Centramatic Dynamic Wheel Balancers

[Liecha]

After reading about wheel balancing and Dynamic Wheel Balancers I decided to try the Centramatic Dynamic Wheel Balancers (Item# 300318, 2012 Ram 3500 SWR). Right after I ordered them I came across the Balance Masters in discussion threads (go figure). I decide to stick with the Centramatics as they used an oil base with BB's instead of the Mercury the Balance Masters do. I am thinking about using the Balancer Master products for my axle at some point.

Anyway I have 18000mi on my factory firestones and I will report later what the millage I get out of them when replacement time comes, when the tires wear out.

So far I have driven only about 200mi and I really cannot say that I notice a difference in the ride, if anything it feels a bit rougher (very subjective evaluation). I have noticed many big rigs with them on (now that I am paying attention) so I would think that there is some merit in them or the big boys would not be using them.

Mine cost $213.95 with shipping ordered directly from Centramatic.

I had great communication with the folks at Centramatic, as I was wanting to get these on when I did my tire rotation. They came just when the guys said they would.

The balancers come in two sets marked "A" and "B". The "B"'s have an offset and the "A"'s do not. I found no clearance issues with either set on the rear so I placed the "A"'s on the rear. I placed the "B"'s on the front as they gave a little more clearance around the calipers. I found that they would have fit either way, but I liked having the offset set towards the wheel to give the extra clearance around the calipers.

I will post some pictures when I figure out how to do so.

 

[DonFitzwater]

I'm glad you brought this up as it has reminded me that I need a set for my 2010. I had them on my 06 and they really helped in my particular case at approx. 60 mph. They also came close to eliminating tire cupping on the front. The only thing that aggravated me about the centramatics was the clicking they make at low speed in parking lots. Other than that, I was very happy with them.

 

[WOT]

I have both centramatics and balance masters. Both are the model set up for duallys as they fit perfectly inside my 20" rims. My experience has been that the centramatics seems to handle a more out of balance scenario than the balance masters. The balance masters come powder coated black and after a couple of years I see hints of rust in the seams. The centramatics are stainless and I painted them black. So far the paint is holding up. As was stated earlier, the CMs make a swishing noise at low speed. Once they spin up (10-15 mph) they are quiet. I have 25k on my BFGs and so far the wear is even and its looking promising to get at least 70k on them. Happy with both...

 

[JR]

I picked up a set last week for my 285/75/17s. I have to say at 65-75mph it is a little bit smoother than before I had them. Other than that I don't really notice a difference, but I'm hoping to see an improvement in mileage out of my tires.

 

[BDaugherty]

I have 2 sets of centramatics. My experience has been that they work best when the tires are pre balanced.

 

[crispyboy]

I haven't had as much luck from Centramatics. I had them on my truck and after awhile I was getting some shaking in the steering wheel. I found that 2 of the 4 Centramatics went bad. When you held them in your hands the balancing material inside the ring did not move. What ever oil or fluid that was inside was now on the outside. Centramatics did replace them even though I was outside the warranty period. Good company.
I put the new ones on but the truck still seemed to vibrate ~70 mph. I took them off and the truck runs pretty smooth at all speeds. I may try them again in a the future when it is time for tires again.

 

[WOT]

I have 2 sets of centramatics. My experience has been that they work best when the tires are pre balanced.

Agreed. Also critical is to be very specific with the company you buy the tires from. Accept only tires that require <5oz to balance and < 5 lbs of road force. I have one that takes about 8oz and has 15 lbs of RF and regret not demanding another tire. It is unnoticeable in the rear position but in the front there are certain speeds you feel a slight vibration at times. Road conditions seem to alter the speed in which you feel it.

 

[Liecha]

Just a quick update. I have been driving my wife's Rav4 over the last week or so a lot more often over the same roads I travel with the Ram and boy are the roads rough. I much prefer the Ram and I think looking back (before Dynamic Wheel Balancers (DWB)) that they really do help smooth the ride out.
I did not remove any wheel weights when I installed mine. From reading other people's comments in other postings and what seems reasonable to my way of thinking, why would you not want to start out with a balanced wheel so that the dynamic balancers are then asked to compensate for any additional imbalances instead of having to use some of their "effort" to correct the initial imbalance of the wheel? I could see that maybe by letting the balancers do all of the work of balancing the wheel, the balancers would not become part of an imbalance problem. Though, I would think that with any DWB system, the balancers would equalize their material equally along their own circumference if the wheel any other component were in perfect balance.

 

[retirednak]

I bought the Centramatics when I bought new tires last pre-winter, I can't make my mind up if they were worth the $200. I get a bit of vibration at 55-65 mph, it comes & goes. I have vibration when the temps fall below 10 degrees, when it starts getting nippy at -20 degrees below 0 the truck is annoying at Hwy speeds. Made a trip to Fairbanks, they were in a deep freeze with temps in the -45*to-50* below 0. My truck felt like it was looping along, if anyone has driven a vehicle/run heavy equipment that has water filled wheels mixed with other goodies to prevent flat tires & balance the tire. My loop went away as I drove to warmer weather. I tried different air pressures hoping to make the loop better. NA DA Has anyone have any issues with cold temps running the Balance Masters? When I spoke with Centramatics about balancing my new tires & was told negative, don't worry because the Centramatics will take care of it. I had my tires balanced anyway, now I'm thinking about pulling the weights. Any thoughts about this?

 

[AH64ID]

I ran a set for about 200 miles back in December, and they worked very well. There was noticeably less vibration and less tire noise.

 

[WOT]

I'm not sure what fluid (or just metal beads) is in with the Centramatics but supposedly mercury is used in the BalanceMasters. It has a freezing point of -37.89 degrees F. If you were driving at -50F that would certainly cause some out of balance issues!

 

[JR]

Centramatic utilizes non magnetic beads suspended in some type of synthetic oil. Centramatic states on their web page pre balancing is not required but in severe cases you may still notice an out of balance situation, IE bent rim, out of spec tire, broken belts, etc.
I am running a set on my 285/75/17 Nitto Tera Grapplers and they are smooth as silk at all speeds. I knocked the weights off before I even installed the Centramatics and haven't looked back.

 

[retirednak]

Most of our roads are far from smooth,only time I've been vib free is on fresh asphalt & its nice driving. One of our out of the way roads were freshly paved. I noticed that my truck at 50mph caused a weird limp along when ever I was on the fresh stuff, drive my car on the road & no issues. I had worked with the forman in the past & told him about the difference between my vehicles. He thought I was BSing him & let him drive my truck at any speed he choose. An hour later he came back & said that was the strangest feeling driving on that section. He had picked up the job super as well as the folks cooking the asphalt, & non could explain why it happened. I drove a lowboy with a D8 and the rig drove like my truck did/does. The state said the road meets the specs & nothing was done.