Noticed on my road trip to Portland last week that interior rear- view was vibrating enough at 80 to blur reflected image, rendering it somewhat useless for distinguishing police packages from standard Crown Vics behind me.

Took it in to Costco where original balance and mounting was performed. Thought it was rear wheel(s) as front end seemed very smooth. LR was ¾ oz. off, RR was ¼ oz. off.

Much smoother at 80, now! Image in mirror is not blurred.

Didn't know I was that sensitive a guy.

GRAMS< GRAMS< GRAMSOunces are way too coarse a measurement, even 1/4 ounces is 7 grams.If you dont use grams [weights and trim them down] and set the tire balance to 0-1 grams to begin with the tire will vibrate rolling out of the shop. Watch out for shops that use the coarse rounding function [set sthe machine to read in 10 grams or 1/4 ounce increments].

The other problem is flat spotting of tires from sitting waiting to get the tires on the balance machine. Some tires take a set in 15 minutes some in an hour some in 4 hours some overnight as a function of weigh and construction materials [nylon].

Nissan specs for the newer 17-18" require that the car be driven 15 minutes [at 60 mph] immediately before a Hunter 9700 radial force test.......hard to do, expensive, and time consumming but necessary to get the flat spotting down to reason!

Tires which won't stay in balance for 90 days [3750 miles] are structurally weak. !!! Unfortunately 99% of the tires I've tried are this way. Brand new tires will change as they conform to the loads and will get out by 300 miles, and 600 miles, by 1,000 miles they should be stablized [Michelin pilots] some never get stable under the stresses of a Q.

Some tires explode so many threads that they cannot stay in balance a week and get out of round immediately [causing radial force imbalance], which cannot be corrected by balancing only replacement!

It is amazing I always end up with one no matter what brand I purchase.

As the tire industry says less than a third of the tires made today will meet the new proposed standards and the goverment standards [if they ever get implemented] are not severe since we are all riding on tires that only have to meet 1968 test criteria.

Assumming the same tires the rears usually stay in balance twice as long as the fronts because they only get stressed in the forward direction [acceleration -braking], while the right front gets subjected to the most severe turning and road edge forces.

This is the location that destroys tires on a Q!

Just want to note when my original tires were replaced with the Yokohamas, the original Nissan weights in grams were still on the wheels, and it was still smooth at speed. The smallest weight is 5 grams. The techs probably thought I was crazy when I asked for them to be saved for me to examine.

¼ of an ounce (~7.1 gms.) is probably the finest adjustment anyone can get at a non-specialized shop.

Costco is replacing their current equipment with Hunter 9700, older shops first. I will post to the board how well they are trained on them after I get my tires balanced when the Hunter arrives.

We buy weights in grams 5,10,15,20 etc. Very easy to cut off 2-3 grams so lets say that the smallest is 2-3 grams. But you learn how to get the balance down to 1-2 if not zero.Acceptablity is within 2 grams for us! But unlike most places I don't mind sticking a 2-3 gram weight on.......if I like the owner.If the tires are junk and I know they will be out in a day, 5 grams is it.

Very educational thread!

Dennis, are you using tape weights? If not, are you clipping weights on the inside or outside of the rim?

Thanks...

I just have my dunlops rotated and I watched the balance the tires, and i was very skeptical because the hunter would say either .50 or 1.00 i assumed ounces and I guess I am corect becasue I sure do nice the vibration guess thats what you get when you get free rotaion and balancing for the life of the tire hope i can find a decent place that will balance in grams for a decent price. I was very concered when one of the tires came back not out of balance!!!! I am definetly goin with the avs db for my next tires as I suspect the dunlops will be gone by winter but they only cost me 170 for all 4 so they were a fun summer tire.

I just hope when I ask for gram balancing they dont look at me like im nuts and charge me 60 bucks LOL

does anyone know the weight of the bbs T wheels? I think theyre forged too

Torry - When I shipped Qship the BBS's off my 95Q45t, the shipping weight INCLUDING the boxes, the packaging, the lug nuts, the BBS wrench, and a whole roll of packing tape was 75 pounds (to the ounce). You do the math - they're LIGHT.

They are very nice too!!!

Although, it takes more time to clean the rims then it does my car!

Is there anything you could spray in those BBS wheels to make the grime and grease just slide off with a burst of water?

YES!!!! I use castrol super clean i spray on let sit for 5min and it washes everything off

Will it damage the clearcoat on the rim?

hasnt for me works like a charm everytime!

maxnix wrote:Costco is replacing their current equipment with Hunter 9700, older shops first. I will post to the board how well they are trained on them after I get my tires balanced when the Hunter arrives.

I've become so skeptical! Both my local "Discount Tire" stores has a 9700, but I don't think anyone who works there really knows how to use it. VERY common problem with "corporate" operations -- too much turnover, not enough personal buy-in by the staff. The people originally trained on the equipment are gone, and the people left know just the basics. Find a small shop that has a 9700, and you can predict that at least the owner will know how to use it.

Hunter maintains a "9700-finder" on their website.

DenverQ wrote:hasnt for me works like a charm everytime!

Thanks much!!

Since I don't get paid the only tires I balance are mine and an ocassional few or the out of state guests.

Or a few really heavy wheels so I can put on a half a pound of stick on weights in cute geometric designs and charge the owner a dollar per 7 grams as punishment for buying the wheels.

26 stickons [182 grams] is the record so far!

Seriously I hate adhesive weights takes triple the time and never works right! Plus at least 2 always fall of within a week!

I amazes me that Nissan has dropped the machined edge for weights!

Q45Tech, I notice some animosity towards heavy wheels. Is there any problem with them besides a harsher ride? I've got some pretty heavy rims, but they are sturdy and cheap. I've had several friends that had to replace expensive light rims after what I consider normal usage, no heavy curbing or airborne stunt tricks.

Got my hernia from try to help someone balance their 18" wheels!No anomosity they should all burn in hell.

Heavy wheels are the reasons most quit being technicans it is very difficult to lift them on/off lifts and alignment machines.

Customers should be required to remove wheels and mount on machines and remount back on the car to get the $29.95 rotate and balance.

Technically the wheel/tire combo weight is quite critical in ride feel and even 10%........4 pounds can be felt and require a suspension redesign!

Rotating interia is significant in braking and a little less so in acceleration. Braking might be 10-12 feet worse and quarter mile times 0.2-0.4 seconds slower with 17-18 vs 15 or each weighing just 7 pounds more.

Light doesn't have to be weak just expensive.

Every customer we have with non premium aftermarket wheels has problems. Most don't know it or care.Chrome wheels are not premium, premium means forged!