I just got my rims back from townfair tire and after explicitly saying how I wanted the weights on the inside (hidden) they told me they couldn't. I have stock IROC rims. Any ideas?

 

yes you can, they are full of ****.

 

Ditto

 

The only explanation would be that their balancing machine is so old that it doesn't allow for static balancing.

 

town fiar tire is the biggest POS tire place on the planet. You can most definitly put weights on the inside of the rim. I only use the stick on kind. The lead weights thatget hammered onto the lip of the rim eventually cause the clearcoat to oxidize. Take the car back and demand new weights

 

I'll go with that. I have a wholesale account through them for the shop. We brought a customers car down for 4 tires. They called us six hours later to say they couldn't do it cause they couldn't get the lugnuts off and we should take the car to a mechanic to have the lugnuts removed... Gotta love stupid people..

 

My race rims are balanced that way. I don't want big ugly hammer on weights on my rims. Too much of a chance for them to get thrown off. Most places will charge you extra to use the stick on weights.

You get them static balanced with the stick on weights put on the inside of the tire. I cover the weights with duct tape to make sure they stay put.

All tire balancing machines have a static setting even the very old ones.

 

Always had the wheel weights mounted on the inside on my old IROC wheels. Some shops are to lazy to put them there because it arkward doing it. Just insist that it be done or find a new shop.

 

What?

Hammer on weights are the preferred method by not only vehicle manufacturers, but Hunter as well. You want balancing weight as far as possible from the center of the rotating mass. Secondly, static balance should only be used where dynamic balancing is not possible. There is no such thing as a well balanced static balanced tire.

Most tire shops and dealerships may refuse to use stick on weights on the inside because:

1. They OFTEN fall off. Much more so than the very rare occurance of hammer on weights flying off.

2. You're stuck with an inferior balance with stick ons. You either choose dynamic, where you must substantially increase the weight to compensate for the poor weight location, or you choose static, which is simply a poor choice to begin with. Static may work well on a 13x5 wheel, but certainly not a 16x8 or larger LOL!

3. Unless they have the latest and greatest balancing machine (like Hunter GSP 9700), stick on weights are guessing game, as most machines are calibrated for hammer on weights in a different location.

4. TO AVOID COMEBACKS!

 

I have a buddy that owns a local shop in So Cal that balances my stiff for me. Jon let me years back bring my rims in and I used his machine to balance just my rims perfectly by grinding the opposite or the rim inside where the tire mounts(with the valvestems in place)
I now have them mount tires to my perfect rims so I use minimal weights. I use stick on weights and they have always worked perfect to balance the tires.

The important part is you NEED to tape the weights on with 357 ducttape on top of them so they do not come off over time. The wheel need to be checked after the duct tape is applied to insure they are flawless still.

If you pay the price, any shop would do this for you. To me it is well worth it for high speed driving. My father has a friend that owns a race shop up in LA area that he has taken his racecars for years that actually balance the entire wheel assembly ON THE VEHICLE. The machine will spin that wheel assembly up to the speed you intend to race and will balance it.

 

Well I specifically said "I WANT THEM ON THE INSIDE" and they didn't so looks like they are getting a comeback anyway. If they said anything I may have let it be, but they didn't ask me at all and they scuffed my new rims. Not to mention their tire pricing policy is a scam, the guy tried to bully me into getting extra alignment services and when I said forget about the tires he was nice and took $25 off, etc. NEVER EVER go to the Townfair tire in Auburn, MA. I'm calling customer service tomorrow.

 

That's fine for racers who don't care that much about appearance. But most people would flip out if they found out their "reputable" shop installed weights with hack (cough cough) duct tape... Not to mention if they had large open wheel that expose the duct tape.

And about this on-car balance. I've heard of it but never seen it. Is it just a spin balance or can they apply road force?

 

Same one I was complaining about You just need to know who to talk to to get what you want

 

I was under the impression that it was not a good idea to use hammer on weights with alloys as it can cause cracking. Might just be myth, but given that some alloys are prone to cracking I wouldn't chance it, personally.

Si.

 

Do they still make vinyl coated hammer on wheel weights? My IROC wheels/tires were balanced this way from the factory.

I recall a TSB that mentioned the use of vinyl coated weights with clear coated wheels. The vinly is there to prevent corrosion from developing underneath the weight.

 

Thats BS. Speak to a manager. I beleive I talked to Steve. He hooked me up with my Welds and put them on the inside. He actually told me that he coudln't mount tires on my Pro Stars because they are a "Two peice wheel" so i then said where the hell am I suppose to mount my tires?? I kinda forced him into mounting them since I had alread spent $250 on tires.

But yeah that place sucks but its the only place i can really go to.

 

I worked in a tire shop for a little over a year, we seemed to have more come backs with hammer on weights than stick ons.. granted we used way more hammer ons than stick ons.. but you cant just slap a stick on wight on a dirty wheel, or offcourse its gonna fly off! we used the liquid prebuff that you use on tires before you apply a patch to clean the spot on the wheel where the stick on weight would be applied.. wheew.. long sentance lol. anyway I am a fan of the stick ons.. and yes the hammer ons cause corrosion, the reason for this is when you hammer on the weight the tab scrapes off clearcoat.. thus exposing the wheel surface to weather.. and like a chip in paint moisture can and will seep under the clearcoat and cause it to corrode or peel.. same for rock chips.. just because you use stick ons doesnt mean your wheels wont corrode.. I dont think the location of the weight will make a difference as more rotaional weight on the inside should compensate for less on the outside.. kinda like leverage. but anyhow, theyve been used for a long time and if there was something severly wrong with them it would have been the highlight of a topic...

 

I think this guy WAS the manager. I'm calling their main office tomorrow and giving them the list of screw ups along with names. This is total BS.

 

That sucks man. Lemme know if you make any progress. My bro used to be a manager there and left because the place was screwed up

 

ok so here it is, I went to have my tires balanced at my work (I work at a hyundai dealership) and the tech who worked on my car ASE Certified and a GM Certified tech. asked me if I wanted the weights on the inside or outside. I asked the difference. he said the only difference was that if they are on the inside its not a "True Balance" so yes it can be done. its just they probably dont know how or have the resourses.

 

EXACTLY! And again, if you don't want to take my word for it, ask Hunter's opinion on the matter.