Okay, I'm thinking about getting my OEM wheels powdercoated. To keep "joe" down at the local tire shop from tearing up the finish on the new pc'ed wheels when he's balancing them, I've been told I need to have my wheel weights put on the inside of the rim instead of on the outside on the lip like most cars and trucks currently run them. Makes sense to me.

My question is, how safe is it to run weights only on the inside? Are they held on only by adhesive? Better yet, how long can I expect to keep my tires in balance before the weights just fall off?

I know luxury cars and guys w/ 26" rims don't have weights on the outside of their wheels, so I know people do it. I'm just wondering if I'll run a risk by not having them mounted on the outside?

 

The weights are installed the same way on the inside as the outside and have no different effect,it's just most people don't think of mentioning it to the installer. My wheels on every vehicle I've owned have had the weights on the inside.

 

you can do it either way

 

Great! I had no idea.

A buddy of mine told me they were just held on w/ a strong adhesive when mounted on the inside...so of course I believed him. I'm glad to know they are in fact NOT held on this way.

Thanks. I'll tell the tire shop to mount them on the inside then.

 

i work at discount tire. most wheels are mounted with one on the outside lip and one on the inside...there are static settings so that you can have it on just the inside though. but yeah they're put on the exact same...hammered on...carefully of course ...by the installer. you can have tape weights if you want but its all up to you.

 

I'd prefer them to be hammered into place on the inside. I don't mind if the weights scatch the backside of the wheel. As long as it's not the front

Thanks

 

yeah it actually isnt too bad i dont know how people scratch the wheel unless they just suck with a hammer haha.

 

Most tire places buy one style of weight and they try to bend them to fit every rim contour edge. On my 98 4runner, I bet I slung weights off 3 or 4 times, then I went to the stick on weights on back, inside.

 

oh i didnt realize that...we have 5 different kinds plus the tape weights. i sound like im advertising for them or something haha.

 

I have been told that they work better on the outside (by tire shop) so I have always run them there.

Lamm

 

if its done with a good balancer you'll be fine with stick ons, there are settings that allow you to put a bang on weight on the inside lip and a stick on on the inner part toward the outside. I work at a hyundai and subaru dealership and alot of the new cars dont even have lips on the outside for weights so you have no choice, and we havent had any complaints yet and i know our balancer sucks the big one! one thing you might want to have him do when he mounts your tires is grab the rim from the outside so the teeth dont gouge the inside part of your rim, thats what i did when i got my 18" rims powdercoated and tires remounted for my 3000gt

 

I prefer to use stick-on weights and only on the inside. But since one of my tires has over 2lbs (yes, pounds) of weight to balance it, I don't have much of a choice. If you go with stick-ons, make sure that the rim is spotlessly clean so they stick well and then I cover over them with a quality duct tape. Quite a bit more hassle than with the clip-ons but if done right, you're less likely to lose any on the trail.

 

I've heard the stick-ons are no good b/c they come very easily, but is seems if they are installed properly, the chance they will come off on their own is slim to none.

Thanks for the different perspectives.

 

i have not lost adhesive weights from rubbing stuff (curbs/rocks) have lost the 'hammered on' from either side. 'i musta done some damage since i now have a vibration i didnt when i started on the trail'

when they are applied to a clean surface your good to go.

 

Even a very dirty wheel will hold the little adhesive weights well. When I balanced my old camry wheels with new tires in my HS auto shop we tried and tried to make the regular weights fit before I broke down and bought the stick ons, the inside of the wheel was dirty and it wasnt coming off without beadblasting, but the weights stuck and stayed on there!

 

So the stick on wheel weights are strong eh?