Anyone put Ceramic Beads in their tires for balancing?

DenaliHD66

Original poster
Member
Dec 4, 2011
597
Was just recently introduced to this concept. Was wondering if they are worth using at all? I am not a heavy off-roader, but if they really do work to keep the tires balanced and maybe extend their longevity, I would be down for trying them out.
 

Denali n DOO

Member
May 22, 2012
5,596
DenaliHD66 said:
Was just recently introduced to this concept. Was wondering if they are worth using at all? I am not a heavy off-roader, but if they really do work to keep the tires balanced and maybe extend their longevity, I would be down for trying them out.

I don't know of these ceramic beads but I can say nitrogen filled tires are awesome, I have 4 summer n 4 winter tires and they haven't even lost 1/2 pound of air in three years, +30 or -20 degres and they never change.
 

Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
Denali n DOO said:
I don't know of these ceramic beads but I can say nitrogen filled tires are awesome, I have 4 summer n 4 winter tires and they haven't even lost 1/2 pound of air in three years, +30 or -20 degres and they never change.

air is 70% nitrogen :tongue: my TB only rarely needs PSI adjustment and since it is free, well, I can do that once every 6 months to a year :biggrin:
 

The_Roadie

Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
A couple of offroaders did it, and discussed it on ORTB, if I remember correctly. But it was 3-4 years back. Did you run a search? I don't personally recall who did it. Sorry. :redface:
 

DenaliHD66

Original poster
Member
Dec 4, 2011
597
Tried searching "ceramic beads" and got 0 results. I heard the nitrogen thing was a bit overrated. I guess I'm one of those old school people who actually periodically checks the tire pressure and adjusts it during the seasons so I don't really need to 'set it and forget it.'

e8049851.jpg
 

ksimm92

Member
Apr 28, 2012
166
Denali n DOO said:
I don't know of these ceramic beads but I can say nitrogen filled tires are awesome, I have 4 summer n 4 winter tires and they haven't even lost 1/2 pound of air in three years, +30 or -20 degres and they never change.

I heard they also improve performance and possibly mpg because the nitrogen weighs less then air... do you know if that's true? I would be willing to give it a shot, where do you even go to get it filled with that?
 

DenaliHD66

Original poster
Member
Dec 4, 2011
597
ksimm92 said:
I heard they also improve performance and possibly mpg because the nitrogen weighs less then air... do you know if that's true? I would be willing to give it a shot, where do you even go to get it filled with that?

Why can't we just fill them with helium? No seriously.. lol. Or hydrogen?
 

The_Roadie

Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
ksimm92 said:
I heard they also improve performance and possibly mpg because the nitrogen weighs less then air... do you know if that's true?
It's not true. Snake oil. A lie concocted by the tire industry to extract money out of the pockets of gullible consumers. Dry nitrogen has justification in racing and the aircraft industry. Not in street automobiles.

The physics has been debated here and many other forums extensively. No need to rehash it here yet again. :no:
 

ksimm92

Member
Apr 28, 2012
166
the roadie said:
It's not true. Snake oil. A lie concocted by the tire industry to extract money out of the pockets of gullible consumers. Dry nitrogen has justification in racing and the aircraft industry. Not in street automobiles.

The physics has been debated here and many other forums extensively. No need to rehash it here yet again. :no:

good to know, I will look into it more. :undecided:
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
The beads are in use by couple still I believe. I ran some Swampers with the Airsoft beads that many offroaders use instead of the more expensive ceramic. They did ok. Not as well as traditional balancing. I would NOT recommend them to those not in need of finding a way to balance an excessively large or a used tire. The balance can be knocked off by potholes and road hazards and can induce death wobble in certain situations. The right ratio is needed and if not found, you can lose your balance in the corner and it is not regained until you slow way down. I have had direct experience with several people that have tried them and switched to trad balance methods and know some that love them and swear by em. That all said...I went with trad balance on my current tires, but if I end up finding another set of used 35s for my other wheels, I will try the beads again.

I have never seen anything about them improving the life of a tire.

There are these
Centramatic

and I would pick up a set if I had the extra money cause they could possibly the last balnce you ever got.... But I do not know anyone that has actually tried them.
 

fishsticks

Member
Nov 21, 2011
433
Beads in the tire is an old trucker trick. It works. Some have also used golf balls with good results.

