Today's experiment: Airsoft tire balancing

[RidgeRunner]

I've read a lot of threads on balancing big tires with airsoft BBs. The benefit is that the tires will balance automatically even with rocks or mud in the tread, or after losing some rubber from chunking and spinning on rocks. Some people seem to have good result and others do not. After my trip to Moab I decided it was time to give it a try.

I knew I had a tire out of balance and I had it fixed just before I headed out and I had a nice smooth drive on the way out. After three days of hard wheeling it wasn't surprising that I had a tire out of balance on the drive home. Needless to say, by the time I got home I was done and wanted to find a better solution.

This page: http://www.innovativebalancing.com/BigTirechart.htm from the makers of Dynabeads recommends 8oz of product per tire for a 35x12.50-15 tire. For the math challenged, here's how it breaks down: airsoft BBs commonly come in .12g, .20g, .25g and a few more.
So:
8oz of .12g BBs = 1889 BBs
8oz of .20g BBs = 1133 BBs
8oz of .25g BBs = 907 BBs

I was able to find a tub of 5000 Crossman .25g BBs at Wallyworld and decided to use them in order to use the least amount per tire. I also decided to start low and go with 7oz/tire, so that's ~794 .20g BB's. I used a scale to weigh them out rather than counting.

I pulled one tire at a time and used piece of 2x4 and the weight of the 4Runner to break the inside bead. All of my lead weights were on the inside of the wheel to minimize the possibility of losing them on rocks. I pulled all of the weights off the wheel and dumped the 7oz of BB's in then aired the tire back up.

I did the front tires first then went for a drive to try it out. I figured I'd feel it in the steering wheel if it wasn't balancing. Everything felt good on the drive so I came back and did the back. I haven't done a test with all 4 done but I'll post back up as soon as I do.

Hopefully my tire balancing problems are done!

[Popsgarage]

Let us know your results.

[Jim]

I have several ounces of DynaBeads and valve cores (if anyone wants to buy them) - tried'm and pulled'm (from my automobile)

I used, in the Jeep's 35" tires, airsoft BB's and RV antifreeze. In all, my results were worse than not having them - but I SO wanted them to work.

I do hope you have perfection with your setup - great concept.

[Haku]

I run them on my crawler and so far have had good luck with them and recommend them often. Its so much cheaper then going with those Dyna beads (I wanna say its almost $75 a tire with how much I would need versus $20 bucks for all four with airsoft BBs). They aren't perfect and I still get a bit of wobble out of them, but it beats knocking the lead weights off and getting beadlocks balanced can be a pain without it (most tire places won't touch them).

Mine were butter smooth when I first installed them, but since I don't really take it easy on my rims the edges got bent fairly aggressively on a few and even the BBs can't handle those fully. Need to install my rock rings so I don't have to worry about it.

[glacierpaul]

Cool Dave, looking forward to your findings.

[RidgeRunner]

Finally was able to get the 4runner out on the highway and see how the tires balance out. So far it seems to be working well. It was way smoother than it was on my drive back from Moab so I won't be changing anything. Time will tell how well it holds up.

[Jim]

Did you install 8 ounces per tire or a different amount?

[RidgeRunner]

Did you install 8 ounces per tire or a different amount?

I ended up with staying with 7oz. I did have a little shake coming from the rear up toward 75mph but it wasn't too bad, it rarely gets to 75 anyway. Is as good as any traditionally balanced tires that I've had on the truck.

A little disclaimer: My rig is a 26 yr old truck lifted with all sorts of Ba*ta*d parts, I don't expect it to ride like a Cadillac, so in my mind a little vibe here and there is to be expected and doesn't bother me.

EDIT: LOL, I didn't expect the filter to pick up Ba*ta*d.:tisktisk:

[glacierpaul]

Cool, thanks for posting!

[mattzj98]

I've been using Centramatic tire balancers on my superswampers (bias plys) and its been great! Easiest install in the world and never again a balancing issue