Do you balance the wheels on your racing car?

[thstone]

NASCAR balances all of its Goodyear racing tires....

Tire busters face balancing act throughout season - May 12, 2011 - NASCAR.COM

"Once finished at Darlington, mounters rolled their work to 18-year-old Devon Tucker, who in turn passed it along to one of eight people manning balancing machines under a tent just outside the mounting building. There, the balancing contraptions spin at 35 mph to give a weight readout on the front and back of the tire.

Depending on the results, clipped weights from a quarter of an ounce all the way up to a full ounce are hammered onto the rim. The tire is spun again, until the tire is perfectly counter-balanced. Each balancer initials the tire and marks it with his machine number, so that if there's a problem later, it can be properly traced."

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by thstone

NASCAR balances all of its Goodyear racing tires....

Tire busters face balancing act throughout season - May 12, 2011 - NASCAR.COM

"Once finished at Darlington, mounters rolled their work to 18-year-old Devon Tucker, who in turn passed it along to one of eight people manning balancing machines under a tent just outside the mounting building. There, the balancing contraptions spin at 35 mph to give a weight readout on the front and back of the tire.

Depending on the results, clipped weights from a quarter of an ounce all the way up to a full ounce are hammered onto the rim. The tire is spun again, until the tire is perfectly counter-balanced. Each balancer initials the tire and marks it with his machine number, so that if there's a problem later, it can be properly traced."

When I worked for Shelby who is the western region authorized Goodyear Race tire distributor. I saw them load several tire balancing machines in the tractor trailers preparing for each race. I had them install my new tires a couple times too.

[Kroggers]

This is a very interesting discussion and almost like talking oil - everybody has their own opinions and recommendations

I have just over three weeks to the first race for the 2012 season, so still some time to think about it. I think I will try to run the first race with the wheels not balanced and see how it feels - I can always balance the wheels after the first race if I feel like it.

I will report back after the first race...

[Kroggers]

Thank you Brad - good and helpful insight as usual

Jittsl, as I said at the start of this discussion. I had been told by two very experienced people (One is a professional driver and the other has been working crew and looking after cars for most of his working life including some big teams in Europe). And both told me not to bother balancing the wheels on my racing car...

[Brad Roberts]

Having said that, am I the only guy out there that finds that after a session or 2 between flat spots and built up junk etc. they are way out of balance anyway?

They are out of balance.. but it is because of buildup!! Clean them out once a day during the weekend!!

Inside secret for keeping the clag off the inside of the rim??

PAM

Seriously. Clean the wheels with Simple Green thoroughly.. get all the Sh_t off of them. Have them balanced, tape the weights on with the silver tape.. then spray the inside of the wheels with PAM. NO JOKE. The rubber chunks/clag won't stick to the PAM (the large pieces won't) Re-PAM them prior to each weekend

I hate.. hate.. wheels out of balance on a race car.. and if need be I'll make a list of pro drivers that have complained over the radio about wheel vibrations that drove them nuts. The list is long...



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[Jittsl]

Originally Posted by Brad Roberts

They are out of balance.. but it is because of buildup!! Clean them out once a day during the weekend!!

Inside secret for keeping the clag off the inside of the rim??

PAM

Seriously. Clean the wheels with Simple Green thoroughly.. get all the Sh_t off of them. Have them balanced, tape the weights on with the silver tape.. then spray the inside of the wheels with PAM. NO JOKE. The rubber chunks/clag won't stick to the PAM (the large pieces won't) Re-PAM them prior to each weekend
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hmmm. I'll be at heartland on Friday. I'll try both your Pam suggestion and your cleaning frequency (damn I'm going to have to hire a team - my wife just ain't going to do it) and see if I have been wrong all along. It is certainly true that at TWS my car was spewing chunks of the required RA1s everywhere but I have a suspicion that the bits that remained glued to the tires where heavier than those that were inside the wheels. I'll let you know. I also suspect that my dogs are going to way too attracted to my wheels. Anything that smells like human food is just irresistible to both of them. Any reason why a thin coat of motor oil wouldn't do the same thing?

[Kroggers]

Sorry to ask, but what is PAM?

[Brad Roberts]

We use it for cooking! It's an anti-stick spray we use in cooking pans!

I'm sure you have something on the shelf at your local grocery store/supermarket

[Kroggers]

Cool, thank you Brad, I will look for that in the shop...

[Brad Roberts]

and your cleaning frequency

You'll find with the PAM that you can reach into the spokes and knock the pieces off with a rag. Just make sure the rotors have cooled off~!


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