What are accpetable Road Force Balance numbers

[ReelDuel]

I have a 2015 RAM 2500 and am having trouble with tires. RAM has already replaced the Goodyear tires with Michelin Defenders to fix the balancing problem. Now the issue I am having is after another new tire was put on the LR tire is showing a Road Force balance of 14# while the RR is showing 41#. The truck still vibrates at 60+ mph. What should the RF Balance numbers look like. thanks.

 

[Bruce Beard]

41 pounds of Road Force is a lot!
I used to own a Road Force balancer before I retired and shut down my shop. It depended on the vehicle but anything in the 20's and up can be felt by a person with a sensitive bottom. The lower profile the tire the more sensitive to being out of round. That is essentially what you are measuring when checking Road Force, eccentricity of the wheel tire package or how egg shaped it is.
If the tires are new, Michelin will always swap a tire that has too much Road Force. I've found a few new Michelins with high numbers in my day and they never refused to replace the tire...
Also, an out of round rim can contribute to high numbers as can a tire that is damaged in mounting (always obvious on inspection) or even a bad hit to a big pothole might cause issues.

 

[Badunit]

When I had mine done, the shop said that 35 was the max they thought was okay. I have one at 34 and another at 26 and I can feel the vibration. Over time it has gotten better but next time I'm not going to accept a tire that's over 20 lb. I think with the high pressures we have to run it makes it more sensitive.

 

[ReelDuel]

Thanks BB this is what I am thinking. Problem is I have been dealing with it for over 7 months. ANd now it is lawyer time.

41 pounds of Road Force is a lot!
I used to own a Road Force balancer before I retired and shut down my shop. It depended on the vehicle but anything in the 20's and up can be felt by a person with a sensitive bottom. The lower profile the tire the more sensitive to being out of round. That is essentially what you are measuring when checking Road Force, eccentricity of the wheel tire package or how egg shaped it is.
If the tires are new, Michelin will always swap a tire that has too much Road Force. I've found a few new Michelins with high numbers in my day and they never refused to replace the tire...
Also, an out of round rim can contribute to high numbers as can a tire that is damaged in mounting (always obvious on inspection) or even a bad hit to a big pothole might cause issues.

 

[Offshore1]

I am pretty sure the Chrysler spec is 11#'s.

 

[ReelDuel]

no one at the Dealer will tell me the spec.

I am pretty sure the Chrysler spec is 11#'s.

 

[GCroyle]

Have you tried asking Hunter?

http://www.hunter.com/wheel-balancers/road-force-touch

 

[ReelDuel]

Great Idea. I just called the area Hunter rep and he said they do not offer a "Spec Sheet" for vehicles. But he said my truck should be able to be less than 20 and at 41 he would not call that acceptable. He did also say the test drive is what really tells the truth. He suggested bringing it back to the dealer and having them move rear tires to the front and see if the vibration moves. I told him the rear numbers and he seems to thing more needs to be tried on the 41# tire. He also said the 2 dealers I have gone to have very good tire techs and it might just be bad luck with the tires. SMH another trip to the dealer I guess is in store.

Have you tried asking Hunter?

http://www.hunter.com/wheel-balancers/road-force-touch

 

[sag2]

You will not find specifications listed. We used to shoot for less than 30 on a truck tire. On a passenger tire you might get below 10 but not usually on a large stiff tire. A good shop will spend he time to match mount them, not just replace the tire.

 

[Bruce Beard]

You will not find specifications listed. We used to shoot for less than 30 on a truck tire. On a passenger tire you might get below 10 but not usually on a large stiff tire. A good shop will spend he time to match mount them, not just replace the tire.

Matching assumes that the high Road Force issue is a high spot on the rim mounted to a high spot on the tire. With a really straight rim there is little to be done if the number is high.
As for 30 pounds RF, I'd be able to feel that. I believe that the machine used to suggest higher numbers as being acceptable when mounting truck tires but 30 is pretty high. My F-150 with 20's and Michelin's had 3 assemblies under 12 pounds and 1 in the 18 pound range last set I mounted. That was because the rims where straight and the tires great.
If I ever found a really high number and it was not an installation problem, the tire went back. It did not happen very often but it did happen!

 

[EDankievitch]

Ok... I'm confused What is a road force ? I've only heard of balancing a tire in ounces attached to the rim. Please explain

 

[Bruce Beard]

Road Force essentially places a number on how egg shaped the wheel tire assembly is or how out of round it is. You can a perfect dynamic balance on a tire but if it is not round it can feel like an out of balanced tire.
The Hunter RF balancer has a roller that measures for this and assigned a number to the amount of eccentricity, a higher number means more out of round. It has become a more common measuring yardstick as tires have become lower and lower profile.

 

[EDankievitch]

Now I understand. I had a Cooper Discover At3 that was Egg shaped it drove me nuts only after the 4th time on the balance machine did I notice how bad it was. The tire shop said that I had put too many miles on it for them to do anything. Needless to say I don't use them anymore.

 

[Offshore1]

http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/wheels-tires/129-0210-4x4-truck-tire-truing-balancing-shaving/