Topic: Anyone balancing their tires?

[amr5080]

I know a lot of kart guys balance their tires and was just wondering if anyone is balancing their tires. If so, can you tell a difference in handling or anywhere else?

[The Tank]

I've never balanced my tires, heck most time the racing surface gets too bumpy to tell a difference anyway. I don't really think it's an advantage.

[JohnB]

I agree I have never balance a tire. I agree most our tracks not that smooth. We may not know how to act on a smooth track.LOL

[Caseracer]

I would think it would also depend on the tire.  I have three sets of Turf Pros and they are pretty good but alot of the Turf Masters I've checked are out of round so I don't know how much good it would do.

Jack Jones
Hard Case Racing

[Huffy044]

I just got through balancing 10 of my tires (8 for the two Mini's and 2 spares). Vibration is energy, up and down movement requires even more energy to cancell it out. as superman says "A lot of little things add up to a big thing" Guys this is racing, look for every and anything you can find. some of our tracks are really nice and flat and not having to fight a wheel jumping up and down and keeping the contact patch on the ground may be worth the extra effort.

It's really easy to do, loosen up the front bearing on your spindle, move the tire around until it falls down and stops. Add your weight to the top of the rim until the tire does not move anywhere you stop it. I use stick on weights, just keep adding until you have enough. If you don't have disc brakes, try to keep the stick on weight in the middle of the rim. This balances both static and dynamically.

[The Tank]

Maybe I'm wrong but as bumpy as some of the tracks get, looks like it would beat the tires back out of balance after a race or two.

[Squidd]

It would beat them out of round, not out of balance...

However, you can balance a crankshaft to 9000 rpm, (dynamic) but if you roll it across the floor...it'll bounce all over the place...

Unless you have major static balance issues, you will not see/feel a benifit on the tracks we run...

[Wheelhorseracer]

So it wouldn't hurt to put them on a bubble balancer just to check them out.. mostly if you buy a used rim and tire combo?

[George Herrin]

You add up enough tenths of a tenth and it becomes a second sooner or later. Can you feel the difference of balanced or unbalanced prolly not in the seat of your pants BUT its those little things That add up.

[Wheelhorseracer]

Makes sense to me.. not to mention the wear on bearings does to the shake..

[Super Modified #3]

I race the super modified class and we never balance our tires.  probubly because our tracks usually arn't that smooth

[allen minaker]

Makes sense to me.. not to mention the wear on bearings does to the shake..

The wear on bearings is the biggest thing that I found as a difference. I used to have to replace the bearing a couple time a year, this year there still in great shape after the season. I'm gonna replace and use them as a spare set but better than throwing them away.

[royalblu68f100]

How do yall balance your tires?  Do you use a powder like the larger diesel tires, or do you use stick on wheel weights?

[allen minaker]

The stick on weights work well, make sure you clean the rim real well.

[royalblu68f100]

How large of a tire are we talking about here? 11's and 13's or 16's?