Ahhh, wheel balancing
 

Wow, I finally know what its like to have a steering wheel that doesn't shake! After several unsuccessful attempts to get wheels balanced by Firestone, I started looking for a place with the Haweka adapter. Of course, Toyota of Des Moines had no clue what I was talking about.

However, Big O Tires does have it. I took it in this morning and the ride back to work was smooth as glass!

Woo hoo
 

And how long have you been on YT and known about how to do it "right"? :chair: :chair: :chair:

Glad you got it worked out! Yeah, when you ask the person on the phone if they do road force balancing and/or have the Haweka adapter and they don't say anything back, you hang up and call another place! :hillbill:

My dealer finally got one as they didn't have one last year. :pat:

:guitar:

Well it took me this long to learn how to pronounce "Haweka". :laugh:

So where is this Big-O? It may be the only place in the country with a Haweka :laugh:

Altoona, IA - just outside of Des Moines. They share it with another Big O in Ankeny - they're about 10 miles apart I think.

Greetings,
You can locate a GSP9700 Road force Balancet at this website.

http://209.176.154.132/pub/search/findgsp9700.cfm

Sincerely,

Yes....

But, the Road Force Balancer and the Haweka adapter are two different things. Shops could have one but not both.

Also, I might add, they may have both but not know how to use either. :hillbill:

Okay, I'm a new guy having just purchased a '97 Limited 4X4 with the 3.4 engine. Made my first short road trip down the interstate and experienced this shaking/vibration I'm reading about. As a rule it's around 60-70 mph. It has 265/75/16's Dayton Timberline's, which I understand are produced by Bridgestone. They're brand new - came with it.

I've never had a vehicle like this, however I'm not expecting a nice cushy ride. I do think this vibration is pretty ridiculous and have been wondering what can I do about it.

Exactly what are the benefits of this Haweka adapter I'm reading about? From what I've been reading it appears the Haweka is the only way to get a proper wheel balance.

Anyone live in the Louisville, KY area know of who might have the Haweka?

Thanks for your input and love the Forum. A lot of good reading!

Check out www.gadgetonline.com to learn all about lug-centric rims!

I still can't believe this "Toyota alloy wheels are lug-centric" myth hasn't died yet. Anyone notice the how the rear wheels fit on our 4Runners? They're a slip fit onto the axle and the lug nuts aren't tapered. IOW, The wheel is located on the axle by the center hole, not the lug nuts. That would make it hub-centric, at least on the rear.

Now my steelies are in fact lug-centric. The center hole is much larger and the lug nuts are tapered to maintain the wheel location...

Tacoma cone??
 

I hope I'm referring to this right. <tacoma cone>. I spoke to a local Big O store today (Louisville, KY). He was familiar with the Haweka adapter but doesn't have one. He says they have the tacoma cone so that Toyota wheels will fit properly on the balancer. He says $28.00 to balance all four on my 97 Ltd. What do you all think or should I continue my search for someone with the Haweka adapter?

We just got one of those at school too :woo: and not a whole lot know how to use it either, I certainly don't.

I took my wheels over to a local 4x4 shop and used their wheel balancer. They have this small cone that locks the rim properly. The 5-spoke alloy rims are hub centric, my rims spun true and balancing was too easy. After months of wheelin and chunking my tires, the balance is finally starting waver, but isn't bad yet.

vibration prob finally solved too.
 

after months of repeated balancing attempts by folks at discount tires my vibration problem was resolved by a toyota dealer with people WHO KNOW HOW TO USE THE GSP9700.

i repeatedly instructed discount tires staff to use the Haweka adapter and only one time did the workers really try to use it. in my case, it seemed like the workers would get frustrated using the adaptor, give up and switch back to normal hub cones. one guy did try, but i really don't think they have the patience or knowledge atleast at this shop.

last week, american toyota in albuquerque took about 1 1/2 hours using the same machine, with a guy the manager said "knows how to use the adapter" and guess what. many months of annoyance is finally gone!!!

i have bfg a/t ko's on mb motoring after market rims, rolling smooth as glass again.

Oooh I forgot to tell you all, the Hunter Rep came by the school last week and gave us a demonstration of that 9700 machine. That thing does alot more than just balance. It's actually better in terms of balancing tires as you can tell the machine where you want to place the weights by the means of two arms. But one thing about that machine you want to have the shop do, is road force test them, to see how much road variance you will have (depending on the vehicle, some may be very unoticeable, especially in larger trucks and SUV's) and also use the "straight-trak align" feature, which actually the computer tells you where to place the tires on the vehicle for a true straight path (given that your vehicle is properly aligned in the first place).

Hmm...just looking at their website, only a few locations feature that "straight-align" feature, in my area...but I'd recommend to try and find a location and have them use it.

Mohamed. What's the website? Like to check for locations, if any in Louisville, KY. Thanks.

Hub centric/ lug centric ???
 

I chased 3 sets of tires and I don't remember how many shops for balancing, including two visits to my Toyota dealer with the Hunter GSP9700 and the problem would not go away. BTW there is a tech Serv Bultn, TSB # SU002-96,the dealer has it but they don't have the adapter it tells them to use? Go figure.

It only took :rockon: One visit to a shop who had the adapter and a GSP9700, smooth as silk. no shake at any speed.

I vote for the use of the adapter to get these alloy wheels with large, 4" or better holes balanced. It worked for me. :guitar:

Uh just use the link above click on "location"... ;) :)

to help you out, these two locations have the "straight-align track" that you want to get done.

BIG O TIRES INC
195 OUTER LOOP
LOUISVILLE, KY 40214
Phone: 502-361-3543
Approx. 7 miles from your location

YOKOHAMA TIRE CORP.
6101 CANE RUN RD
LOUISVILLE, KY 40258
Phone: 502-933-5140
Approx. 10 miles from your location