Self balancing tires

[James Morse]

I understand you can put something inside tires then you don't need wheel weights. I don't get how this works. Is it commonly done? It was mentioned in one of my threads about tires.

 

[Blmpkn]

Tire beads. More or less B.B's you dump in through your valve stem.. generally used in small powersports tires, not sure about effectiveness in tires that weigh 35+lbs... mabey if you dumped in enough of them lol.

Something to do with centrifugal force is how they work.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

The guy I work for uses them. They are about the size of sand grain but round. I'm not sure how they work either but it's what he gave me to use on my small car tires. If I remember I'll ask if he uses them on the big truck tires. I would like to put a tire using them on a balancer and see.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Back in my Justy days I stuck a handful of literal BB's in since I just put on whatever used tires I could find every few months... new tires were unicorns for 12" wheels...

On my first set of 35's I used the heavy white airsoft BB's, split one of the big jugs into 4... worked fine, that was a decade ago so I don't remember, I just remember the beads were so slick from being old that they blew all the time...

As for how it works, not sure, I just know it seemed to work...

 

[Curious Hound]

It’s magic. I had them in my 35” mud terrains because they were going to require a lot of lead weights. Worked pretty well except I don’t think they put enough in one or two of this tires. Don’t skimp on them.

Somehow, they self-distribute as the tire comes up to speed. I don’t have my head wrapped around the science of it perfectly. But it works and quite a few people use them on large tires.

 

[2011Supercab]

They use them on semi trucks all the time.

 

[Josh B]

Then they'd be wearing from the inside out as well as from the outside in.

 

[Blmpkn]

Good to know they work on full size tires.

 

[lowspeedpursuit]

I threw some Counteract brand beads--the "round grains of sand"--in my 29" ATs after I switched to alloy wheels. Used 4oz each, per their spec. I was entirely unimpressed.

1: They advertise pulling the valve cores and blowing the beads in through the stems, which turned out to be a total non-starter. I had to break a bead to get them in.

2: The tires didn't end up balanced. I had a minor vibration with no weights whatsoever, just lining up the dots. Had a much worse vibration with the beads.

I ended up getting the tires balanced normally at a shop, and I had no vibration afterwards. I had to partially unmount the tires again to vacuum the beads out, since the shop said they would charge me extra to remove them.

I've read that the beads work better on motorcycle tires, or similar applications where the contact area is rounded rather than flat, which keeps them more centered inside the tire rather than just bouncing all over the place. I also see people talk more favorably about them with big tires that tend to be hard to balance no matter what you do. I probably wouldn't bother with them again personally.

 

[pjtoledo]

tried them in 2 different sets of tires, didn't do much if anything.
also tried about 6 oz of antifreeze in a set of 235/75-15s. that made imbalance much worse.

 

[Shran]

There is this powder stuff called Equal I think that comes in packets that you put in the tire. Sometimes several packets per tire. It gets thrown around while the tire is spinning. Same concept as BBs, airsoft BBs, etc... Some people even use liquid, RV antifreeze for example.

This method works good for big tires that may lose chunks of rubber during off-road use where normal weights would not work.

 

[dvdswan]

Counteract Balancing Beads | The only tire balancing product proven to improve fuel economy.

What To Know Before Using Tire Balancing Beads | ABC Balancing Beads

Basic Info About Balancing Beads – All Tire Supply

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So, semi’s have been using Equal for years, which is a sandy sort of powder. The problem is if moisture is in the tire, the Equal can clump.

My F-150, years ago when I got my Alcoa alloys, they were in really good shape and I didn’t want to do regular balancing weights because the rims always corrode bad then. I bought these ceramic beads from I believe it’s Innovative Tire Balancing. I’ll have to look it up. Anyway, I went with their “off road“ beads and I think it calls for 6 ounces in a 31x10.50-15. They were great, no vibration even over 85 with aggressive tires. Those beads have been in three sets of tires so far. If there’s a vibration in that truck, it’s not the tires.

My choptop on 35s has the same thing in them, just whatever the recommended amount of weight was. Rides great, even at highway speeds.

My ex-gf’s car and my green Ranger got the Counteract glass beads. Her car was ok with it, but my Ranger not so much. I’m intending on dumping another ounce or two in and see if that helps on the Ranger. If it doesn’t, I’m liable to put my tire machine to use and switch to the ones my F-150 and choptop have.

The idea is a simple one, centrifugal force from the tire rotating forces the beads against the inside of the tread area, much like at a Fair or something, the tilt-a-whorl where you stand against the side and they spin it and tilt you up in the air and you are stuck against the wheel because it’s spinning. Same concept. Since the media is typically round and small, it has a tendency to shift until a balance is achieved. As you drive, it’s constantly self-balancing.

 

[Curious Hound]

As you drive, it’s constantly self-balancing.

Yeah. But try moving around on the tilt-a-whirl.

 

[Ranger850]

Yeah. But try moving around on the tilt-a-whirl.

Since the media is typically round and small, it has a tendency to shift until a balance is achieved.