harbor freight portable wheel balancer

Hi has anyone ever used a Harbor freight portable Wheel Balancer? it got some good reviews and might prolong the tires if you balance them enough. i know that a couple of good hard braking can throw the wheel out of balance. any thoughts anybody?

Shouldn't be able to throw weights off the wheels by braking hard. If that happens, change whoever is balancing the wheels!

I don't see how that Harbor Freight tool can effectively balance a wheel & tire. Might work for lawn mower blades, though.

if you brake hard enough you can move the tire along the rim,effectively throwing the tire out of balance. I've visited several forums and the thing works. apparently there is some fiddling involved but if you're anal about your tire balance,it might do the trick. i was hoping someone might have used it? oh well...

Whatever u do, please. "DO NOT" fiddle, with your anal!!!

I have used a quality Static Wheel Balancer and compared to a quality Speed Balancer for motorcycle wheels and found the readings to be the same.
The static balancer would show time after time that it was as good as the High Speed Balancer on all types of motorcycle wheels. From spoked to mags to billet aluminum forged wheels.

Never had the opportunity to try that exercise with car wheels and tires before though.

Edit: I did buy one of the HF units for use on my motorcycles wheels, but because I haven't put enough miles on any one bike in the past few years, so I haven't had to use it. It was an impulse buy when it was on sale at the local store along with the adapter for Harley wheels.
So, It sits in the corner waiting to be used, soon hopefully. It is made simply but sturdy and I have magnetic mounts and dial indicators for checking everything from wheels/tires to Harley engine flywheels if I want to.

And, as AA has mentioned it does come in handy for mower blades but can handle a lot more.

You would have to come up with a larger diameter axle and special fitting for an Auto Wheel, unless they sell that also, or maybe I'm thinking of a totally different Item # than what you are looking at Robo.
We might be, mine says right on it for Motorcycle Wheels. They must make something different for auto wheels, IDK.

flyineagle96 wrote:

Whatever u do, please. "DO NOT" fiddle, with your anal!!!

occasionally when i use the bathroom,and i wipe myself,my fingers break through the TP. i guess that's what you would call an inadvertent "fiddle"

@ Rick: i think im going to get it. discount tire who i just bought my Hankook ventus v12s from,will balance tires bought from them,for the life of them. I just hate having to wait online with all the other schmucks to have my tires balanced.it seems so cheap. i have nothing but good feedback regarding the HF balancer.
BTW, my Hankooks came to be pretty cheap. $361.44 with a $60 rebate.not bad. take a few days for them to be ordered. I hope i have the $ to pay for the mount and balance when they come in? otherwise ill have to wait. either way i don't want my new tire/rim package on the riv as she is without her new paint. ill look like the ricers with $2000 tire packages on a $500 dollar fart can.

Rickw wrote:

I have used a quality Static Wheel Balancer and compared to a quality Speed Balancer for motorcycle wheels and found the readings to be the same.
The static balancer would show time after time that it was as good as the High Speed Balancer on all types of motorcycle wheels. From spoked to mags to billet aluminum forged wheels.

Never had the opportunity to try that exercise with car wheels and tires before though.

Edit: I did buy one of the HF units for use on my motorcycles wheels, but because I haven't put enough miles on any one bike in the past few years, so I haven't had to use it. It was an impulse buy when it was on sale at the local store along with the adapter for Harley wheels.
So, It sits in the corner waiting to be used, soon hopefully. It is made simply but sturdy and I have magnetic mounts and dial indicators for checking everything from wheels/tires to Harley engine flywheels if I want to.

And, as AA has mentioned it does come in handy for mower blades but can handle a lot more.

You would have to come up with a larger diameter axle and special fitting for an Auto Wheel, unless they sell that also, or maybe I'm thinking of a totally different Item # than what you are looking at Robo.
We might be, mine says right on it for Motorcycle Wheels. They must make something different for auto wheels, IDK.

IIRC if wheels are straight static balance is fine. Static balance can't compensate for dynamic 'imbalance' due to wheel runout. IF the wheels are true the only runout would be due to bad/mismount tire.

Well, I have the solution to that dilema. Just ship the wheels and tires when they come in to me and I'll mount them and balance them a few times for you, then when your ready I'll ship them back all scrubbed in for you.

albertj wrote:

Rickw wrote:

I have used a quality Static Wheel Balancer and compared to a quality Speed Balancer for motorcycle wheels and found the readings to be the same.
The static balancer would show time after time that it was as good as the High Speed Balancer on all types of motorcycle wheels. From spoked to mags to billet aluminum forged wheels.

