2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission BFG TA/KO 285 balancing

[TboneMan]

Ok, I put my snow tires on this weekend (BFG TA/KO's 285-75-16 mounted on stock aluminum rims) and I go for a drive at highway speeds. I notice that I am getting a huge amount of vibration in the front end. I figure one of the wheel is out of balance so I take the driver's side off and replace it with the spare (same size but steel rim).



No more vibration at highway speed!



So, since I bought the tires at Sam's Club and they have life time re-balancing, I take the truck over to my local Sam's CLub to get the tire balanced.



Well the guys there were definetly tech school drop outs but I let them give it a try (it was free). After waiting for 2 hours, I finally get my truck back and head down the highway. SAME VIBRATION!



Has anyone had problems getting one of these tires balanced correctly. I didn't feel this vibration last year, but the tire was on the rear.



I am considering taking the tire to a local (independent) tire shop to see if they can get it right. Should I be looking for anything else?

 

[Andy Redmond]

Ck the run out on the tire and the wheel. Laterally (wobble) and radially (out of round).



The FSM devotes a section to this. .



Find a good shop that understands match mounting (high spot of wheel with low spot of tire).



Your tire guy can also break the bead, turn the rim 90 deg or 180 deg. then air it up and seat the bead. Put it on the balancer, I bet its changed. .



Lots of wheel weights should be an indicator of improperly matched mounted tires, poor quality tire and bent rim.



Look at the alloys on a foreign car that comes with good rubber. I've seen no weight to the tiniest of weights.



Now for fairness sake we have much more reciprocating mass with the larger tires/wheels on our trucks, but the principles are the same.



Good luck Andy

 

[MWBrooks]

I went with the Counter-act balancing beads on my last set of 35"s and couldn't be happier. If it wasn't for the good reports I read here I would have never tried them. If it wasn't for the TDR I never would have heard of them.



Now for your immediate problem. I would take it back to Sam's and make them get it right. It's not rocket science (at least to most people).





Mike

 

[illflem]

2nd the Counteract beads, balancing is no brainer then, all you have to do is drive.

 

[John]

Well...



sadly enough, I'm still fighting a balancing problem WITH the use of Counteract Balancing Beads (not the newer steel type). After contacting Counteract, they said they would send me qty. 4, 4 oz. bags of the new steel type beads to try. They also said they would include qty. 4, 2 0z. bags of the same beads to be added IF the steel 4 oz. replacements do not fully balance the tire/wheel.



BTW, I have 295/75/16 BFG All-Terrain's. I always thought that I should be running 5 oz. of CBB because my 285s were in between the 285s (4 oz. recommendation) and 315s (6 oz. recommendation). Hopefully I will have the vibration whipped as soon as I receive my package from Counteract. So far they seem like a stand-up compant.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I had a set of BFG's that I was never able to get to balance properly. I was starting to think that I had a truck problem but when they were worn out and I put another set on the problem was gone.

 

[TboneMan]

I took a look at the tire. They put a 3" and a 1" weight right next to each other and a small one (maybe 3/4") on the opposite side.



Definitely a lot of lead.

 

[DOWG]

My shocks wore out and my tires started cupping before I recognized the problem. After 100,000 miles my Rancho 9000's were dead. Additionally, when my tires were match mounted (not by Rickson) the job was done incorrectly as shown by lots of wheel weights. So I developed a pretty bad vibration at 70 mph. At 60 mph it was ok. The tires were cupped to the point the shop said rebalancing would not work.



So yesterday, I drove down to Alvarado, Texas and met with Jerry at Centramatic, the guys that make the wheel balancers. What Jerry had to say made a lot of sense, so I bought a set of his wheel balancers. Even though my tires are cupped, the ride was dramatically improved on the ride home.



When I got home, I had a couple of beers and (Gasp!) read the Centramatic instructions. It said to take all the wheel weights off. So I had another beer, thought about it, and removed all the wheel weights and this morning the ride got even better.



The point to this Centramatic exercise was to try and get a few more miles out of tires I thought were ruined because my shocks were bad and caused the cupping. So a big thumbs up for Centramatic. Great service and they really care if their product works.

 

[Got Smoke?]

Find a shop that has a road force balancer. I bet something's up with that tire.



I was having probs with my Regul AT's thinking they were outta balance. Put them on a road force balancer and I've got 50+ lbs of road force on each tire!



Oh well I get new ones next week!Oo.

 

[C. Harlan]

4 weeks ago, After just buying a new set of BFG All Terrain KO tires, I bought ALCOA rims a week later... I had a bad, Horrible vibration, and could not fix it. I paid to get some high tech balance, where they find the best spot on the rim, and match the tire to the sweet spot, to reduce rolling resistance. . Turns out, 2 of the tires were defective, and one was the day I bought the tires. . I now have NO vibration, and can cruise anywhere from 60-100... I had a problem around 70-80 with bad vibes before... . If anything, take the tires back, and go to Discount Tire. . They stand behind their stuff, no questions asked... I hope this helps!



-Chris-

 

[Got Smoke?]

Originally posted by charlan

4 weeks ago, After just buying a new set of BFG All Terrain KO tires, I bought ALCOA rims a week later... I had a bad, Horrible vibration, and could not fix it. I paid to get some high tech balance, where they find the best spot on the rim, and match the tire to the sweet spot, to reduce rolling resistance. . Turns out, 2 of the tires were defective, and one was the day I bought the tires. . I now have NO vibration, and can cruise anywhere from 60-100... I had a problem around 70-80 with bad vibes before... . If anything, take the tires back, and go to Discount Tire. . They stand behind their stuff, no questions asked... I hope this helps!



-Chris-

The High-tech balance your talking about Chris is "road-force balancing" that I'm talking about.

 

[C. Harlan]

yeah... big difference!! they would not have caught the defective tires without that balance! I definitely recommend the extra $$ for that balance!



-Chris-