Wheel Balance question for 33' - steering wobble

freewayross

Adventurer
Hello all, this is my first time putting such a big tire in any SUV. Just got set of brand new 33x10.5r15 installed on stock rims. Had it done at a small shop around the corner. I noticed there were no balancing bits on the Rims. I inquired and the installer said that for bigger tires (light truck tires) they put in a bag which does the balancing. He even showed me the bag. Well long story short, i took the truck to freeway and sure enough the steering started wobbling at 50 mph and over. Steering was moving a little left and right constantly (i guess that is what is wobbling).

I want to take the truck back but wanted to run it by you all to see if those bags really work, does the bag need few miles to rip apart and spread out whatever is in it to do the balancing act? Have you all with 33' or over tires had it balanced with the metal weight on rim walls or those bags?

Thanks
 

tgreening

Expedition Leader
Balance issues generaly result in vibration, not wobble, more commonly known as shimmy. That can be a alignment problem, a worn front end problem, or a strange wear pattern on your front tires problem, usually caused by the first two. Bigger tires will bring these issues front and center where with smaller tires they might not be noticed. I wouldnt limit the causes to just my examples.

With all that said, I'm not a huge fan of the magic foo foo dust they put inside tires for balancing. I've not had great success and its caused more trouble than it (supposedly) solved. Namely the dust would plug up the valve stems causing slow leaks and then you end up on the highway with a flat tire on your inside dual with 17k hooked and a valve that wont freakin seal no way no how. Grrr.

I've heard of folks having better success with the versions that are more like little BBs.

I'm still a fan of the weights and usually take my bigger tires to a place that deals with Dumps, Semis, etc. Big tires are bread and butter for them.
 

JamesW

Adventurer
Beads do a good job I have found, though if you hit a pothole or dip in the road it will wobble for a second until the beads get distributed again, and you can hear them if you're driving through a village.

Try swapping your tyres front to back to determine is it a balance issue or a suspension/steering issue amplified by your bigger tyres
 

KyleT

Explorer
Beads never worked for me. And 33" should balance VERY easily with weights. I would find another tire person.

I personally run weights on 35's and never have issues.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Toasty

Looking for that thing i just had in my hand...
I have weights on all my 35's with no wobble or vibrations, sounds like that shop is cheating out on you. That being said double check your suspension and steering.
 

mudraider

Adventurer
I'm cheap and found out the necks here in Florida like to run airsoft pellets in mine. I have ran them in 32's, 33's, and 35's. I ran a Dixie cup in each. The kind like in a dentist office.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
 

montypower

Adventure Time!
Either a bad tire or bad balance.

I've run many, many brands and sizes of off road tires. They should be smooth at all normal driving speeds. There are certain tires with poor balancing issues like Goodyear MTRs.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
190,047
Messages
2,923,489
Members
233,330
Latest member
flipstick
Top