Chicagoland: Tire balancing???

[Paul Workman]

I got the Z out today...Dry, almost warm, sunny...WooHoo!!! :dancing

It never occured to me before my little run today, but I suppose it is important to mention to whomever balances our tires they need to be balanced for high speed, no? Let's imagine (hypothetically speaking...of course!;)) a tire vibration is noticed at...oh...145+mph (let's say). It might occur to me that balancing tires for granny's Buick is one thing, but balancing them for a "Z" is altogether something else - requiring some special attention for high speed tires no? Can anybody shed some light on tire balancing for performance cars? Anything special required that a pimply-faced tire changing youngster with too many hormones needs to know to do it right?

Thanks in advance. Oh! My new GY -D3s came from Discount Tire. Would they know what I need and could do it (since I paid for lifetime balancing, etc)?

TIA,

P.

[karterdon]

You will want to make sure that they "Road Force Balance" This matches the tire to the wheel as well. Road force balancers have a drum that puts pressure against the tire and it measures a force that is generated against the tire as if it were rolloing on the road. There is actually a measurement that each tire mfg. has for their own tires. If the tire exceeds that measurement then the tire is to be replaced for another tire. It is possible that even new tire may not make the cut and would have to be replaced before even making the first rotation against the pavement. The tire dealer should be able to provide you with a print out of the road force measurement vs. Mfg. Specification. They will then balance the tire as normal. That will take care of your high speed vibration / balance issues. As a last side note - You might want to consider Nitrogen instead of the normal compressed air. There is a debate as to whether or not it really works. As for me - I am a proponent of it and use it in all of my cars - I will say I have noticed a difference in ride.

Good Luck and enjoy the ride !!

Don Yoakem
91-#267 Dark Red Metalic
:cheers:

[Paul Workman]

As Artie Johnson (Laugh-In) used to say...

"Veddy intorestink!" Thanks. I learned something!

P.