Tire experts' question on balancing weight --

[Kuato]

So how much weight is TOO much when balancing a tire? On the new 275-65/R18 Michelins I just had mounted on the F150, they had to use 3 ounces on one tire.

I get a slight vibration over 70mph that wasn't there before; since I live out West where speed limits are as high as 80mph this may be a concern and I wanted to check with those that have experience mounting and balancing tires.

What say you?

 

[eljefino]

Over 2 oz is sketchy for car tires but I'd give trucks a little more leeway.

Call michelin and ask them?

 

[mclasser]

You can move that tire to the back but yeah, 3 oz seems high.

 

[Doc8404]

http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/make-driving-fun/how-many-wheel-weights-are-too-many-

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: mclasser
You can move that tire to the back but yeah, 3 oz seems high.


If it's already on the right rear, the tire shop already knows.

 

[Veilside]

Have them replace the tire. Been in this situation quite a few times before.

 

[Chris142]

Have them break it down and 180* it on the rim. See if that helps

 

[sasilverbullet]

Have them Hunter Road Force Balance the tire/wheel. Sometimes that machine will tell how to spin the tire on the rim to lessen the need for weights. Do that before just replacing it.

 

[WillsYoda]

Mr O at South Main Auto has a tire on his wife's Odyssey that requires a 4 ounce weight! He at first thought it was a misreading, but he put on the 4 ounces and said "oh well, it is what it is, and that is what it needs."

Here is the video at the time he discovers this...
https://youtu.be/bslkEXY-Q7A?t=39m26s

He does not seem to be too worried about 4oz, so I would not worry too much about less.

 

[stephen9666]

3 oz is not that much weight. That's a big assembly.

Do we know for a fact that's even what's causing the vibration? Obviously, more investigation is needed into this.

Match mounting may be able to reduce the weight. It could be as simple as spinning the tire 180 degrees on the rim. That's an old recommendation if you get one that needs a lot of weight. In reality, most shops won't take the time to do this on a mount.

Take it back and see what they say.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: mclasser
You can move that tire to the back but yeah, 3 oz seems high.


If it's already on the right rear, the tire shop already knows.


Yeah this is what the tire shop guy said, that he'd put it on the back. I never got this approach -- if it's not balanced right, it's not balanced right and when you rotate, guess what - it'll be on the front. So ... sorry but that's not a solution.


I do have a message in to Michelin and will see what they say.

Seems like that the industry standard is 1% or less of the assembly weight. Since the tire is 42lbs on its own, or 672 ounces, that would mean that up to about 7 ounces would be fine. I'll wait to hear back from Michelin...thanks for the responses so far, and if it persists I'll take it in and try the 180° rotation.

 

[strongt]

Get the tires Road Forced balanced. I had a vibration at anything over 75(like you highways are 80) in my Aurora and DT would just say their spin balancer reads zero so there must be something else wrong. Made them Road Force it. Opps the weights where wrong. Smooth as glass now.

 

[CapriRacer]

Just so everyone understands:

Road Force balancing isn't balancing at all. It's about uniformity - think *roundness* and you'll be close.

It isn't about minimizing the amount of weight. Once a tire is balanced, it is balanced. And a tire can be perfectly balanced and be out of round - and vice versa - a perfectly round tire and wheel assembly isn't necessarily balanced.

Except: Part of the Road Force procedure includes a portion where the tire is balanced, hence the confusion.

But to answer the OP's question: The tire involved is fairly large and while 3 oz's sounds like a lot, it isn't for that large of a tire.