I have a friend who “balances” his tires by adding 3 ounces of air-soft BBs to his tires when he mounts them. He swears this is as good or better than adhesive lead weights. Anybody out there heard of this or tried this?

I saw something like that in a J C Whitney catalog years ago, I have never found them in a customer’s tire. I think if you place them in your tires, you will soon need to remove them because they cause a vibration.

If this was a industry accepted way to balance tires than why do tire shops still use balancing machines . I have no actual proof but I don’t think doing this air soft bead think to tires and wheels having Tire Pressure Monitors is a good idea .

It is still Voodoo to me and I don’t remember any of the details except I have seen it done in big tire vehicles, like Jeeps Wranglers that have custom wheels with oversized tires that are very heavy, maybe the tire is to big for the hood to close in order to spin balance the tires or wheel tire com…

For wheels that have the pressure monitors, steel beads should be mandatory. :japanese_ogre:

Would I be correct that the tire beads you refer to are different from air soft beads ?

Honestly I don’t remember what they used… What ever this stuff is, from what I can remember from a few years ago, things may have changed since I retired… [image] 17.6 lb / 8 kg Bulk tub of MAGNUM+ Tire balancing beads - MBP8KG - Martins... There’s not a single balancing job that can’t …

All I know is that it’s a method that exists (but airsoft BBs are not the standard thing - you can search for the products sold for such things). My own approach to tire balancing is to take the vehicle to a pro tire installer and ask for a mount and balance.

Airsoft BBs work. I’ve used them to balance motorcycle tires. Top load washing machines use the same principle with a hollow ring partially filled with water around the top of the tub. There is a YouTube video with a GoPro camera mounted inside a tire with balancing beads.

Thanks - that’s some good information !

I had never heard of using balancing beads in a typical auto tire but after a little research this looks like “a solution in search of a problem”, when the alternative of a good computer balance is so cheap and easy. Various sites mention that it’s not appropriate for low profile tires, which have …

Tire balancing beads?

General Discussion

davesmopar August 31, 2024, 10:15pm 11

Honestly I don’t remember what they used… What ever this stuff is, from what I can remember from a few years ago, things may have changed since I retired…

Do Tire Balancing Beads Really Work? | Counteract Balancing Beads.

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Tire balancing beads?

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