As I read different threads, I see a lot of people posting about road force balancing of their tires, if they are having a difficult time balancing them the conventional way. I hate to sound stupid, but, being stupid, I need to ask, what is road force balancing?
What is road force balancing?
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They apply ground force to the tire rather than spinning it free and balancing it like an egg. With tires 50 series and below on 17" larger and up wheels it's worth it in my opinion. You can balance any wheel tire with a traditional, but you can't make it round. Road force will identify problems that a traditional balancer can't.
Ford, and maybe other car companies have all tires Road Force balanced at the factory. Many/most Ford dealers will have the machine. Other places also.
Originally Posted by Donald
Ford, and maybe other car companies have all tires Road Force balanced at the factory. Many/most Ford dealers will have the machine. Other places also.
Ah …… Mmmmm ….. Not exactly.
To my knowledge EVERY car manufacturer requires its tire suppliers to screen tires for uniformity (what Hunter Engineering is calling RoadForce), exclude those that exceed a certain value, and mark the radial HIGH point of the first harmonic. They also require other properties to be screened as well (for example, imbalance.)
They also require their wheel suppliers to screen for runout, exclude those above a certain level, and mark the LOW point of the first harmonic.
In the assembly plant, the tire's high point is matched up with the wheel's low point, so a more round assembly results.
THEN the assembly plant balances the assembly.
Please note that this match mounting is NOT related to balance, but to (more or less) runout.
Ford, and maybe other car companies have all tires Road Force balanced at the factory. Many/most Ford dealers will have the machine. Other places also.
Ah …… Mmmmm ….. Not exactly.
To my knowledge EVERY car manufacturer requires its tire suppliers to screen tires for uniformity (what Hunter Engineering is calling RoadForce), exclude those that exceed a certain value, and mark the radial HIGH point of the first harmonic. They also require other properties to be screened as well (for example, imbalance.)
They also require their wheel suppliers to screen for runout, exclude those above a certain level, and mark the LOW point of the first harmonic.
In the assembly plant, the tire's high point is matched up with the wheel's low point, so a more round assembly results.
THEN the assembly plant balances the assembly.
Please note that this match mounting is NOT related to balance, but to (more or less) runout.
Somewhere there is a long video about the Camaro assembly line. A few notable things I recall- there is a 2-3 second shot of a wheel-tire combo being checked on something similar to a Hunter Road Force machine, but it looks even better than the GSP 9700. Another longer scene shows a tech doing the alignment on the car, and they do it while the tires are rotating on something like a dyno drum.
When I was a kid, I took a tour of GM Janesville Assembly when they were making the Suburban and Silverados on the GMT400 platform. What I remember about the tire/wheels is that they were paired in a set and installed at one station. I asked the tour guide who mounts the tires on the wheel and I was told they get pre mounted by a contractor on site that sets them up for the order.
Originally Posted by KE7JFF
When I was a kid, I took a tour of GM Janesville Assembly when they were making the Suburban and Silverados on the GMT400 platform. What I remember about the tire/wheels is that they were paired in a set and installed at one station. I asked the tour guide who mounts the tires on the wheel and I was told they get pre mounted by a contractor on site that sets them up for the order.
Some assembly plants mount and balance tires (and wheels) in house and some use an off site vendor. In both cases the assemblies are put on the line in the proper order so the vehicle gets the correct assemblies (just like what happens for other parts of the vehicle.)
When I was a kid, I took a tour of GM Janesville Assembly when they were making the Suburban and Silverados on the GMT400 platform. What I remember about the tire/wheels is that they were paired in a set and installed at one station. I asked the tour guide who mounts the tires on the wheel and I was told they get pre mounted by a contractor on site that sets them up for the order.
Some assembly plants mount and balance tires (and wheels) in house and some use an off site vendor. In both cases the assemblies are put on the line in the proper order so the vehicle gets the correct assemblies (just like what happens for other parts of the vehicle.)
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