I balanced the 37s on my Yota with 11oz of .25gr Airsoft pellets in each wheel. With rock rings the tires/wheels were an easy 100lbs a piece. I just bought 40s for it and will probably put beads in them as well.

THe TB's 35s are traditionally balanced. If I ever have to dismount/remount one or more of them I will probably put beads in them. Most tire shops want more to balance one tire than it would cost me to bead all of them.

Would I do it on a 29" stock tire? Probably not.

If you do it, you will have to get used to the sound of the beads settling every time you stop.
 

MDBT

Member
Jan 26, 2012
223
Never tried them in a car/truck tire but the "Dyna Beads" brand ones we got for my father's motorcycle worked quite well. I was surprised how small they were. They do a good job of listing the appropriate amount of beads for a particular tire size but I'm not sure how accurate those suggestions for larger truck tires.

Nitrogen....I chuckle when that topic comes up on boards or in polite conversation. Unless your tire place is doing it for free because they have the ability I can't imagine any reason to go out of your way to do it.
 

MAY03LT

Member
Nov 18, 2011
3,412
Delmarva
I put the beads in 2 customers super big tires and both of them were satisfied with the ride quality. They still felt like super big tires to me.

As for nitrogen, a few weeks ago our Napa rep was trying to pitch a nitrogen filling station. I think that was the first time I said "snake oil" in real life.
 

NJTB

Member
Aug 27, 2012
612
Flemington, NJ
There are a few manufacturers of the beads. One is Dyna-beads. I used them in my motorcycle and swear by them, but never in a car tire.
Another type of balancer/sealer is Ride-On. It comes in a pressurized can and is used like a tire inflator. Difference is, it won't harden (according to their website), and balances the wheel while driving. It will also seal punctures.
 

northcreek

Member
Jan 15, 2012
3,310
WNY
Any mention of what the beads might do to TPS? the sensors can be damaged easily as it is....just sayin',Mike.:undecided:
 

rodehawg

Member
Jul 19, 2012
13
the roadie said:
It's not true. Snake oil. A lie concocted by the tire industry to extract money out of the pockets of gullible consumers. Dry nitrogen has justification in racing and the aircraft industry. Not in street automobiles.

The physics has been debated here and many other forums extensively. No need to rehash it here yet again. :no:

Halleluia and amen.
 

Wooluf1952

Member
Nov 20, 2011
2,663
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The only positive thing I've heard about nitrogen for street run tires, was on Motorweek.
If the air used is too damp, the moisture can damage the TMP sensors. If the air is run thru a dryer, even that problem could be eliminated. :twocents:
 
Feb 24, 2012
133
Wooluf1952 said:
The only positive thing I've heard about nitrogen for street run tires, was on Motorweek.
If the air used is too damp, the moisture can damage the TMP sensors. If the air is run thru a dryer, even that problem could be eliminated. :twocents:

I saw that episode too. Moisture is the ONLY justified reason, and IMO not enough of a reason to justify the hassle. As was said earlier, if the tire place can do it for free because that's what they do, great. Otherwise it's not at all ever worth the effort on a street tire. Tire shops that don't take care of their compressors may have moisture problems in the air lines...

As for the beads, I haven't used them myself, but I know that truck shops and RV shops use them, and it does work. If the question is about ceramic vs some other type of bead, I have no idea. I would only use beads on very big tires that have trouble balancing, and it does take some guidance to know how much to put in.
 

northcreek

Member
Jan 15, 2012
3,310
WNY
My son recently put new shoes on his Silverado and told me that they put balance bags in the tires eliminating the fugly weights and said that he was happy with the results. So today I took my wife's Malibu LTZ to Wally world to have my new Tire Rack Michelins installed and when I get home I noticed that there were no stick-on weights,the car drove great and now I'm thinking that they did the bag or ceramic bead thing,I'm going to check with them in the AM but, maybe someone here might know if Walmart made the switch too:undecided:...Mike.
 

DenaliHD66

Original poster
Member
Dec 4, 2011
597
northcreek said:
My son recently put new shoes on his Silverado and told me that they put balance bags in the tires eliminating the fugly weights and said that he was happy with the results. So today I took my wife's Malibu LTZ to Wally world to have my new Tire Rack Michelins installed and when I get home I noticed that there were no stick-on weights,the car drove great and now I'm thinking that they did the bag or ceramic bead thing,I'm going to check with them in the AM but, maybe someone here might know if Walmart made the switch too:undecided:...Mike.


