Centramatic Wheel Balancers

[VW_Lupo_TD]

here is the story : as some might know I am pretty anal with my stuff and have a slight imbalance (resonance frequency) at 70 mph on my truck.
(due to me refusing to have metal weights hammered on my PYOs and only have sticky weights inside)

So when i saw Peppers Truck I was intrigued by what the heck he had behind his wheels.

So he introduced me to http://www.centramatic.com/balancer.html

my question is if anyone else uses these and how you like them ?
does anyone know what they weigh ?

any opinions on the matter ?

 

[96 OILBURNER]

I have the Counteract balancing beads in the front tires on my 95. They are doing a good job so far. I just have to get the rears taken care of now.

 

[Dirt Dog]

I have a full set on my 06. I moved them over from my 04, so now I've got about 100K miles on the set and love them. I had a little fitment issue and had to pull them out away from the brake caliper so they didn't rub, but other than that no problems at all.

 

[Ed HD]

Honestly, pounded on weights on polished wheels are no big deal. We have coated weights that prevent them from damaging the wheels. We use them on all kinds of wheels, and it's not a big deal.

 

[VW_Lupo_TD]

Honestly, pounded on weights on polished wheels are no big deal. We have coated weights that prevent them from damaging the wheels. We use them on all kinds of wheels, and it's not a big deal.

to you.

here is the story : as some might know I am pretty anal with my stuff .....

please check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anal_retentive
The term anal-retentive (or anally retentive, anal retentive), commonly abbreviated to "anal", is used conversationally to describe a person with such attention to detail that the obsession becomes an annoyance to others, and can be carried out to the detriment of the anal-retentive person.

so as you can see it is a big deal to me and I am not doing or allowing it. if someone did that to my wheels I would make them buy me new ones.

Hence my question about the centramatics.

Sure someone might think differently, but everyone is different. I understand that people might think I am strange for worrying about an old truck like mine and it's wheels - however I am sure many people here can relate.

 

[Ed HD]

So my question is, how do they work? It looks like a plate that sits behind the wheel.

 

[Pepperidge]

So my question is, how do they work? It looks like a plate that sits behind the wheel.

ou could easily click the link to the website in the OP to see...there is a cool video for you to see as well...

to sum it up though...

it's an aluminum plate with a rolled edge...sealed inside that edge is hardened lead shot and synthetic oil...

the shot moves to wherever the weight is needed...constantly...

 

[VW_Lupo_TD]

and it rode soooo smooth, even with them tires ....
still trying to find out what they weigh.

 

[Ed HD]

I clicked the link, and I guess I didn't look at the right part. That makes sense, and is really cool.

 

[Mad Maxx]

Anyone else running these lately or have updates about them?

Thinking about picking up a set for the Cummins to try out.

 

[Pepperidge]

mine wore out a couple years ago...you couldn't hear the hardened shot moving around anymore...never replaced them...

 

[Will L.]

In dealing with big truck and heavy equipment tires, we would achieve the same effect adding antifreeze in the tire. We did it with our p/u tires as well. Water caused corrosion, that's why the antifreeze. I found out that with ctis it is not a great idea, as deflating the liquid goes into the air lines and causes problems with the dump valve, otherwise I would balance my Hummer tires that way. btw, no problems with patching holes after using anti freeze. I know a couple guys that use the ball counter balancers on their Hummers and they work well until hitting big rocks or logs off-roading. If you wont be using them off road, go for it, but I suggest just adding 2 cups of old school green first.

44" could use around a quart, back hoe tires take 2 quarts to a gallon.
Don't use any liquid if you use runflats, the lube grease might be affected by the liquid.

 

[Burning oil]

I get a 404 error page.

 

[NVW]

I did too, just google "centramatic wheel balancers"

 

[SnowDrift]

mine wore out a couple years ago...you couldn't hear the hardened shot moving around anymore...never replaced them...

The claim in the video I watched was that the fleet truck could run these for a million miles. If your wore out, it makes me wonder if they have to be in constant use for them to keep their life expectancy, opposed to sitting frequently, like with most vehicles. Any thoughts on that theory?

 

[Will L.]

We ran them in a fleet on big trucks, and yes the ran over a million miles. Our maintenance was top notch, and they were cleaned regularly to keep from rusting after snow or mud trips. The most common problem we would have with them was it would get a big dent from a rock, or something and we would have to straighten it up a bit. Had a couple that were dented real bad and had to be thrown out, but those were pup runners that went onto construction sites, and I think wheel damage was a badge of honor for those drivers, always bragging how tough an area they had to go into with carnage to back up the story.

 

[Pepperidge]

The claim in the video I watched was that the fleet truck could run these for a million miles. If your wore out, it makes me wonder if they have to be in constant use for them to keep their life expectancy, opposed to sitting frequently, like with most vehicles. Any thoughts on that theory?

I don't think I could answer that...I think my truck was used regular enough, but what is regular? to each person that may be something different...I can't recall if I threw them away or not...I will look for them next week...If I find them, maybe cut them open to see what went on...

 

[Will L.]

If not dented real bad, usually they get a leak spinning out all the oil in a couple thousand miles. Then moisture gets in the bbs get rusted in place. If that's the case, cut it open and use penetrating oil, or cut out the little section with the rusted solid shot. Run a 2' metal bottle brush on a drill through it, add some new bbs and oil. Weld it up and good to go.