BMW Recommended Tire Balance

Does anyone know what the BMW factory manual specs (oz-in or G-?) for the
max tire balance?

Also can someone give me the spec difference between a normal balance and a
high speed balance?

It appears obvious the better the balance the less tire wear (other factors
like
alignment set correctly), greater strut life and greater gas mileage will
occur. Can someone give me an idea of the best you can practically balance
a wheel with the standard weights?

It just seems with all the cars I've had I can never match the balance of
the first tire set.

Mike H
Dover, NH

"mwh" > wrote in message
news:Zqxjd.6137$V41.2977@attbi_s52...
> Does anyone know what the BMW factory manual specs (oz-in or G-?) for the
> max tire balance?
>
> Also can someone give me the spec difference between a normal balance and
> a
> high speed balance?
>
> It appears obvious the better the balance the less tire wear (other
> factors
> like
> alignment set correctly), greater strut life and greater gas mileage will
> occur. Can someone give me an idea of the best you can practically
> balance
> a wheel with the standard weights?
>
> It just seems with all the cars I've had I can never match the balance of
> the first tire set.
>
> Mike H
> Dover, NH

Not sure if I understand your question, but balancing should be done
"dynamically". Any good tire shop will have the gear and know how to do
this. As far as how much weight is required, you'll need as much as
necessary to balance the wheel. Normally, a good tire guy will tell you when
the tire/rim set is so far off that he'll need to put a ton of weights on to
get it in balance. That's when you know there is something wrong with your
feet.


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In article <Zqxjd.6137$V41.2977@attbi_s52>,
mwh > wrote:
> It just seems with all the cars I've had I can never match the balance of
> the first tire set.

The makers tend to get the very best of the production line to fit to new
cars. Aftermarket tyres of exactly the same model are frequently not so
well balanced. Many new cars leave the factory with no balance weights
needed. Rare when you replace the tyres.

Of course the tyre makers deny this...

--
*The statement below is true.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

mwh wrote:
> Does anyone know what the BMW factory manual specs (oz-in or G-?) for the
> max tire balance?

The maximum allowable after balancing is 4 grams. I would suggest that
due to the sensitive nature of most BMW suspension and steering systems
that even this may be too much.

>
> Also can someone give me the spec difference between a normal balance and a
> high speed balance?

I'm not sure that there are unique "specs", they are just two different
means to accomplish the same end.

>
> It appears obvious the better the balance the less tire wear (other factors
> like
> alignment set correctly), greater strut life and greater gas mileage will
> occur. Can someone give me an idea of the best you can practically balance
> a wheel with the standard weights?
>
> It just seems with all the cars I've had I can never match the balance of
> the first tire set.

Part of that may be the replacement tires themselves. Balance is only
one factor involved in eliminating wheel vibration. Check out this link
to the Hunter web site:
<http://128.242.141.111/pub/features/intro.cfm>

-Fred W

Well, it is *possible* to balance a tire using a bubble balance, and balance
it so well that it will wear to the cords evenly. Current technology spins
the tire, and can accurately balance the inside as well as the outside edges
of the tires. When I was a kid working the corner gas station, I would mount
and balance tires using a bubble balance, and the tires that I mounted onto
my own car wore evenly to the core and had absolutely no bounce or
vibration. The trick is to put the weights in the right place by dividing
the tire into thirds, the heavy part at the top, then the wheel weights
split evenly at 120° apart from the heaviest point on the tire. When I was
balancing tires this way, we still used bias ply tires, and the weight
difference around the tires was huge.

There is no spec that I am aware of from BMW on the max amount of weight
that can be used, but my guess is that the tire manufacturers probably have
a spec that will cause a tire to trigger the reject sensors. But, to answer
your question, a tire can theoretically be balanced perfectly. Whether or
not that actually happens is a function of the person operating the
equipment.






"mwh" > wrote in message
news:Zqxjd.6137$V41.2977@attbi_s52...
> Does anyone know what the BMW factory manual specs (oz-in or G-?) for the
> max tire balance?
>
> Also can someone give me the spec difference between a normal balance and
a
> high speed balance?
>
> It appears obvious the better the balance the less tire wear (other
factors
> like
> alignment set correctly), greater strut life and greater gas mileage will
> occur. Can someone give me an idea of the best you can practically
balance
> a wheel with the standard weights?
>
> It just seems with all the cars I've had I can never match the balance of
> the first tire set.
>
> Mike H
> Dover, NH
>
>
>

Jeff Strickland wrote:

> There is no spec that I am aware of from BMW on the max amount of weight
> that can be used, but my guess is that the tire manufacturers probably have
> a spec that will cause a tire to trigger the reject sensors.

Actually there is. BMW states a maximum of 90 grams of weights for the
crimp on type and up to 120 grams of the stick-on variety.

-Fred W

"Fred W" > wrote in message
...
> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>
>> There is no spec that I am aware of from BMW on the max amount of weight
>> that can be used, but my guess is that the tire manufacturers probably
>> have
>> a spec that will cause a tire to trigger the reject sensors.
>
> Actually there is. BMW states a maximum of 90 grams of weights for the
> crimp on type and up to 120 grams of the stick-on variety.
>
> -Fred W

Kind of sounds like this is because of the way they are attached, but I'm
just guessing. Why else would the weight matter?




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In article rio.net>,
tech27 > wrote:
> Kind of sounds like this is because of the way they are attached, but I'm
> just guessing. Why else would the weight matter?

Assuming the wheels themselves are balanced, a gross balance error in a
tyre might indicate other problems with it?

It's not just balance that determines a smooth ride. How 'round' the tyre
is matters too.

--
*If vegetable oil comes from vegetables, where does baby oil come from? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" > wrote in message
...
<snip>
> Assuming the wheels themselves are balanced, a gross balance error in a
> tyre might indicate other problems with it?
>
> It's not just balance that determines a smooth ride. How 'round' the tyre
> is matters too.

How right you are there Dave!
Remember all the vib / shimmy problems I had at the beginning of the year
with my E39 even though the wheels were balanced to allegedly zero grams?
When the front tyres were on the balancer you could see the
"out-of-roundness" as they were rotating, but the dealer said they were ok
and refused to replace them even though the tyre fitter said they had
suffered carcass damage and were potentially unsafe. As much as I love my
330dSE I'd probably still have that E39 now if the dealer had replaced the
tyres!
Badger.