Seeing the posts for using Equal to balance the tires, someone posted using the Centramatic system ( www.centramatic.com ). I didn't believe in the lead weights for off-road tires, and Equal was sounding good until I heard about Centramatic. I live in good old hot dry Phoenix Arizona. Centramatics sounds better. Anyone have any problems with them? Do they work well for our use? It sounds like they were developed for tractor-trailer use. Has anyone damaged one? My current tire size is a 37 12.5 15 but usually 35's. The ride for anything much over 40mph is annoying, and the way Phoenix is growing, we're having to drive further and further to hit the trail.
CK5
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Centramatic balancing for tires- anyone use them?
- Thread starter bugspray
- Start date
duece21
1/2 ton status
I have heard some truckers come in my work that swear by them, but I have never seen them used on a car/truck application before. $200 for a set of four. If they worked really well I think that they would be a great investment. Why don't you buy some and let us know! /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
4xcrazy
3/4 ton status
I have heard alot about them being used on the big trucks, and was actually going to purchase a set for my truck when i drove OTR, i have also heard that they work great on the big trucks, but not quite as well on the smaller tires of "4 wheelers". They are primarily used or "working" only at highway speeds, driving around town, you will not get very good results from them.
I would just balance out the tires real good, or use the equal stuff, much cheaper, i believe the rings are arounf $150 on up for "A PAIR"
BTW they work great on dually wheels too, since you cannot really balance each wheel, these rings are between both wheels are balance both as one.
I would just balance out the tires real good, or use the equal stuff, much cheaper, i believe the rings are arounf $150 on up for "A PAIR"
BTW they work great on dually wheels too, since you cannot really balance each wheel, these rings are between both wheels are balance both as one.
az-k5
1/2 ton status
I have seen a few guys come into my shop with them on. They had smaller versions than the big rigs. Some chassis coaches (big azz mortor homes) come with them and they seem to work well. I wouldn't expect a carlike ride, but with those and a well balanced tire/wheel I think they will be great.
camiswelding
1/2 ton status
I had them on my "furd" f350 dually.... I didnt like them... still had balance anomolies... rebalanced using standard wheel weights and problems went away...they are expensive.... and wont work on really oversize tires (I believe)
cam
cam
SCJimmy
1/2 ton status
I run them on 8 lug 16" rims, 35" MTR's and love them. Here's a link to a discussion on tire balance. I posted pics of my install about mid ways down.
Byron
Byron
ROUND tires are a lot easier to balance than lumpy tires.
I noticed that you have 37" Swampers, probably not the roundest tires in the world even the day they came out of the molds.
Jack up each corner of your truck and give the tire a slow spin. From the side, "sight" across the top of the tread and watch for fluctuations where the tire either had a "bump" or a "dip" in it..... with Swampers, it's not uncommon to see 1/4" variations in the tread.
If you're trying to balance a tire that's not ROUND in the first place, it will be an exercise in frustration. Get the tires "trued" (think tire lathe!) and THEN get them balanced....the difference is night and day.
My own Swampers were mostly round, but one in particular had about a 1/4" dip in the tread that was causing an awful vibration at highway speeds. After getting all the tires trued and balanced, the truck now runs like butter on the highway at 75 mph.
I suspect that sometimes people get a "good" set of Swampers and can get away with a simple balance, and other people get stuck with a set that has one or two lousy "egg shaped" tires....that's why it seems like people can never agree about the best way to deal with balancing; some people will have it easy, and some people will have a tough time. The good news is that if you're willing to pay the extra money to make them round (truing) they can actually run really nice and smooth.
/forums/images/graemlins/usaflag.gif
I noticed that you have 37" Swampers, probably not the roundest tires in the world even the day they came out of the molds.
Jack up each corner of your truck and give the tire a slow spin. From the side, "sight" across the top of the tread and watch for fluctuations where the tire either had a "bump" or a "dip" in it..... with Swampers, it's not uncommon to see 1/4" variations in the tread.
If you're trying to balance a tire that's not ROUND in the first place, it will be an exercise in frustration. Get the tires "trued" (think tire lathe!) and THEN get them balanced....the difference is night and day.
My own Swampers were mostly round, but one in particular had about a 1/4" dip in the tread that was causing an awful vibration at highway speeds. After getting all the tires trued and balanced, the truck now runs like butter on the highway at 75 mph.
I suspect that sometimes people get a "good" set of Swampers and can get away with a simple balance, and other people get stuck with a set that has one or two lousy "egg shaped" tires....that's why it seems like people can never agree about the best way to deal with balancing; some people will have it easy, and some people will have a tough time. The good news is that if you're willing to pay the extra money to make them round (truing) they can actually run really nice and smooth.
/forums/images/graemlins/usaflag.gif