Not all of my new tires needed any weights applied to them. Usually only the rears get weights on them.
 

gmcman

Member
Dec 12, 2011
4,656
If I remember correctly when I drove a commercial truck for a few years, the balance would settle once at speed and when you stop, they need to rebalance themselves.

I think if that was the case with passenger tires that would drive me crazy, but haven't used them in car tires.

Road force balance is the way to go IMO.
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
northcreek said:
My son recently put new shoes on his Silverado and told me that they put balance bags in the tires eliminating the fugly weights and said that he was happy with the results. So today I took my wife's Malibu LTZ to Wally world to have my new Tire Rack Michelins installed and when I get home I noticed that there were no stick-on weights,the car drove great and now I'm thinking that they did the bag or ceramic bead thing,I'm going to check with them in the AM but, maybe someone here might know if Walmart made the switch too:undecided:...Mike.

Stick on weights inside of face of wheel.
 

northcreek

Member
Jan 15, 2012
3,310
WNY
DenaliHD66 said:
Not all of my new tires needed any weights applied to them. Usually only the rears get weights on them.

I took a flashlight and looked again and...oops,I missed a few of the stick-ons on each wheel.I have to say that there is nowhere near the weights on these pricey Michelins that were required on the OE Goodyears....Mike.
 

DenaliHD66

Original poster
Member
Dec 4, 2011
597
Aye I got Michelin LTX MS2's and they are much smoother than my Bridgestones they replaced.
 

jonbo2002

Member
Sep 27, 2012
213
HARDTRAILZ said:
The beads are in use by couple still I believe. I ran some Swampers with the Airsoft beads that many offroaders use instead of the more expensive ceramic. They did ok. Not as well as traditional balancing. I would NOT recommend them to those not in need of finding a way to balance an excessively large or a used tire. The balance can be knocked off by potholes and road hazards and can induce death wobble in certain situations. The right ratio is needed and if not found, you can lose your balance in the corner and it is not regained until you slow way down. I have had direct experience with several people that have tried them and switched to trad balance methods and know some that love them and swear by em. That all said...I went with trad balance on my current tires, but if I end up finding another set of used 35s for my other wheels, I will try the beads again.

I have never seen anything about them improving the life of a tire.

There are these
Centramatic

and I would pick up a set if I had the extra money cause they could possibly the last balnce you ever got.... But I do not know anyone that has actually tried them.

work great on the Wife's Wrangler with 33's but they only work up to a certain weight so wheel weights may still be needed to make up the difference.
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
jonbo2002 said:
work great on the Wife's Wrangler with 33's but they only work up to a certain weight so wheel weights may still be needed to make up the difference.

The centramatic rings?
 

jonbo2002

Member
Sep 27, 2012
213
HARDTRAILZ said:
The centramatic rings?

yes, sorry I should have said that. I read an artical on the testing of these, and forgive me if my numbers are wrong but I am not a wheel balancing expert, I belive they said these are good up to 4oz's out of balance. So when i got my wifes new spare mounted they told me it was still 2oz's off after they balanced it but they didn't want to put more weight on it. which was fine because the centramatic rings will make up for the rest. these are great when your running large tires which can sometimes need alot of wieght to ballance them. so someone like you who runs 33's or bigger these would be great, but like me who still has stock tires I think they would be a waste of money.
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
jonbo2002 said:
So when i got my wifes new spare mounted they told me it was still 2oz's off after they balanced it but they didn't want to put more weight on it.

I would be getting them to spin the tire on the rim or have someplace else do it because that is BS on a 33.

...but

Good info. I am really wondering how balancing will work when I get tires for the beadlocks. The rings might really help then.
 

jonbo2002

Member
Sep 27, 2012
213
HARDTRAILZ said:
I would be getting them to spin the tire on the rim or have someplace else do it because that is BS on a 33.

yes I agree but it was only the spare, it was a used tire I got from work with real good tread left for free. but if it was one of her normal driving wheels they would be working on it till they got it right lol
 

Forum Statistics

Threads
23,273
Posts
637,484
Members
18,472
Latest member
MissCrutcher

Members Online