[cobalt327]

Seems like 'hardened' lead alloy shotgun pellets should do the same thing- for a fraction of the cost of their ceramic beads. #8 shot (0.090") is a common shot size- about half the diameter of a BB (0.177"), and there are many sizes in between.

[xxllmm4]

For all the hundreds of people who talk about wear from the inside out of the tire from beads I have yet to see a single picture of any tire being worn out. When you consider the weight, size and the beads being spherical I just cant see how they could possibly wear a tire out. Also many manufactures recommend them for the use INSIDE of motorcycle tubes.

I don't think lead would be such a good idea its already banned in some states for the use of wheel weights. I also wouldn't want to be around when the tire was dismounted or aired down. I would think there would be a considerable amount of lead in the air.

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by xxllmm4

For all the hundreds of people who talk about wear from the inside out of the tire from beads I have yet to see a single picture of any tire being worn out. When you consider the weight, size and the beads being spherical I just cant see how they could possibly wear a tire out. Also many manufactures recommend them for the use INSIDE of motorcycle tubes.

I don't think lead would be such a good idea its already banned in some states for the use of wheel weights. I also wouldn't want to be around when the tire was dismounted or aired down. I would think there would be a considerable amount of lead in the air.

Ahh. An enviro-nut! JK. But heck- don't breath in the air as it's let out of the freaking tire! If you were really worried, wrap a wet rag around the valve stem and unscrew the schrader valve just enough to let the air out slowly. Dispose of the rag after wiping out the tire and rim at the recycler/hazardous waste disposal site.

I wouldn't breath in ANY air coming out of a tire (could be a flammable gas, nitrogen, laced w/liquid sealant, rust, paint, dirt, etc.), let alone if it had ceramic balls in it- like tiny shards of silica, same thing that can give you lung disease- if you breathed it for enough years (decades?), that is.

I wouldn't be the least bit worried about the tire wearing through- the beads are only in motion for a couple seconds before centrifugal force pins them to the tire where they remain until the vehicle stops.

[bentwings]

How is it that we balance the funnycar tires on a 50 year old bubble balancer. 34 inch dia and 17 inches wide. They go 250-300 mph and are smooth as glass except when they are shaking due to power application. Just a hand full of tape weights and a few feet of duct tape to make them stay on.

Granted they only last a couple of miles but I can assure you that at 250+ if there was an out of balance condition you would know it big time.

I've even checked them when they are worn out right before we dismounted them and they were right on balance. They are light weight for the volumn but they still weigh about what a dually tire weighs.

[lowROLLERchevy]

So if beads fix an out of balance tire, how come when my washing machine goes out of balance my clothes dont try to shift back to the light side themselves ?

oh i know! centrifugal force + out of balance = everything thing inside wanting to creep TOWARDS the side thats already heavy

Since tires are heaviest where the tread overlap is, that side of the tire wants to expand farther from the rim, and its where the beads would want to collect. The idea of balancing a tire is putting PERMANENT weight opposite the PERMANENT imbalance.

Those lil beads are just gonna snow globe inside the tire. anyone that feels an improvement is a victim of the placebo effect.

do a blind test by swapping the weights on all 4 wheels 180* (so that the wheel is now 2x off balance) have someone test drive it and report how balanced the tires are, then put the beads in (without them seeing what you do) and then have them retest and ask if it feels any different.

The beads will fail the test, ill bet $ on it. Voodoo science at best

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by bentwings

How is it that we balance the funnycar tires on a 50 year old bubble balancer.

Last I knew, it's done the same way on NASCAR tires and wheels, too.

[ForceFed86]

I know this is an old thread but I just experimented with these and they worked great.

Bought some 28x9 slicks used. Had a hell of a time getting them to balance. 2 tire shops later I was ready to give up. They told me the tires were defective or I had a bent rim. Anyway long story short I tried the method below and it worked very well.

I only broke the bead on one side of the rim too so I couldn’t of accidently rotated the rim and caused an in-balance situation. (all wheel weights were removed prior, vibration was still present)

I put 4.5 ounces worth of the heavy airsoft rounds in each of the tires and the car never felt so smooth at speed, what a difference! I know it sounds like a gimmick but it was night and day with these slicks.

After seeing the video below I decided to give it a shot figuring I couldn't hurt anything.

I've had my slicks balanced for years. (spin balanced at install) And the ride quality at 130+ was always a little ruff to say the least. I still have slight vibration at the speeds but it is the smoothest I've ever felt the car since running slicks. It felt like my old radial days!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq263AYgyYg

[cobalt327]

OT- Went looking for a heavier 6mm airsoft round and found some.

0.66g/ea. So, I'm thinking that's a pretty good weight, they're ceramic so no worries about degradation, etc., right?

Yeah, right. Then I saw the cost is $1.50.




PER FREAKING PELLET!!!!!

[AutoGear]

They Do A Great Job On Squirrels Though..

[ForceFed86]

What is the advantage of having heavier media? I'd think having small light media and alot more of it would be better? Similar to the Dynabead product. The airsoft ammo I bought above is $9 at walmart.

[CQNRQY]

Originally Posted by AutoGear

They Do A Great Job On Squirrels Though..

I think the sollution is simple and great fun at the same time .
A good long burnout will take all the highs and lows of your tires

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by CQNRQY

A good long burnout will take all the highs and lows of your tires

My BIL was a State Trooper in FL through the years that they used the big-A Fury III w/440's, pre steel belted radial days when the old fabric carcass tires would take a set overnight and be a little "lumpy" until they had been driven some and were up to temp.

Not one to wait for the tires to come in, he'd pull out onto the pavement and light 'em up until the car basically disappeared into a cloud of smoke. He claimed they'd all top out over 130 mph, and a couple he had early in his career would hit 140. These were "used" cruisers, handed down to the noobs when the ranking troopers got the new cars.

He missed out on the Mustang stick shift cars- he was too tall!

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by ForceFed86

What is the advantage of having heavier media? I'd think having small light media and alot more of it would be better? Similar to the Dynabead product. The airsoft ammo I bought above is $9 at walmart.

I'm not saying to use any of it- light OR heavy. I just thought the $1.50/per pellet cost was "interesting", is all.

[HeStands]

What kind of Beads do you guys use? (the ones who use them.) After a lot of research online I stumbled on a website **www.tirebalancingbeads.com** apparently the glass beads that they sale were the first ones made of their kind in the mid nineties. and are the only ones with a patent.. also except that there glass, they create static electricity in the tire, which make them stay clinging to the tire even when it stops, which means they don't need to get up to 30 mphs to start working, like all the other beads put there... definitely going to purchase them, only makes sense to me.

[bentwings]

Let us know how they work.