Wheel Balancing

[Steve84N]

I'm having some difficulty getting my wheels balanced properly as two places have had a go but I still get vibrations in the steering wheel that weren't there before I changed tyres.

They've stuck all the weights on the inside of the rim and I was wondering what other people's experiences are, has this method worked for you or is it better to get them to use the method where some weights are placed just behind the spokes and some on the inside of the rim?

Thanks

 

[Raj_UK]

I had a problem some years ago with vibrations after fitting new tyres. Tried to get the wheels balanced and it wasn't working out. Turned out being a faulty tyre.

I'm not an expert on this but I don't think it matters where the weights are place i.e. towards the face or towards the back as it is the rotation you are trying to balance. I may be wrong though!

 

[Steve84N]

Could just possibly be a tyre but we also have issues on our 330 following a tyre change so unlikely.

The position of the weights depth wise on the rim does matter because the wheel's mass is not concentrated in a straight line.

There are different methods and you can tell the machine what you want. However, I think the way of putting them all on the inside of the rim is poorer as there's no way to directly place weight on the other side of the centre of mass to counteract imbalance. Therefore I can only assume it's trying to create an opposing force by putting lots of weight on the inside of the rim.

Interested to see how other people's wheels are balanced in terms of weight placement as I'm having all eight wheels redone tomorrow.

 

[Bing]

Some of mine are on the inside, some on the outside. Think I've lost one or two since there were last done though

I had a vibration - turned out to be old tyres (probably) and a very, very slightly buckled wheel. Probably from a pothole the I remember hitting, and the front tracking is slightly out as a result. New tyres and balancing sorted the vibration though.

 

[Steve84N]

I think I'll get them to try the inside and outside method.

 

[MHZ4C]

As for Bing, I have weights on the inside and outside of the rim, with more weights nearer the spokes.
The wheels were only balanced a few weeks ago. I guess it depends on the rim / tyre specifically as to what and where the weights are needed. For what it's worth on my old and new wheels there were weights on both the inner and outer rim, with more nearer to the spokes. Hopefully more responses will add more info.

 

[Steve84N]

Logic is telling me it's the better balancing method and I have marks from previous weights on inside and just behind spokes.

 

[Steve84N]

So...we got all eight wheels on the Z4 and 330 rebalanced using the method with weights on the inside of the rim and just behind the spokes. The steering vibrations in both cars have now gone completely.

The garage were a bit pissy with me but despite what they say it's clear the inside only method doesn't work very well. I would recommend asking for the two location method to avoid issues as I've had. That was the third time I had them done and only when changing how they did it was the problem solved.

 

[srhutch]

I have weights on the inside and outside of the barrel. If a fitter is only putting them on the edge they are doing it wrong (potentially). The machine should show the fitter exactly where to place the weights.

 

[Bing]

Glad you got it sorted, bad form for them to be pissy with you though.

 

[Steve84N]

You can tell the machine where you want to place the weights so it wasn't entirely wrong to put them all on the inside, it's the most aesthetic choice. However, when you start to understand the physics at play you realise that you need to be able to place weight on both sides of the centre of mass to get the best result. There are now less weights on each wheel in total.