THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

Is anyone using the 'beads' in their tires for balancing? I was researching the Pinz archives for the adapter to convert to hub centric and not lug centric for balancing. At $82 it seems pricy.
Is periodic balancing a necessity for roadability on surface streets?
I thought if I used the beads, balancing might be a one time deal. I am not so sure about airing down for off road with the beads. I use Staun deflaters.
Any opinions?

Cheers, Morris 710M

Where are you located? If you are close by , I can lend you a balancer adaptor.
It really should be mandatory to list location in the profiles as to make it easier for close members to help each other out

I have a balancer (works great) but when I am due for tires the rims are going to get the centers cut to the center of the bolt pattern. I have talked to the guy that does my waterjet cutting and he can do this work for less than the cost of the balancer, then I will never have to worry about this lug/hub centric thing again (on this truck). I know some won't like the initial investment but if you are planning on keeping the truck for any length of time it sure seems like it would pay off.
I know several people (not Pinz owners) who use the beads and they regularly air down and back up with no problems. The only concern with the stock pinz rims would be if the tire was to unseat and some of the beads were lost. Of course they could be replaced at a later time.

I am using the beads with Interco LTB's now and have had no problems at all. I previously used the balance adapter and the beads actually run smoother. The other reason I went with dynamic balancing is that any mud and muck that sticks to the wheels gets compensated for on the way home from the trails!

Hello

How much of the material did you add to each wheel? It seems that the manufacturer may not have accounted for amount of weight that can be added by the mud when they divied out each amount.
Also, what would be the effects of airing up with CO2?

Eric

Hello Eric,
I am using 8 oz in each wheel. This is slightly more than the mfg reccomended for the LTB's but I figured a little extra wouldn't hurt. The beads that I am using are made from a high density ceramic so I do not see any reason that airing with CO2 would be a problem. The beads do require a special filtered stem core so the beads are not able to back-up into the stem and stick on the valve seat. Installation is as simple as unscrewing the old core, pour in the beads, screw in the new filtered core, and air back up.

Hey There,
I think you want to send a post to Jay (Hrafn) in Pennsylvania. He had a pretty definitive post on this topic before the board crashed. I wouldn't mind seeing a repost of that myself.\

Says they work great for him...

Seeya

The new Myers Tire Supply Fleet Edition has the EQUAL brand media. $4.25/bag for the small size. $15 for a pack of 20 filtered valve cores. Their cat #395 has the stuff too.

Hi gang,

Are the TD wheels lug-centric (like the ones of the 710/712), or hub-centric?

Thanks!
Ugo
1977 710K
Torino, Italy

I spoke with Myers Tire in San Diego, they are wholesale distributers and sell the balancing agent in very large amounts. They recommended that I try Parkhouse to get Equal for the tires.
Can I (should I) take the lead weights off if I use Equal?

Cheers, Morris

Morris,
Try a google for EQUAL TIRE BALNCING... lots to read.
Sounds like you take the lead weights off.
Valve stems with filters are necessary and a water block may be in the check-out basket for someone who will be airing up & down repeatedly.
There is an alternative bead product discussed at:
http://www.4x4trailhunters.com/article.php?id=18
Larger beads might bypass the water problem. A filtered valve stem still sounds like a good idea when using such a product insude tires.

It would be great to hear from someone who has given beads a try.
Good luck & let the rest of us know how it goes.

Gordon