Has anyone used Dyna Beads to balance pickup tires??? I'm wondering if they work and are worth the $$$??
Dyna Beads
- Thread starter sledstormed
- Start date
I got turned onto them just last night from a diesel forum I hang out on, there are some guys on there that swear by them. After reading their website, I think I will try them out next time I need tire balancing. Take care...Jeff
Use antifreeze.
Can you say "snake oil"...
I have read reviews from guys who have actually used the product and the information from the manufacturer, I hate making bad decisions and would also like to hear the other side. Do you have any tech to back up the 'Snake Oil' claims? If so, I am sincerely interested in reading the information. Thanks...Jeff
ttt
i have used tech plus. which is a tire balancing compound. just a hole bunch of small plastic looking bb's rooling around inside the tire.
I know using BB's is a common trick for off roaders and mud boggers who run very large tires that are difficult to get balanced.
I use/have used a product called counterbalance it is the small bead style in my 01 superduty. This is the second set of tires I have had on this truck with these. I really believe it works well my tires have no cupping and wear excellent. You may experience a slight shake at time coming up to speed till they get worked around. Money well spent and no need for wheel weights causing damage to the wheels. I would do it.
These are known as dynamic balancers (DB) and generally dynamic balancers work very well.
It's the Equal stuff that can clump up with moisture plus requires you to use special tire inflators. With all the different and cheap dynamic balancers available, why anyone would pay for something this unreliable is beyond me.
Cheap alternatives include but not limited to:
- ceramic beads
- air soft beads, available at any Walmart
- BB's (Walmart)
- antifreeze
- golf balls
- ball bearings (SS or carbon, cheap at McMaster-Carr)
The only bought dynamic balancer I use is the Centramatics. I have them on my '06 PSD F-350 SRW and they work very well.
I use antifreeze in my '85 Toyota 4runner and 10k lb car hauler trailer. Can't speak to the trailer, but the antifreeze works very well in the Toy, even with the tires and wheels caked in mud.
I used BB's in my '98 Dodge Ram when I got tired of spending $12 every time they threw a wheel weight (about once a month). Worked very well with those large 35x12.50-15 All Terrain tires and the Eagle Alloy AL wheels.
Generally, DBs work better than static balancers (i.e. wheel weights) because they are usually further out from the center of the tire and wheel and therefore can exert more counterbalancing force than wheel weights that are limited to the wheel diameter. The other advantage to DB's is that they are dynamic and therefore take into account different tire and road conditions, something static balancers can't do. Lastly, it's generally far harder to lose or damage a DB vs. wheel weights (that Equal******excepted).
Adding DB's to tires and wheels is a real popular mod for the 4x4 and rock crawler crowd because those type vehicles are notorious for losing wheel weights coupled with typically large tire sizes with sometimes poor balancing characteristics.
I take all my tires and wheels and have them force balanced and wheel weights installed and then add the DB's at home.
DB's have disadvantages too: They won't fix and out of round tire or wheel or damaged tire or wheel just like static balancers won't. And you have to install them. Cost is a factor if you buy the Centramatics (good idea, IMO) or Equal (dumb, IMO).
The easiest installation is antifreeze: take the stem out of the tire and let it deflate; put a 1/4" hose over the inflator and the other end into 4-6 oz. of antifreeze; lift the vehicle, causing the tire to suck up the antifreeze; reinstall valve stem and reinflate tire, done.
