It just occurred to me that some wheels list themselves as hub centric while others are lug centric.

Clearly lug centric wheels need the Haweka adaptor, as the stock Toy wheels do. Wouldn't using that on a hub centric wheel be of absolutely no consequence? Actually it may be to the detriment of the wheel and accurate balancing?

I have steel Eaton wheels, they are hub centric, cheap and abused. They have been balanced probably 30 times or so in several states, on several different machines. The Hunter 9700 made them smooth, but I still had better than 40 road force on my best tire. That balance was without the Haweka. The first time it was done with a Haweka, it blew and I got my money back. The second time, it was good, but just as good as without the balancer on a regular machine.

SteveO just got some fancy wheels that were jug centric, so using the Haweka on a Hunter would be the best plan. Seems that would be the best plan for making wheels/tires smooth.

Anyone else given this any thought?

 

You need to get the low-down from Dave "Fear Toy"
He is a manager at Discount Tire and can clarify the realities of balancing.

 

Try looking at it this way. Don't worry about all this hug and lug centric BS. The flange plate adapter will lock the wheel on the balance machine much more solid so you have the greatest chance of getting a better more consistant balance. You are better off always using it.

Remember the road force balancer does much more then just balance the tire. It tells the operator how to position the tire on the rim for the smoothest possible ride AND THEN it is balanced like other machines.

Once the tire has been positioned on the rim to give the smoothest possible ride, you really don't need to do that again. From then on just a regular balance is all you should need.

Gadget

www.GadgetOnline.com

 

What's a good road force number? What's the number where they should replace the tire?

Chris

 

I just happened to catch a show today while watching lunch and they explained all about how the Hunter GPS9700 works and what it does and why you should balance your tires on it. They talked about your basic balance, a dynamic balance and a dynamic balance with road force. It was quite the interesting little snippit.

I've heard that you want a tire under a 20 on the road force test.

 

So what did they say, because damn it's expensive to get it done around here. To get a Road Force Balance it runs $105! Seems a bit high to me, but I don't have a clue.

Chris

 

If you saw how much work is involved in properly doing the road force position mounting and balancing you would not think $105 is a lot to pay for it.

Gadget

 

Fair enough! So I'm assuming this is a decent price?

Chris