I’ve been following this thread for a while and now feel compelled to share my opinions and experiences. I apologize in advance if any portion of this post offends anyone, because that is certainly not my intention.
I’ve been struggling with balancing large wheels and tires since building my first off-road truck in 1969. Back in those days applied lead weights were the only option, and because my 4-wheeling buddy owned and managed a Hunter tire center, we obtained as good of results as was possible for the equipment technology of the day. As the years rolled by the equipment and technology improved substantially until it was possible to obtain a decent smooth ride with the largest and heaviest tires and wheels available at the time. But one inherent problem that could not be overcome until recently was, once we came out of the mud bogs and our wheels were loaded with uneven mud residue, our wheel balancing was non-existent. We always had to drive slower going home due to the shimmy and shakes. So in essence, no matter how good the tire balancing equipment and/or efficiency of the tire technician, nothing could overcome the changes of balancing requirements once the weight of the wheel and tire was changed due to environmental causes. Nothing, that is, until static balancing technology began to be utilized.
I gave up all my 4-wheeling and mud-bogging back in the early 1990’s, when my wife said I finally “grew up”. Now fast forward to 2010 when I acquired and began a second childhood with my M1028. Having been successful in business and with adequate financial resources, I launched into a complete rebuild and restoration of this truck quite by accident (see my rebuild thread). I dug out my custom 20” Firestone split rims I had built in 1985 and mounted new 11.00/20 NDT tires, tubes, and flaps. Got these mounted and rediscovered the same old issue of balancing. So after reading up on the “new” technology of static balancing, I ordered a set of Balance Masters, which utilize a special heavy fluid inside a race tube to dynamically balance the entire wheel. I could not have been more dissatisfied with a product. The specific model of Balance Masters was the exact model for HMMWV tires and wheels, however with the great weight of my 11:00/20’s, it was as if I had forgotten to install them. So I took them off and sold them, and then installed exactly 16 ounces of Dyna Beads inside each tube. After installing the Dyna Beads my truck was as smooth as my wife’s Mercedes, no kidding. So in retrospect, 1 pound of Dyna Beads in each tube was able to do what tha Balance Masters could not do.
But with back and hip surgery looming, I then decided to lower my truck a little to ease the effort of ingress and egress to and from the thing. I took off the 20’s and stored them in my warehouse (I still have them), and installed a set of late model 12-bolts and BFG’s. Because I had lost faith in the Balance Masters, this time I purchased a new set of HMMWV Centromatics. I broke down the 12-bolts and removed the run flats, and purchased and installed a set of PVC inserts from Trail Worthy Fab. All new O-rings, lug nuts, tires, and valve stems. And I can go on the record and say that my truck drives and rides as smooth as my wife’s new Porsche. I am running Centromarics, which I understand have rotating steel balls inside a race, and I would not run anything else.
Just my 2 cents. Hope this helps.