Active Wheel Balancing Centramatic and Balance masters

[AH64ID]

Did you physically notice a difference towing your TT after installing the Centramatics? Where did you find them with a 5 or 6 lug wheel pattern? It's been a while since I was on their website but I don't recall seeing them available for anything like that.

IIRC I put them on at the same time I did the Dexter EZ Flex suspension, but between the two mods the trailer towed so much better the wife noticed in the passenger seat.

I also notice that things shift on the highway less with them installed.

I ordered them directly from centramatic in 6 lug for my 5200lb axles.

http://www.centramatic.com/wheel-balance.rhtml?type=Trailers-RV

 

[Newsa]

I have centramatics on all 4. I noticed the warranty on the centramarucs is only 5 years. In 5 years,(from when installed) i'll probably have only 40,000 miles on the centramatics. [I had about 12k on the truck when installed, so I'll have approx 52k on truck when centramatic warranty expires]. Do they say 5 year warranty because expected life is 100,000 miles (20k per year). Is centramatic life shortened by winter salting of roads? Do the little balancing particles inside gradually wear down with regular use?

 

[JR]

A warranty is not an indication of the life expectancy of a product IMO. A Cummins engine has 100,000 mile/5 year warranty, yet with proper maintenance they can be found motoring down the road 20+ years and many hundreds of thousands of miles later. Notice in that 5 year warranty period of the Centramatics the mileage is unlimited. Basically giving you a cushion to protect against material defects. OTR truckers are reporting 1,000,000+ miles on these with no issues. I can tell you after nearly 5 years of year round high humidity and 4+ months per year of steady road treatments mine have zero signs of any corrosion. They still look and perform great.

 

[GCroyle]

Guys,

I don't own either type of active wheel balancer systems, never even been in a vehicle that had them installed. My Airstream has disc brakes and pretty sure they are not balanced and many have added them for their drum brakes. But I have watched from the sidelines the gotta have its vs the not required camp.

But from a very recent out of balance tire issue on our Corolla I ran into this video from Hunter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-eYtWs96oU&t=671s Not focusing on the hows and why's presented by Hunter, however it is interesting but look at the 8:16 mark or so in the Proving the Balance chapter and watch the demo machine visually show how it displays Static vs Couple imbalance.

Wouldn't you like to see a demo of active wheel balancing run on a simple machine like this? And how can a single plane active wheel balancer correct couple balance?

 

[photowrite]

Guys, I don't own either type of active wheel balancer systems, never even been in a vehicle that had them installed. *And how can a single plane active wheel balancer correct couple balance?

Interesting video, mostly about saving wheel weight for shops, while providing a good "within tolerance” balance. Sounds good to me.

Single plane/static can't correct for couple/lateral shimmy, which is why shops will naturally do a dynamic, “couple” balance, to try and give the best balance possible and reduce come-backs/ride complaints.

One important point made repeatedly in the video was "within tolerance”, they are reducing wheel weight because it doesn't matter if the problem can’t be felt or doesn't create a problem for the vehicle. Plus, excessive weight can actually create problems.

I've long been a fan of normal (not wide) wheels and tires, which helps a lot. They also stressed how the sizes of modern wheels/tires have increased dramatically, which is true. For most of the wheels/tires I run, static spin balancing when mounting, then more balancing (in the same, single plane) with Centramatic balancers provides an excellent ride for as fast as I care to drive my truck. The tire and wheel sizes can make a big difference here.

Seems to me that most trailer wheels/tires would be smaller, narrower, and light enough that ‘static’ would work well.

James

 

[GCroyle]

James,

Yes, reducing the amount of weight that a tire shop installs was a main focus of the presentation. But has anyone seen a video of active wheel balancing on a simple it shakes or it don't shake presentation like this Hunter demo?

And I think you stated it well here " which is why shops will naturally do a dynamic, “couple” balance, " how does the active wheel balance device accomplish this?

Gary

 

[photowrite]

James,

Yes, reducing the amount of weight that a tire shop installs was a main focus of the presentation. But has anyone seen a video of active wheel balancing on a simple it shakes or it don't shake presentation like this Hunter demo?

Do you mean like this?


*http://www.centramatic.com/how-centramatic-balancers-work.rhtml *

And I think you stated it well here " which is why shops will naturally do a dynamic, “couple” balance, " how does the active wheel balance device accomplish this?

Gary

It doesn't/can't.

 

[GCroyle]

Somehow that demonstration with a what 8" hand truck tire couple pound assembly doesn't impress me. It threw all of the weight opposite the magnet. What if the imbalance was less that the magnet, does the opposing weights separate and shift positions?

Something else, and granted I've never even seen one one of those devices. I have ZERO interest in putting something between my wheel and its mounting flange surface.

 

[AH64ID]

It moves to where it's needed, so it's not an issue if the tire is nearly balanced without weight. I am sure you could have too much, but that's true with anything.

After having ran the kind that goes into the tire I'll never run weights on the truck tires again. Due to the diameter of the wheel it takes less weight with the in tire vs the centramatics.

