AIR SOFT BB's - Right in the tire to balance tires ???

[HOOPER65]

Before I waste my time snapping the bead on some rims to un-mount tires using my wood splitter ....
I should ask you folks about the validity of balancing tires using Air Soft BB's ?
- - -
I've watched a bunch of youtube vids of people doing this at home :
- Un mount tires off rims,
- Get desired tires half on,
- toss in 2.7 to 3 ounces of plastic Air Soft BB's,
- finish the mount and yer done.

Tires are suppose to self balance via centrifugal force throwing the BB's to the outside
and finding their own equilibrium - and always find their own balance.

Has anyone here done this ?

Can you offer your advice ? Thoughts ? Experiences ?

 

[CableJockey]

I've seen ball-bearing type contraptions for huge rock crawling truck tires, but never heard of the bb idea.
I know from my tire-busting days that fix-a-flat/slime/sludge in the tire routinely causes them to go out of balance by quite a bit, and because to goo continues to shift inside the tire they are basically impossible to balance until the stuff is cleaned out.
My thought is that the BBs would behave much the same way: change erratically and cause endless frustration with vibrations that come and go.

 

[HOOPER65]

The slime story - ya, I can see that being a problem.
I think the Slime stuff started in the cycling scene back in the 90's
where balance is not an issue - then went to " a solution looking for a problem "
and so, tried it in car tires, but it's not free flowing enough to work.

A liquid that is free flowing and apparently works, is Anti Freeze !
Moves easily and finds it's equilibrium with no freezing issues for winter,

If the inside is bone dry - plastic air soft BB's would always move freely too,
and in theory should quickly be forced outward and find they're own balance ...

But I don't have first hand experience - I'm just looking to try it .
With a surplus of rims and tires around, it could be useful to keep tire changes
at home with no need of balance machines.

 

[CableJockey]

Definitely an interesting concept.
After some browsing, I find commercial products that are ceramic beads, but advertised for heavy-duty applications: OTR trucks, RVs, trailers, etc.
Makes me curious why cars are excluded from the lists, when motorcycles/atvs are included with their own "version" of the product.
My curiosity is piqued....

 

[HOOPER65]

Interesting video to watch from Toronto area Canada .
He uses 2.7 oz. of air soft BB's per tire - Kia Rio 5 -
For every 13 lbs. - 1 oz. of beads or BB's ...
3 oz. seems right for 195/65/15 range of tire.

 

[nicklockard]

Nice! I really like this concept. So simple and easy DIY.

 

[Powder Hound]

No arguments on me as to the validity of the concept. Last time I looked into it, it seemed that it worked on class 8 trucks because of the high aspect ratio of the tires used. I'm not exactly sure where the dividing line would be, but the lower the aspect ratio, the less likely BBs would work.

Wouldn't it be nice if 45-65 aspect ratio tires worked well.

Cheers,

PH

 

[CableJockey]

HOOPER65: If you give this method a try, I look forward to hearing of the outcome.

 

[JDSwan87]

Dynabeads are used in on road motorcycles. It's called "dynamic balancing"...

 

[Pat Dolan]

I use the commercial product in my Class 8s and trailers (VERY prone to flat spotting from brakes, the hard to keep balanced). No reason to think the plastic BBs wouldn't work in a car. Just be aware they are available in different densities, and expect heavier is better. Can't wait to hear results if OP gives it a try.