Never had the opportunity to try that exercise with car wheels and tires before though.

Edit: I did buy one of the HF units for use on my motorcycles wheels, but because I haven't put enough miles on any one bike in the past few years, so I haven't had to use it. It was an impulse buy when it was on sale at the local store along with the adapter for Harley wheels.
So, It sits in the corner waiting to be used, soon hopefully. It is made simply but sturdy and I have magnetic mounts and dial indicators for checking everything from wheels/tires to Harley engine flywheels if I want to.

And, as AA has mentioned it does come in handy for mower blades but can handle a lot more.

You would have to come up with a larger diameter axle and special fitting for an Auto Wheel, unless they sell that also, or maybe I'm thinking of a totally different Item # than what you are looking at Robo.
We might be, mine says right on it for Motorcycle Wheels. They must make something different for auto wheels, IDK.

IIRC if wheels are straight static balance is fine. Static balance can't compensate for dynamic 'imbalance' due to wheel runout. IF the wheels are true the only runout would be due to bad/mismount tire.

I agree, that's why I use dial indicators to check the wheels first for true on 2 planes, Radial and Lateral. If they are good then positioning the tire on the rim correctly can eliminate most unbalance and then you only need very little weight if any at all. Depends on how much time you want to spend with them.

Rickw wrote:

albertj wrote:

Rickw wrote:

I have used a quality Static Wheel Balancer and compared to a quality Speed Balancer for motorcycle wheels and found the readings to be the same.
The static balancer would show time after time that it was as good as the High Speed Balancer on all types of motorcycle wheels. From spoked to mags to billet aluminum forged wheels.

Never had the opportunity to try that exercise with car wheels and tires before though.

Edit: I did buy one of the HF units for use on my motorcycles wheels, but because I haven't put enough miles on any one bike in the past few years, so I haven't had to use it. It was an impulse buy when it was on sale at the local store along with the adapter for Harley wheels.
So, It sits in the corner waiting to be used, soon hopefully. It is made simply but sturdy and I have magnetic mounts and dial indicators for checking everything from wheels/tires to Harley engine flywheels if I want to.

And, as AA has mentioned it does come in handy for mower blades but can handle a lot more.

You would have to come up with a larger diameter axle and special fitting for an Auto Wheel, unless they sell that also, or maybe I'm thinking of a totally different Item # than what you are looking at Robo.
We might be, mine says right on it for Motorcycle Wheels. They must make something different for auto wheels, IDK.

IIRC if wheels are straight static balance is fine. Static balance can't compensate for dynamic 'imbalance' due to wheel runout. IF the wheels are true the only runout would be due to bad/mismount tire.

I agree, that's why I use dial indicators to check the wheels first for true on 2 planes, Radial and Lateral. If they are good then positioning the tire on the rim correctly can eliminate most unbalance and then you only need very little weight if any at all. Depends on how much time you want to spend with them.

how do you position tire on rim correctly?

I bet most of my "balance" problems have actually been due to careless positioning of the wheel on the rims...

It hasn't come up but,the rim should be balanced First,then after the tire is balanced,once again as a set. that's the way the pros do it. but you wont see this done at any of the big tire discounters.ever!unless you ask. get ready for a WTF look.

First you start with the heavy spot 180* from the valve stem.
The tire has a small paint spot on it from the factory to tell you where the heavy spot is.
Then you hope that gets you close, other wise you break the beads again and rotate the heavy spot closer to where you need it. After a while you get a feel for it. If I get within 1/4 oz of balanced then I feel good and will use the minimum weight.
Sometimes you just get perfectly lucky and don't end up with needing any weight. That's when you are second guessing your self and spending more time watching the tire go round and round and keep stopping on a different spot.
Now you know its good. If you can then mark your tire and rim with some metal paint or nail polish, in your favorite color, you will know whether they have moved on you.

robotennis61 wrote:

It hasn't come up but,the rim should be balanced First,then after the tire is balanced,once again as a set. that's the way the pros do it. but you wont see this done at any of the big tire discounters.ever!unless you ask. get ready for a WTF look.

Hell, maybe shipping tires and rims to RickW isn't a bad idea, if they're coming mail order.

I can't guarantee the condition of any wheel tire combo that leaves here after being tested on my Riv..

Quote :

if you brake hard enough you can move the tire along the rim,effectively throwing the tire out of balance.

