Balanced My Tires - Finally, and I found the trick here! Options

[76-914]

Well, after 3 trips back to the tire shop I have them balanced. You'll think this is nuts but try it. First let's give credit where it is due. I clicked on the link posted on aircooledtechguys signature and found this article on balancing tires with air ball bb's. $9 at Wally's and you have enough for 20 tires. It was listed under under "cheap tools" on his website. Basically you put 1.5 oz's in each tire and thats it. So the 3rd trip I took 4 bags weighed out at 1.5 ounces each with these plastic 6.5mm bb's and had the "tire dude" break the beads and insert the bb's. I got some funny looks but it seems to have worked. PS. These can't be used if you have a tire sealer additive in your tires, ever! He shows white balls in his article but I much preferred the competition red bb's.
http://aircooledtech.com/tools-on-the-cheap/balancing_beads/

[76-914]

It appears there has been quite alot of intelligent thought re: this. And those opposed could be right. The powder is another trick that has been used for years. The only drawback with powder is that it forms clots when exposed to moisture and requires an occasional cleaning. The bb's I previously referred to are ceramic not metal. They are too large (6mm) to fit thru the valve stem. They are not out of round as evidenced when boucing on a flat surface. They bounce at least as well as a "superball". They are very, very light weight and not much bigger than a popcorn fart. FYI, 1.5 oz's = appx 1/3 cup. My guess is that bigger tires might require a larger quantity. Can I hear them? Only if I'm pushing the car. Not when it is running. And I'll bet the balls do move sideways in a turn. You'd just better hope the force isn't enough to place them on or near the horizontal plane. I did some hard turns (i.e. mild skids at <100mph & > 60mph) and my balls shifted a bit. I'm not sure what happened to the balls in the tires but the tires felt great in the corners. O Ye of little faith. If anyone here wants to try this I'll send'em some to try. I have plenty left over. The proof is in the pudding!