 

[LFrachtmonroe]

AH64ID - I assume you're also running beads? I've started each of my 3 sets with weights on them. On the truck (snows and summers) I've pulled all weights off with no difference in balance. Both are about as good as to be expected considering (slight bend at the hub portion of the alloys, and winters on steels)... On my Saab, with 225/45/17s it was recommended that I balance first, break the bead, insert the weights, and then re-seat. The tire shop gave me the eye when I asked them to do this, but considering I have a slight bend in more than 1 wheel on that car and haven't been back to ask for a re-balance, they are more than happy.

I would assume the same general outcome from the centramatics, maybe better, but the cost of the beads is minimal, and thus far has done me well.

 

[AH64ID]

Yes I have Counteracts Balance Beads in both my 245/70R19.5's and my 255/80R17's. Neither set has weights on it.

 

[GCroyle]

This was just a casual interest for me, as I have no hands on experience with these I figure I've said enough about what I haven't used.

I am impressed with the technology that I have seen a little bit of with the road force type and I recently just saw a balancer used on my car that measures the tire runout while going thru a balancing cycle. I heard about a nearly hands of system that scans the tire to determine critical dimensions. Operator sorta watches.

Carry on.

 

[AH64ID]

The last thing I'll add is a friend with a 2012 2500 has the same 19.5" wheels and tires I do and it took him 3 times getting them balanced to where they were acceptable and mine are still smoother with the beads. It's part of the reason I'll never go back to external weights.

 

[crispyboy]

A few years ago I had a set of centramatics on the pickup. The truck developed a shake/vibration. *It drove me crazy. *I finally figured out that the centramatics went bad. *You could no longer hear the media inside the tube make noise and there was also an oily residue present. *Centramatics did warranty them but I never did reinstall because the present Firestone tire are very smooth.
I also run Centramatics on our travel trailer. *I always check them closely whenever I have a tire and hub pulled off to check bearings.

Can Counteract beads be ran in a tire with a tpms system?

 

[Rockyhud]

I'm getting ready to upgrade wheels and tires to 19.5" on my truck and found this thread while researching balancing this new combo. Two interesting things I found today on the InnovativeBalancing website regarding Dyna Beads recommendation for use in trucks such as mine and most here that have been "converted" to 19.5" and 22.5" wheels and tires. The first is addressed in the document at the URL below.
http://www.innovativebalancing.com/ProblemsWith19.5_22.5.pdf
"We recommend conventional balancing methods using clip on or stick on weights as the only 100% reliable solution to balancing these 19.5” and 22.5” tires on converted pickups."
The second is the company's take on mechanical balancers, such as Centramatic and Balance Masters, reducing air flow around the truck's service brakes which they infer can cause overheating.

Has anyone who's used Dyna Beads and/or Centramatic or Balance Masters ever noticed any problem with use in 19.5" wheel and tire packages?

 

[AH64ID]

I'm getting ready to upgrade wheels and tires to 19.5" on my truck and found this thread while researching balancing this new combo. Two interesting things I found today on the InnovativeBalancing website regarding Dyna Beads recommendation for use in trucks such as mine and most here that have been "converted" to 19.5" and 22.5" wheels and tires. The first is addressed in the document at the URL below.
http://www.innovativebalancing.com/ProblemsWith19.5_22.5.pdf
"We recommend conventional balancing methods using clip on or stick on weights as the only 100% reliable solution to balancing these 19.5” and 22.5” tires on converted pickups."
The second is the company's take on mechanical balancers, such as Centramatic and Balance Masters, reducing air flow around the truck's service brakes which they infer can cause overheating.

Has anyone who's used Dyna Beads and/or Centramatic or Balance Masters ever noticed any problem with use in 19.5" wheel and tire packages?

Based on my experience that statement is false.

My 19.5's are perfectly balanced at all speeds up to, and slightly above, their speed rating. I run counteract balance beads in them.

I have friends with 19.5's and conventional weights that CANNOT get them balanced at all speeds, even after multiple trips and road force balancers.

To my dynamic balancing is the only way to get perfectly balanced tires on converted pickups.

I also run CBB's in my winter 255/80R17 tires.

 

[Rockyhud]

Thanks for the quick reply. According to the CounterAct calculator, for 245x70R19.5 tires (single) I should use 6-oz of their product. How much do you use for your 19.5 tires and which size tire are you running?

 

[AH64ID]

I have 245/70R19.5’s and don’t recall the weight. Les Schwab put them in, but I would guess they put in what CBB calls for.

 

[Rockyhud]

Thanks again. After reading what I have so far I'm leaning toward the CounterAct beads for my 19.5 upgrade. On that, I'm hoping to have both wheels and tires ordered by mid-Feb. That'll give me time to get them on and see how they perform with my truck unloaded before we hook-up our 5th wheel and make a trip to Goshen, IN for Lippert to do some work on our front landing gear. That's when the 19.5s will really come in handy and with the CBBs hopefully a nice smooth ride there and back.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Is Rickson still in business? Their website is still up. If I remember correctly, there was some unhappy customers in the last few years.