[benezrj]

Just had the 7500 mile check up on my 2001 GG EX. The dealer rotated and rebalanced the tires. I now notice that one of the rims (front passenger side) does not have a balance weight on it.

The van rides OK (although I THINK I detect a bit of vibration in the steering wheel - of course I only notice this AFTER I discovered the missing balance weight

So, is it possible that a wheel can be in balance without needed any balance weights on the rim? Thanks! JEFF

 

[Jim F]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by benezrj:
So, is it possible that a wheel can be in balance without needed any balance weights on the rim? Thanks! JEFF</font>

Without a doubt. It's rare, but very possible.

I've also had weights placed on opposite sides of a wheel. The funny thing is, they were equal weights.

------------------
Jim
'01 GG EX w/stuff
'93 Nissan Sentra SE-R with more stuff

 

[cmt4]

Also, remember that some weights are placed on the INSIDE of a rim. The outer weight may be gone, but the tech may have attached a weight to the inside of the rim.

If there is no weight and it used to be there, I'd be suspect. However, it would really vibrate or shimmy.

 

[Mel]

A properly balanced wheel will have from zero to four weights, most commonly two. It all depends upon the imperfections in the tire and the wheel (and drive train, if dynamically balanced on the car) and their relationship, as mounted.

 

[benezrj]

Thanks everyone - sure enough, I felt around the inner side of the rim and there is a balance weight there. I don't remember any weights on the outside rims before my 7500 mile maintenance.

I'm sure Honda mounted the weights on the inner side of the rims at the factory (for esthetic reasons?) - and the dealer just slapped a few on when they rebalanced. I'll have to check if they also left the factory weights on the inside of the rims on the other three wheels.

Thanks for the feedback. JEFF

 

[Ockham's disposable]

Hi, I just wanted to chime in. I actually worked at a tire shop when I was in high school and through college (10years ago).
Your concern about no wheel weights is a valid one. Tire balancers these days, like everything else, are computer driven. You mount the tire on the drive arm of the balancer, remove the previous weights, set the proper dimensions and offset for the rim, lower the protective shield, and let 'er spin. The balancer analyzes the wobble, hop, etc in the tire and tells the technician exactly how much and where on the rim the weight should go. Then the tire should be spun again to validate the weights applied. It was considered improper in the shop I worked at to put more than one wheel weight on a single side of a rim. This usually occurs, though, when on the second spin the weight was not placed correctly or the computer was not given the correct dimensions of the rim and therefore tells the technician to apply more weights at new positions. Especially large and heavy tires are problematic in balancing but this really isn't an issue with an Oddysey. I personally would ask to have my tires rebalanced if I saw more than one weight per side of a rim on a tire I paid to have balanced.

Sometimes a tire would need no weight added on a single side and rarely no weight to both the inner and outer rim. This occured rarely and only on Michelins. I still only buy Michelins.

In other minutiae, sometimes using a crappy air source to inflate your tires can introduce a large volume of water into your tire. This is especially a problem in humid areas where a compressor may be running nonstop and small amounts of water are constantly being added to the compressor tank. Before long, if the tank is not purged of the water, you are adding significant amounts of water into your tire. You can imagine how this may affect the dynamic balance of a tire. I have personally removed tires from rims that had over a quart of water in the tire. I think to avoid this the best air sources for inflation are the instant-on, quarter fed(rarely free)variety. I think these would be the least likely to have this problem unless you use your own compressor and monitor it carefully. Just my 2 cents...

Originally posted by benezrj:
Thanks everyone - sure enough, I felt around the inner side of the rim and there is a balance weight there. I don't remember any weights on the outside rims before my 7500 mile maintenance.



[This message has been edited by Ockham's disposable (edited 11-28-2001).]

 

[Jerry O1]

If I had alloy wheels, I would have them done with tape weights on the inside of the wheel. Why, because you may find that when weights are removed from a position they have occupied for a long while, the clear coat beneath them will be destroyed and the wheel material will be corroded. This makes for a really ugly scar on the wheel and cannot be easily repaired without redoing the whole wheel. I had one car on which this happened and my next one got the tape weights and the wheels and clear-coat were perfect after seven years. Just a suggestion....... As to air, I always top my tires up with a hand pump and avoid whatever might be in the local compressors. It takes very little effort and can even have some aerobic benefit, if the tires are low on air, Hee! Hee!

Jerry O.

------------------
2001 Odyssey GG LX