Balancing Tires via Airsoft Pellets

SpydyrWyr

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Joined
Sep 26, 2005
Location
Raleigh
I tried to search and got some info, but not everything I was looking for. I just got a set of 37" IROK bias ply's and was looking around at different balancing methods. I think I'm going to go with the airsoft pellet method.

Does anyone know how much weight is needed per tire for a 37" tire? I know it's not an exact science, but I don't want to put too much or not enough.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, -Dan
 
Why did you choose this over the water/anti-freeze method?

I can't figure out why one is better than the other.
 
I use the BBs 12oz in each wheel. This is on a set of 39.5 boggers, cut in the rear and a good bit of rock rash. Still no vibs except when cold tires. 3lbs front, 4lbs rear
 
Dan, hollatchaboi. Im running airsofts in my mt/r's and I love them. They dont work perfect all the time, but hey, its balancing that will never go away and i dont have to worry about rocks knocking the weights off. Also, it wont eventually lose its effectiveness like traditional balancing, since the beads are always going to find the right spots.....Im running a little less than 10oz per tire and it seems to be enough. Id start off with 10 and see how that goes.
Theres a sheet on the dynabead website that gives you exact amounts, which is where I got my info from.

Call me if you need some help one night soon.

Josh
 
Josh - what did you try before the airsoft?
 
Here is a good chart with a lot of info:

http://www.innovativebalancing.com/BigTirechart.htm



My current set of Iroks were pad balanced at Galloway's, but I've helped several friends mount tires and use this method. This works really well and in smaller tires you really don't hear the beads at low speed. We even used them on a buddies 3/4 ton with 285/75-16's that he uses quite regularly to tow his 28 ft camper. I will use them in my next set of tire with bead locks.
 
the water / A/F didn't work for you? How much did you use?

I ask because Moby will be needing new tires, and the anti-freeze thing is helping quite alot, but I don't know if the vibes I get are from the tons of flat spots on the tires, or the A/F mixture isn't enough..
 
I used 2 cups total per tire. 1/2 cup a/f, 1.5 cups water. It smoothed it out some, but I really didnt like the whole idea of it anyway. And besides, what if your a/f quits working.......lol.

Josh


Rich said:
the water / A/F didn't work for you? How much did you use?
I ask because Moby will be needing new tires, and the anti-freeze thing is helping quite alot, but I don't know if the vibes I get are from the tons of flat spots on the tires, or the A/F mixture isn't enough..
Click to expand...
 
that's kinda the same reason i'm going w/ the airsoft pellets. just seems cleaner, less potential for problems. I'm not going to have beadlocks, so i'd hate to roll a tire off the bead and spill antifreeze all over the trail. I know it wouldn't be a lot, but you know...

Anyway, I'm going to give the airsofts a try and see how it works out. Has anyone heard of using a combination a/f, water, and free-moving weights (beads/bb's)?

Thanks for the info Josh. I got my wheels today, probably going to paint 'em and see if Lee can pop the tires on for me tomorrow. Building the flatbelly x-member this weekend too, hopefully. Give me a shout if you help a brotha out.
 
Don't know if it helps and I know its a little late but i wanted to add what I found
From Pirate4x4
http://www.pirate4x4.com/articles/tech/billavista/PR-TSLs

What is the maximum weight it should take to balance my tire?

The industry standard is approx. 2% of the tire weight. So, because a 42†TSL weighs about 100lbs, 2% is 2lbs or 32ozs of lead! That’s industry standard. Keep this in mind next time you’re wondering why your 42†Swampers don’t balance well - it’s not because of the quality of the tire – it’s because it weighs so much – it’s just the physics of dynamically balancing that much rolling mass – and it’s the price you must pay for large, aggressive tires.
Click to expand...
 
I use the 20oz airsoft pellet about 8oz or half a bottle per tire. It does great and now two of my friends are doing the same. Two keys are use the 20oz pellets and 8oz is plenty.
 
Well, thanks for the input everyone. I got the largest container at wal-mart. 10,000 .12gr pellets for $14. I split it up into 4 equal parts, so I got about 10 oz. in each tire.

2500 pellets x 0.12grams = 300g = 10.58 oz

Following the 2% rule previously mentioned, this would be correct for a ~33 pound tire. I'm not sure how much my 37x14 IROK's weigh, but I'm optimistic. Hopefully i'll get it on the road soon and can test it out.

*note:* I didn't know about the 2% rule until the tires were mounted, just threw it in for reference. Also, HardTaco used the same pellets and the same amount in his 37's which are on his DD, so perhaps he can give some feedback as to their performance.

