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MG TD TF 1500 - How much wheel weights on your rims

I took the wheels off the TD frame today and dismounted the old tires so I can prep the rims for paint (Argent Silver?)

I noted that 3 of the 4 rims have large wheel weights on them. I do not see any dings or distortion to the rim. They are pretty flat when setting on the garage floor.

I did not have any balance-related shimmy or shutter when I drove the car. The tires were bubble balanced at the shop that installed the tires 8 years ago.

So, how much weight do you have on your rims?

Has anyone used balancing beads in their tubes? If so, do they work?

I found a shop close by that straightens steel rims and think I will run the rims down to them to have them checked. Has anyone used Stockton Wheels? http://www.stocktonwheel.com/index.html


Bruce Cunha

If you have the tires off the wheels then mount each in turn on one of the front hubs.

Get something like a pencil held to stand (anything stable and free standing) and place the point fractionally away from the rim ( where the weights go).

Spin the wheels and you may be surprised at the amount of wobble (runout I think is the technical term)

Do the same with the pencil pointing down at the point where the tire seals to the rim and spin. This way you are checking for roundness of the wheels.

Given the age of the wheels on our cars I would expect them all to be out of true more or less.

If you have a shop that can straighten and ensure roundness then you are lucky. There is nobody in Ireland who can do it. They can for alloy wheels but not steel. Ran through 8 wheels to get four close enough that a good local shop could work with.

Cheers.

Dave
D Moore

Are there corresponding weights on the inside if the wheel, or has all balancing been applied to the outside (top) of the wheel on the bubble balancer?

I have seen half of the add on put on outside and half on the inside back in those days where that was the primary balancing system.

Peter
P G Gilvarry

The tires are much more of an out of balance issue then the wheels.
The better quality tire requires less balance weights when intsalled on a wheel.
Michelin = very little or no wheel weights added.
(Michelin made by Michelin, not ones that are made "Under license")
Len
Len Fanelli

Sometimes if you get the heavy spot of the rim and the heavy spot of the tyre lined up they can be quite a long way out of balance
If i get a wheel that's a long way out of balance i pop it off the bead and rotate it half a turn on the rim, pump him up and try again--usually gets it a lot better
William Revit

I had many bob weighs on my wheels and I even had vibration.
I had them trued and no weight at all now and no more vibration. I would highly recommend the operation.

Laurent.
LC Laurent31

... And remember the wheels are lug-centric so your shop has to have the right equipment to correctly balance them. They can't just use the spin-on cone that centers the wheel hole.

Jud
J K Chapin

Has anyone tried balance beads in their tubes? Reviews are mixed on their use.

JK. I use a bubble balancer (picked one up some years back) and always split the weight on both sides.

I found a shop in Sacramento California that will check the straightness for free. But they charge $125 a rim to straighten.

I am going to have them check them out.

Dave. Great point. I have a magnetic micrometer that I can set up and check for wobble.
Bruce Cunha

Balance beads are usually used in large commercial vehicle tires. I looked into them before , as i had an issue with a severely unbalanced brake drum. I ended up replacing the drum.

Balance beads in a light vehicle tire was not recommended by my tire guy. The vinyl covered shot, abrades the inside of the casing of the tire. Truck tires have more rubber there and can more easily take the abrasion as they also turn slower at speed.

Definitely cannot be used with tubes ( according to my tire guy ). for the same reason.

If you have a balancer that can lug cetric static balance. Balance the rims separately. No weight needed, just find out where they are heavy and light, then balance with the tire on using the reference dots that are painted on the tire. Or if they are missing , some balancers have a memory function, which allow you to determine the heavy spot on the tire. Mount the tire with its heavy spot on the lighter spot on the rim and you will be surprised at how much less weight you will have on the rims, if any at all.

Abington balanced the rims separately for the Racing Tire option.

With your bubble balancer, it is a lot of trial and error, but can be done with some thought and patience.

Good luck..... CR
CR Tyrell

This thread was discussed between 01/07/2021 and 03/07/2021

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