Who's running dynamic tire balancing beads?

[Awesomeness]

Who has some long term experience with tire balancing compounds on the FMTV? I know we've had discussions about putting airsoft pellets or ball bearings in the tire, but who has actually done it, and what are your results?

I'm getting ready to change tires, so now is the time to decide.

 

[Jericho]

it isn't a set of 14 bys on an M 931 but , I run balance beads in a set of 35 by 12,5 s on my Jeep, I have aftermarket rims which are aluminum alloy and have proven tough to balance with weights . I am not entirely sold on balance beads. Some times they run real smooth, other times one can feel a tire just a little wobbly. I stop when I can to let them settle and take off again , sometimes no more wobble , sometimes an improvement. Size really doesn't matter its a simple tire based Volume of beads math equation

 

[Awesomeness]

I'm not really trying to prove whether they work. We can't use regular balancing compounds with the CTIS, so some people have tried other materials and I'm curious what the long term reports are.

 

[coachgeo]

I'm not really trying to prove whether they work. We can't use regular balancing compounds with the CTIS, so some people have tried other materials and I'm curious what the long term reports are.

pretty sure there is a thread on this...... least similar. Seem to recall someone saying the've been running them. I'll try to round it up... though you might find it first with a search for ... beads ctis large....

 

[Awesomeness]

I have read those (I have the links saved), but there no threads that I've seen that talk about it later. I'm curious if the airsoft pellets break down, or the ball bearings make metal dust, etc.

 

[tourus]

why can't you use Equal ??? lots of over the road truck have air systems on the tires and have Equal .. I use Equal in all my tires from my pick up to jeeps to car trailers .. when I owned tractor trailers I used it in all 10 tires. I felt it helped with wear and I know it helped with balance. on the drives I put a bag the steers a bag an half. so again why cant use Equal.

 

[Awesomeness]

why can't you use Equal ??? lots of over the road truck have air systems on the tires and have Equal .. I use Equal in all my tires from my pick up to jeeps to car trailers .. when I owned tractor trailers I used it in all 10 tires. I felt it helped with wear and I know it helped with balance. on the drives I put a bag the steers a bag an half. so again why cant use Equal.

If some people are running them in their LMTVs, I'll be happy to consider it. I'm purposely trying to move beyond the theoretical "I think this should work", and find some things that "This worked in my LMTV" or "This didn't work in my LMTV". Lots of people have talked about the theoretical, but I haven't seen any posts that say someone has opened up FMTV tires that have been running stuff for a while, etc.

 

[coachgeo]

why can't you use Equal ??? lots of over the road truck have air systems on the tires and have Equal .. I use Equal in all my tires from my pick up to jeeps to car trailers .. when I owned tractor trailers I used it in all 10 tires. I felt it helped with wear and I know it helped with balance. on the drives I put a bag the steers a bag an half. so again why cant use Equal.

May be wrong but think equal beads were mentioned in other threads to be oto small .... they could get into the CTIS hoses.

 

[coachgeo]

If some people are running them in their LMTVs, .....

since you have the links saved..... wasn't there one person who said they run them in their tires??? if so maybe PM them with a link to this thread to encourage them to add their .02? If it is whom I'm thinking it is..... they are not on here often.

 

[Karl kostman]

I wrote up a thread on this subject a few years ago on MY M920 running 1600s on HEMTT rims, I ended up putting in 64 oz. of the beads in each tire and it honestly went from 30 mph top speed to 16 gear at 1900 RPM 55 mph smooth as silk! Thats my only experience with them but they sure worked well for me!

 

[DiverDarrell]

I have been running airsoft pellets for 2 years. I've swapped in tires without them and can tell a difference. Currently have them back on the truck. Only have about 400 mile on them. When the tires were last rotated you could still hear them rolling around in there. So they haven't turned to dust yet. No issues with ctis other than the system randomly deflating tires. I think my total cost was $40 to do 4 tires. I haven't done a lot of highway miles on them. But a lot of cruising at 50. Hope this helps

 

[Ryan31783]

I have been running airsoft pellets for 2 years. I've swapped in tires without them and can tell a difference. Currently have them back on the truck. Only have about 400 mile on them. When the tires were last rotated you could still hear them rolling around in there. So they haven't turned to dust yet. No issues with ctis other than the system randomly deflating tires. I think my total cost was $40 to do 4 tires. I haven't done a lot of highway miles on them. But a lot of cruising at 50. Hope this helps

Do you remember how many ounces you put in per tire? I've been looking into this and from various balancing media companies for the 395/85, is 16-24 oz

 

[DiverDarrell]

All remember is that it was a bag and a half. I got the formula off pirate 4x4

 

[Awesomeness]

The formula is in the doc here in my signature. I think I actually pulled it from the thread you wrote up Darrell.

 

[DiverDarrell]

I'm glad someone has a memory that works. I have had great luck with media in my motorcycle tires, and have run them at high speeds with great success. I noticed an improvement at highway speeds in my lmtv , compared to tires with no beads. Best part about the airsoft pellets is that they are cheap. If they work for them, one could always upgrade to better media.

 

[Reworked LMTV]

Just curious what source people used for the pellets for best price. Most charge by ball count, not ounces.

 

[ckouba]

The formula is in the doc here in my signature. I think I actually pulled it from the thread you wrote up Darrell.

From the linked doc:

"If using dynamic balancing (e.g. ball bearings - be sure to use something that won’t clog the CTIS), a ratio of 1oz to every 13lb of tire works well."

So with ~350 pounds of wheel and tire, 350/13*1 yields ~27 ounces or ~1.68 pounds of media.

Does that sound about correct?

 

[Reworked LMTV]

From the linked doc:

"If using dynamic balancing (e.g. ball bearings - be sure to use something that won’t clog the CTIS), a ratio of 1oz to every 13lb of tire works well."

So with ~350 pounds of wheel and tire, 350/13*1 yields ~27 ounces or ~1.68 pounds of media.

Does that sound about correct?

I was looking for a reliable purchase source. I know how to calculate the ounces.

 

[ckouba]

Actually, like you, I was asking a question for someone to confirm.

I have seen inoffensive prices on Amazon for .43 gram beads in the 3k and 5k(?) packs. ~$14 or so with free shipping I think. Seemed reasonable on first glance. I imagine Cabella's or Bass Pro or other hunting places would have them as well, but I'm not a hunter.

 

[Awesomeness]

From the linked doc:

"If using dynamic balancing (e.g. ball bearings - be sure to use something that won’t clog the CTIS), a ratio of 1oz to every 13lb of tire works well."

So with ~350 pounds of wheel and tire, 350/13*1 yields ~27 ounces or ~1.68 pounds of media.

Does that sound about correct?

Sounds about right. I haven't tried it myself, but I did use some off-the-shelf balancing compound in some large ~180lb off road tires on another truck, and I think it took 14-16oz. So it seems reasonable a tire about 2x as heavy would require about 2x as much.

I was looking for a reliable purchase source. I know how to calculate the ounces.

They're available pretty much anywhere. After years of these topics going round-and-round, nobody has clearly detailed using them, or what they used, or how much they used, etc. So you're probably just going to have to test it out, and write that guide yourself, for others to follow.