The Ford Barn

rotorwrench · 12-01-2025, 01:32 PM

Dynamic balancers are still available new but they are expensive. Some front tend shops use them to prevent warranty come backs. Tire shops just use the wheel spin balancers but that doesn't balance the whole assembly like a dynamic set up. A person might be surprised to see how far out of balance a brake drum or rotor can get.

Bent wheel rims are a whole other story. The wobble puts the rim out of track and induces a 1 to 1 lateral vibration. This can't be balanced out with weight. The rim and spokes would have to be straightened to restore the wheel track. There can also be wheel hop if the rim axis isn't symmetrical with the center axis due to a stretched spoke or bent rim.

I specialized in rotor balance on helicopters for many years. Spinning rotors have to be tracked with blade pitch control link adjustments first then weight balanced for lateral vibrations. On a main rotor, the out of track is a vertical vibration due to the vertical axis of spin. An automobile wheel has a lateral spin axis but the wheel has no adjustment to compensate for the wobble. I true spokes on motorcycle wheels and that will adjust the tracking of the rim but the Ford spokes are welded so there is no joy there.

12-01-2025, 01:32 PM	#9
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 18,007	Re: Balancing Wheels Dynamic balancers are still available new but they are expensive. Some front tend shops use them to prevent warranty come backs. Tire shops just use the wheel spin balancers but that doesn't balance the whole assembly like a dynamic set up. A person might be surprised to see how far out of balance a brake drum or rotor can get. Bent wheel rims are a whole other story. The wobble puts the rim out of track and induces a 1 to 1 lateral vibration. This can't be balanced out with weight. The rim and spokes would have to be straightened to restore the wheel track. There can also be wheel hop if the rim axis isn't symmetrical with the center axis due to a stretched spoke or bent rim. I specialized in rotor balance on helicopters for many years. Spinning rotors have to be tracked with blade pitch control link adjustments first then weight balanced for lateral vibrations. On a main rotor, the out of track is a vertical vibration due to the vertical axis of spin. An automobile wheel has a lateral spin axis but the wheel has no adjustment to compensate for the wobble. I true spokes on motorcycle wheels and that will adjust the tracking of the rim but the Ford spokes are welded so there is no joy there. Last edited by rotorwrench; 12-02-2025 at 12:48 PM.