added

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wemorgan

MB Enthusiast
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Apr 5, 2008
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A205 C220d
Reading this thread on a Smart car forum I saw this:

101_7105640x480.jpg


I've never considered wheel balancing an especially skilled job, but it's clearly beyond some people.

Another reason why I like watching tyre fitters rather than staying in the waiting room.
 
I agree. I always watch them fit and balance my wheels. I know from experience that certain wheels require a different centre piece than standard being used on the balancing machine. This can create huge differences in the number/amount of balancing weights added.
 
OMG! Well at least they could weigh them in and get some of their money back!
 
must be a buckled wheel.
 
Having read the whole thread it appears it was an accident damaged wheel, (known by the owner).

With all these weights attached it drove without any vibration (well balanced) until the new wheel arrived.

The new wheel was fitted with the same tyre and took 30g weight to balance it.
 
wow!!!!!!!!!

perhaps the fitter did the job correctly, but i assume that something was written down on the invoice to the effect that a new whel was needed?
 
Obviously a good fitter who knew his onions, which as we all know is a rare thing indeed.



Lynall
 
Why bother with unsightly balance weights? i have a heavily modified Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4 which runs very large off road type tyres 35 in tall x 12.50 in wide x 15 in wheel these tyres are to large to fit onto any normal wheel balancing machines so instead i use a product called "balance beads" which are placed into the tyre at fitting and as the wheel rotates find the "light" spot on the tyre and balance the wheel as you drive the advantage of this is that the wheels are constantly in balance and unlike standard wheel balancing the wheels will never go out of balance as the tyre wears and of course they can be re-used when the tyres are changed
 
Why bother with unsightly balance weights? i have a heavily modified Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4 which runs very large off road type tyres 35 in tall x 12.50 in wide x 15 in wheel these tyres are to large to fit onto any normal wheel balancing machines so instead i use a product called "balance beads" which are placed into the tyre at fitting and as the wheel rotates find the "light" spot on the tyre and balance the wheel as you drive the advantage of this is that the wheels are constantly in balance and unlike standard wheel balancing the wheels will never go out of balance as the tyre wears and of course they can be re-used when the tyres are changed

I didn't know that these beads were available for 'normal' tyres
 
No one that I have discovered around where I live can balance wheels. I had some strange vibrations on the 7 series and had all 4 wheels balanced to take it out of the equation. Still did it.

I then called in at a tyre place that had been recommended to me in Burton Upon Trent. Guy took his time, and really knew what he was doing. Would not track the car (or take me money) is it needed to be weighted. Car was a dream to drive.

Someone obviously spent a great deal of time getting the OP post wheel balanced!
 
this looks like a classic case of the fitter either over or under applying a weight on one side then compensating on the the opposite side and repeatedly not geting the correct weight applied - they are positioned to counter each other - I reckon the same effect would have been acheived by halving the weights used on either side
 
>>I reckon the same effect would have been acheived by halving the weights used on either side

On the piccie, the weights on the left are on the inner rim, while the weights on the right are near the front face of the rim.

The rim was obvoiusly buckled, which meant that the axis the wheel was trying to turn round didn't line up with the axis the balancing machine (and the axle on the car!) would spin the wheel round. This would show up on the balancing machine as a huge dynamic imbalance, and the machine would tell the fitter to fit the weights as we see. It could all be done in one step.

If it were a case of applying too much on one side, then compensating with more on the other, this would be a static imbalance case, and there wouldn't be the pattern of weights that are seen in the piccie.

Of course, the fitter's error was in blindly following the machine when it asked for a few hundred grammes of lead to be fitted rather than simply checking to see if the wheel ran true. This type of blindness is happily replicated by many with Star machines too!
 
Droning noise on CLS

Hi,
I just took delivery of CLK320 2007 and i have this same droning noise that starts more or less from pulling off and its driving me nuts!!
Piereli tyres on car look brand new so dont really want to bin them yet.

Is there anything else it could be chaps?
 
wheel balancing

Davidjpowell
dont suppose you can tell me where to find this wheelbalancing angel in Burton on Trent can you?
 
Malvern TyresTrent Industrial Estate, Wetmore Road, Town Centre, Burton upon Trent, DE14 1QR

Can't remember the blokes name, but he was the manager. I don't think they get that busy (it was only him on a Saturday) so presume that he is around most of the week.
 
I had some new AMG 17" x 7J alloys fitted today. They used stick on weights and have put some on the inside of the wheel towards the back of the alloy and some on the inside of the alloy towards the front of the alloy which are visible from the front. Is this normal? Dont think i have ever seen them put them in two places before. On past cars I havent had alloys as large and wide as these though.
 
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>>Is this normal?

Yes.

To obtain dynamic balance, the weights need to be applied in two planes. On steel rims, this will be the outer rim, and the inner rim.

If you have alloys, these planes can both be inside the wheel. The closer together the planes are chosen to be, the more weights are required to counter a given amount of dynamic imbalance.
 
Hey david powell, what a top bloke Martin at Malvern Tyres is, i couldnt believe the time he took getting it right, explaining the pros and cons and all for £23 for all wheels and they are spot on now. well worth the hour drive!
 

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