Can't get my 285's balanced. Should I try beads or a different shop?

Like the title says, Firestone has tried to balance my 285 75 16 BFG's on Method wheels twice now and I still have considerable steering wheel shake above 55 mph. I'v already done a 2,000 mile trip since having them put on and will be doing another 1500 miles next weekend, so hopefully this isn't causing abnormal wear.

Here's a shot of the weights.. the tech said he just had to keep putting more on. The front desk guy said they don't do road force balancing because of the time involved. Is this something I should look for in a shop, or should I bring in balancing beads like they suggested?

 

If a shop doesn't use road force balance, they are sorely outdated.

 

My Coopers and Method wheels needed quite a few weighs to balance also. Maybe Method wheels don't balance well

 

I'll look for a shop that'll do road force. I got the Ko2's hoping for a nice smooth interstate drive so this is a PITA lol.

 

I would definitely take my business to a shop that offers road force balancing. It does a much better job.

 

Are they being dynamic balanced or static balanced? Are they brand new tires or are they chopped to shit? Has the tire been broken down and spun 180 degrees and rebalanced? Do you have a bad wheel? Some wheels call for a shit ton of weight. Most balancers have an option to balance a bare rim to see if it's out of wack.

 

Brand new tires - don't know the answers to the rest of those questions. I'll look for a road force shop tomorrow.

 

18 oz. All except 1

 

In my entire automotive career I have maybe roadforced 2 tires. If you balance off-road wheels the right way you will never have to use road force. There is an art to it. Aftermarket wheels in general give a very crappy ride. Just the way it is. Even oem wheels can be garbage. I have one bad wheel on my truck. Trd off-road beadlock wheel. No matter what tire I put on it, it calls for 8oz of weight in the exact same spot. Needless to say that one stays on the right rear.

 

I would balance the bare wheel and see what numbers you get. If it calls for a bunch of weight you got some crappy wheels

 

did they try rotating the tire 180* and rechecking balance?

 

Another question to ask is if their balancer is calibrated. If I have problems with chasing weights I recalibrate the balancer and it usually seems to solve the problem

 

I go to a place that masters the art of balancing tires and they will do a regular balance if you request it and do it well, but nothing beats road force and they really don't charge that much more for it.

 

A lot of kids they pay to pound tires and balance them had maybe 5 min of instruction before they were turned loose. I took the hunter alignment and balancer course for 10 days. Best 2 weeks of training I have ever had. Learned so damn much from that program.

 

The place I go to has one guy who is a master at it and will work one tire/wheel combo for a half hour to get it perfect if that's what it takes.

 

You rarely see that kind of service anymore

 

No you don't. That's why I have gone to these guys for over 10 years they know what to do and how to do it and have a customer base that knows it. You can't touch this place without an appointment.

 

Same and I've never gotten a wheel less than perfect when I got my truck back. Friend of mine is dead set on another shop that trims the tires to perfect round. I've never had to go that far though and I like all the tread I pay for.

 

Could be your wheels are bent.

 

That would be shitty. I'm hoping its more on the lack of skillful balancing and plan to call around for road force tomorrow. I honestly think the second time around they're a bit worse than the first