Is anyone using a dynamic tyre balancing solution.......

[sae70]

......such as Dyna Beads http://www.dynabeads.co.uk/index.php

If so what are they like, good or bad

If not has anyone read or heard of anything about them, good or bad

I'm thinking about using them for Fiery

 

[chriscolleman]

Any kind of loose weight inside a tyre will have the dynamic balancing effect.

You simply put a tyre and wheel combo on one of those old fashioned bullseye level balancers. Add weight to get the thing level by placing some of those bead bags on the tyre sidewall, than add one extra.
You now have the dynamic balancing weight.

They work best with narrow tall tyres or balloon type tyres.
Like 235/85R16 landrover tyres, scooter tyres or ATV tyres driven at road pressure.

You need constant speed to achieve the balancing effect, every slow down to a halt or serious short bump in the road will upset the equilibrium. And again you'll have wobble untill equilibrium is achieved.
Not a nice driving experience in a cruiser.

A scooter which has seen some serious teenager abuse can benefit, suddenly you can maintain straight progress at speed with only one hand on the bars. Although I think its more to do with the gyroscopic effect.

Have your offroad wheels balanced the normal way, and when you meet a greasy mud puddle go through it as slow as possible.
Then speed up slowly and do not wash during your entire offroad trip.
How the mud does it I don't know, but often the wheels feel a lot more balanced after a dip in the mud???

 

[EvilEd]

Been there, done that, was shat.... and when I popped the tyre off the rim, I took them all out again. Might be okay on a road tyre, but anything that needs a bit of weight and there is just not enough in there without spending a fortune. If your tyre is only maybe 5g out then these will help.

 

[Mark Whiteside]

I used some on my 37s
Truck ones
Were fine at first but after a while when cold the vibration was terrible
I was all ways stopping making sure the wheels were not fallen of
May be i don't know damp got in to them
Balance weights every time for me now

 

[Toby]

Hi Steven,

I haven't used Dynabeads but have used airsoft pellets which are much cheaper. They've been working well for the last 12000 miles but are gradually turning to dust. If/when I start to get balance problems they'll get replaced either with heavier teflon coated airsoft pellets or some small stainless ball bearings - these are less likely to turn to dust but you can hear them running around the spare every time you stop if you have it mounted horizontally inside the car (which you probably don't).

As Chris points out you won't get any balancing below the speed that the pellets get carried around the tyre - probably below 10mph, but above that, if you have enough weight, they should work. Of course my tyres and rims may have had good balance by chance anyway...

One benefit of dynamic balancing is if you get a bit keen on rocky terrain and start losing chunks of rubber from your tyres you can still drive home on perfectly balanced wheels. Ask Ian about having to saw loose tread chunks off his 37s on the side of the M5 with a Leatherman tool - actually I'm not sure if balancing is all that relevant on his car now (no offence Ian!).

As mentioned above these seem to work best on tall narrow tyes - in my case 255/100R16s. Anyhow, you could google airsoft, use the handy weight chart on Dynabead's website to work out the minimum weight you need and try it out without spending a fortune...

All the best,
Toby
1990 HDJ80
1994 HDJ80

 

[J66P]

my mate has them in his 33's that they couldnt balance, he seems to think they work ok

 

[sae70]

This is all very interesting

My initial query was with the idea in mind that I would use the Dyna Beads in place of my existing balance weights, but now I'm not so sure that this would be the best use of them.

I've spent the last couple of weeks doing some pretty intensive spannering on Fiery including removing the rear wheels to strip & clean the rear disc brake components & re-adjust the hand brake! It was while doing this work that I noticed I've lost all of the stuck on balance weights from off of one of my rear wheels and this got me to thinking about alternatives. Having read what you guys have said (good & bad) & other reviews, I’m starting to think that there's a lot to be said for running with both systems @ the same time. The traditional style stuck on balance weights for the big job of balancing & then the Dyna Beads (or air soft pellets ) for the finer more every day dynamic adjustments often required after a day/weekend off-roading miles from home just to smooooth out all of that stuck on mud & tyre wear.

It's all starting to sound like a plan

One last point with regards the Dyna Beads is that they say that they start to work correctly between approximately 25 - 35 MPH, but the exact speed within this range is dependent upon the tyre diameter.

I'm now wondering if 255/85/16's are considered to be tall & skinny

Please keep your thoughts & experiences comeing

 

[chriscolleman]

Running both systems of balancing at the same time is where the pain begins.

In order to do so, you would need to balance your wheel with the weights, remove the valve core and then add dyna beads.
I'm sure you'll have a very decent result.

After a length of time the tire develops more inbalance than the beads can compensate for.
So you decide to have it balanced again, or add more dyna beads.

The guy at the balancing shop will scratch his head a few times, because he is continually rebalancing the tyre and each checkrun he gets a different reading.
The beads.
So he breaks the bead, sucks out the dynabeads, balances the tire and when you get home. you get your valvecore out once again and add beads to achieve perfect balance.

Great stuff if you like fiddling about.

You'd be a lot better off with one of those centramatic on board balancers.
Or either stick with the weights or the beads.

I prefer good old steel wheels and weights.
The heavier the wheel, the better balance you can obtain.
When airing up and down on a frequent basis I don't want anything inside the tire, no need to check the valvecore for leaks every time.

If your wheels and tyres start to look like a truckwheel combo, drive like a truck aka slower than usual.
If your wheels and tyres start to look tractorlike, drive like a tractor.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I think you just need to have your weights stuck on properly Where I go, they put some effort into cleaning the wheel where the weights will go and then once balanced use their foot to make sure they're properly stuck down, complicated I know but I've never lost a weight

 

[GC_Aus]

I was about to put a post up for this so this saves me doing so, a bit more info on this for you guys -

the Royal Society test

http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/366/1866/705.full


& the PAVE test
http://www.pavetrack.com/PAVE/Counteract Balancing Beads Type II Fuel Economy Test Report.pdf


I have tried them on a classic car=
165/85 R15 Tubeless Tyre/ Tire on a solid axle sedan. these are tyres you would see on an old Volvo, Citroen, Peugeot, VW etc.
So skinny tall tyres - on road.

the result was immediately noticeable - within a few hundred meters. I then drove the car 1200Km on one of our coastal highways which has varying quality or surfaces & I have to say they were /are a complete success;- with that combination.

pondering giving them a try on the cruiser - 235/85 R16 so like the comments above - high profile skinny's.

 

[GC_Aus]

me again...
is there a pattern here that guides us to harder bead material like ceramic or glass over plastic beads?
Mine are stated as "glass ceramic" & i would also echo the comment above about keeping the air dry!