Thanks again,
-Dan
 
Your tire probably weighs close to double that..
 
That is not nearly enough weight.

Also interested to see if you get any shock related vibes.
Thats wha steered me away from copper BBs. They did fine until you hit a bump then it vibrated until the BBs settled down, the polarity of water and its chemical characteristic of bonding together help fight this condition.
 
I ran the ceramic beads from innovative balancing in one set of tires - they worked great after you got to around 25-30 mph. Around 12 ounces per tire. I eventually went to the centramatics balancers - most effective solution I've found - they are awesome. On my new Iroks (49"), I've put 20 ounces of the ceramic beads in each tire. (the recommended amount from innovative balancing).
Stewart
 
can you hear the airsoft pellets?

what about the a/f water mix?

i have neevr balanced either sets of my boggers but i'd be up for trying tsomething new perhaps....
 
You're lucky to hear ANYTHING over a Bogger...

Only ever heard the BB's bouncing around at juuust the right speed with bias TSL's.
 
Hey,

i used 8-10 ozs of water & a/f to balance my 35" Boggers. works amazingly well. though if i did it again, i would probably use 12 oz just to be on the safe side. about the fastest i've taken my CJ5 is ~65mph, i drove it all the way from raleigh to carolina beach w/o any conplaints.

for my Senior Design project i developed what i called a "Water Injection Tire Balancer." basically, it's an easy way of getting water and a/f into a tire that's already on a rim. it's a cylinder that i can fill with water and then hook up an air hose too and inject the water via the valve stem. the final product could use a little tweeking but overall it works very well. even got me an A in the class this semester. so if anyone is local and wants to give it a try, you're more than welcome to use it.

in conjunction to my project i did a bit of research on dynamic tire balancing. one of the websites, maybe dynabead, discussed the issue of inner tire abrassion from using hard objects like bb's or golf balls. water obviously wouldn't cause any significant abrassion during the life of a tire. something to keep in mind.

one of the reasons dynamic balancing works better than something like lead weights, aside from never having to rebalance your tires, is that it takes less overall weight to balance the same size tire. the reason is that the water acts on the surface of the tread which is further away from the center of rotation than the edge of the rim where lead weights would be. this gives the water more "leverage" if you will, to balance the tire with.

personally, if you're going the dynamic balancing route, i don't see any reason not to use water and a/f.

later,
bigmac

PS: my spare tire has BB's in it. you can hear them when you roll the tire around the shop. though i would imagine at hwy speeds there are enough other noises that the bb's wouldn't be a noise issue.
 
bigmackloud said:
for my Senior Design project i developed what i called a "Water Injection Tire Balancer." basically, it's an easy way of getting water and a/f into a tire that's already on a rim. it's a cylinder that i can fill with water and then hook up an air hose too and inject the water via the valve stem. the final product could use a little tweeking but overall it works very well. even got me an A in the class this semester. so if anyone is local and wants to give it a try, you're more than welcome to use it.
Click to expand...

Typical over-engineered college stuff.. :flipoff2: If you're nowhere near him to borrow that tool (neat tool though), try this:

With the tire mounted on the rig - pull the valve core. Position a jack under the axle tube.

While the tire is going flat, get a gear oil container. Cut the bottom off it. Put a length of tubing over the over the nipple thing on the gear oil container.

Once the tire is flat, put the other end of the tubing over the valve stem. Pour your cocktail into the gear oil container, and jack up the axle a little. as the tire expands, it'll suck the stuff right into the tire.
 
Hey,

i did something similar the first time i water balanced my boggers. i deflated and then used a vacuum canister to suck the air out of the tire and create a vacuum inside the tire. pinched off the line and then ran it to a cup of liquid. sucked it right in.

the neat thing i discovered with my project is that i didn't have to remove the valve from the valve stem to inject the water. i do recommend deflating the tire first, but after that put the valve back in and then as you inject the water you can also air up the tire.

every project i do for school i try to find some way to make it relate to my Jeep, otherwise i'm just not as motived, lol.

later,
bigmac
 
bigmackloud said:
PS: my spare tire has BB's in it. you can hear them when you roll the tire around the shop. though i would imagine at hwy speeds there are enough other noises that the bb's wouldn't be a noise issue.
Click to expand...

My SXs have PO-installed bb's in them, they sound pretty neat when you come to a stop, rattling and rolling around. One you start moving, the centrifugal force throws them out and you can't hear them after one or 2 tire revolutions.
 
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