I don't think our cars are capable of braking hard enough to sheer the bead seal on a properly mounted tire. If the rim slips inside the tire, it means your tire guy is using excessive lubricant when mounting (find a more competent shop).

The static balancer, yes it may let you balance the wheel, but it's not going to tell you a rim or tire is out of round under load. Even a perfectly balanced wheel can vibrate if it's not perfectly round. A machine like the Hunter Road Force will show a defective (oblong) rim or tire when compressed under load, at speed. How would you detect this using the static balancer?

AA wrote:

Quote :

if you brake hard enough you can move the tire along the rim,effectively throwing the tire out of balance.

I don't think our cars are capable of braking hard enough to sheer the bead seal on a properly mounted tire. If the rim slips inside the tire, it means your tire guy is using excessive lubricant when mounting (find a more competent shop).

The static balancer, yes it may let you balance the wheel, but it's not going to tell you a rim or tire is out of round under load. Even a perfectly balanced wheel can vibrate if it's not perfectly round. A machine like the Hunter Road Force will show a defective (oblong) rim or tire when compressed under load, at speed. How would you detect this using the static balancer?

A tire can move along the rim with not a whole lot of persuasion. a couple of good panic stops with a 3000 + lb car behind them ,and ya got tire slip along the rim. the lube tire places use is nothing more than soap and water. don't let any one tell you different.

Rickw wrote:

First you start with the heavy spot 180* from the valve stem.
The tire has a small paint spot on it from the factory to tell you where the heavy spot is.
Then you hope that gets you close, other wise you break the beads again and rotate the heavy spot closer to where you need it. After a while you get a feel for it. If I get within 1/4 oz of balanced then I feel good and will use the minimum weight.
Sometimes you just get perfectly lucky and don't end up with needing any weight. That's when you are second guessing your self and spending more time watching the tire go round and round and keep stopping on a different spot.
Now you know its good. If you can then mark your tire and rim with some metal paint or nail polish, in your favorite color, you will know whether they have moved on you.

I get it.

After watching my tires be mounted at several different places, although they all mount them safely (they won't pop off the rim) I'm not aware of anyone except the local Goodyear Gemini and maybe one tire dealer (this is the link) that does it right, and even then at both it depends on whether you get the right tech there.

And about the tire moving on the rims, this is perfectly plausible and even desirable compared to having the bead skins tear under high shear force, if they just slip and don't tear the tire should not blow out. think about it.

I believe that long before a tire would shear along the rim under tremendous force,it is more likely to just lose contact with the ground and go into a aggressive slide. I've never seen tires,even formula 1 tires,shear along the rim. skipping along at 160 plus mph the tire does just pop off the rim. the beads and the steel belt are tremendously strong.

[quote="AA"][quote]guy is using excessive lubricant when mounting... AGREED

you cant use too much soap and water. the force of the bead against the rim along with inflation forces all the h20 with soap out of the bead seating. whats left is a watery residue that just evaporates.its just dishwashing liquid.

This thread reminds me... just got some new (used) toys in my garage...

whoa! what those set you back?

robotennis61 wrote:

whoa! what those set you back?

into them for $2000 so far. Used off craigslist. The balancer was $500 and the wheel changer was $1350 but both have minor issues and we are working on them.

The wheel changer is an old Coats machine, great stuff. Worth like $7000 in great shape. Had to replace a few worn out parts on it which is how we got to $2000. The balancer is a cheesy chinese made "AMPRO" branded thing. It has a minor issue with the display/buttons for our purposes it will get the job done just fine.

My brother has worked at NTB for the last 15 years or so, on weekends, (and Sears Automotive tires for 5 years before that) so any tire work we ever needed was free. Now that he quit NTB, we have no source. I can't believe how much they charge for mounting and balancing, and we know SO many people who could use a cheaper tire servicer...

Plus this gives us unlimited troubleshooting time when it comes to things like hunting down vibrations... !!

you lucky dog!

deekster_caddy wrote:

Plus this gives us unlimited troubleshooting time when it comes to things like hunting down vibrations... !!

Count me in for the first diagnosis, But I already know I need wheels. Do you know anyone or can help me find a set of Quality 18" wheels for the Riv at $500.00 or less. I can get a set of Chinese Cast rims for that much off TireRack, but I'm looking for at minimum shot-peened and hardened. Might considered pressed Aluminum, a step down from forged. Forged wheels would be great but I know how expensive a good set of forged wheels cost.

Rick