So if I had the choice between hub centric and lug centric ballancing of factory '70 rallye wheels which should I choose?
Personally I had better luck with the lug centric adapter. The easiest way to balance most wheels is a simple cone set into the front of center hub hole, which works fine for aluminum wheels and the majority of steel wheels. However the proper way to mount stamped steel wheels on the balancer is with a spring and the cone behind the wheel and a large plastic cup adapter on the face to tighten the wheel to the machine. Even with this method however I found it difficult to get the wheels perfectly centered due to the shape of the rallye wheels. Sure I could get it balanced out easily, but then try loosening a wheel and then tightening it back on, the readings would be way off again. With the lug centric adapter, I was able to get repeatable results. The machine I used also had a feature to show actual readings (instead of rounded to the nearest 0.25 oz.) that would allow me to nail the balance down to within 0.01 oz. No one would ever feel that kind of a difference, but it did earn me a few tips from some of the pickier customers. :TU: BTW, I spent four years in a tire shop after high school.
That would be the best method, as it also factors in the weight of the hubs and brakes. But I have yet to find a shop in this town that has the equipment to do that.
Thanks for the input guys. I've only found one shop around here with the correct adapter to do the job (even then they didn't have have any ten millimeter lugnuts for this adapter so I went separately to buy the nuts). Anyhow the shop is like 40 miles from my house. I conveniently had a meeting today ninety miles away the same direction so the wheels were an easy drop off and pick up. The technician reports a considerably different balance setup than was on the wheels with a hub centric balance. The proof will be in the drive, which is still a number of days off. I'll report the findings. Our local community college has an on the car dynamic balancer (at least they did 26 years ago). I remember using it with a buddy's '68 Charger. Could be another resource for this scarce equipment in your own communities. In other news, here in California lead wheel weights are now illegal. All shops must switch to steel weights and they are huge, ugly, ungainly sons a bitches. :af: You won't like them if your state follows the California example.
I heard about a switch to zinc, I didn't hear about steel weights. Are they painted? i would think they would rust... -BC
Actually the one I worked at is the oldest tire store in the area. Opened in 1947 iirc. I really kinda miss working there. Got to work on some very cool cars, and it felt good when regular customers would request that I personally work on their cars. But I reached the limit of what they were willing to pay me, and it just wasn't cutting it anymore.
I finally got the car back on the freeway today and found that indeed the wheel balance using a lug-centric adapter is considerably better than with the hub-centric cone adapter. Much smoother ride; appears the fenders won't shake off the car after all! There is still some shake in rear but it has to be caused by the horrible run-out from the equally horrible Coker repro wheels. :spank:
Yeah - this is a good question. I wonder what will happen to tape weights; will they also be converted to steel? Will twice as much physical size be required. As far as tape placement goes, depending on the amount, I think the clip ons, for placement at the rim edge are more effective. So my technician says. I'd love to hear more educated oppinions on this
They are, assuming you're putting them on the front and back sides of the wheel. It basically spreads the weight out farther from the wheel's center of inertia. And for a factory chrome plated steel wheel such as our Rallye wheels, you really don't have much to worry about as far as corrosion goes. That chrome is quite durable, and the steel itself isn't going to decay quickly. But both steel and lead weights will corrode the face of an aluminum wheel if there is so much as a pinhole in the coating. Galvanic Corrosion is the term we're dealing with here. Now on my Charger for instance, I spent a fair amount of money having the wheels sandblasted and professionally repainted, so no way am I putting weights on the face. The rear lip I'm less concerned about. So I did a combination of clip weights on the rear lip and tape weights in the center, and the car rides smooth as butter all the way up to 120mph. Well, at least it did until some jackhole slashed my tires last month . . . But as far as aftermarket chrome plated aluminum wheels go, forget about it. I have yet to see one that the plating didn't strip off the bead area within a couple years regardless of care. Once that starts, the cheap aluminum corrodes very quickly, resulting in a bead leak that's nearly impossible to repair, and the plating starts peeling off the wheel in sheets like your back after a nasty sunburn. I chock it up to substandard alloy and a cheap plating job. OEM wheels don't seem to have this problem.
The correct way to balance the chrome ralleys is by lug centric. New wheels purchased will have a sticker saying this. I had to look around to find one here in STL.
