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[tomtom11]

i know this is a dumb question but i cant seem to find an answer to it. when i got my rims mounted and balanced they put a little wheel weight on the rim. i hit a pothole and they suggested i get the wheels re-balanced. now there is a row of like 6 little weights and it looks a lot uglier. what makes them use a certain weight one time and a different weight the second time. is there any way to get the weight in one heavier piece instead of a row of like 6 lighter weights?

[tomtom11]

anyone?

[mithiral67]

The used more as your rims are more out of balance. They need to counter that difference to ensure your wheels are overall balanced.

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

Originally Posted by tomtom11

i know this is a dumb question but i cant seem to find an answer to it. when i got my rims mounted and balanced they put a little wheel weight on the rim. i hit a pothole and they suggested i get the wheels re-balanced. now there is a row of like 6 little weights and it looks a lot uglier. what makes them use a certain weight one time and a different weight the second time. is there any way to get the weight in one heavier piece instead of a row of like 6 lighter weights?

The only explanation I have is that perhaps your wheel was never properly balanced or the people that did your last balance did not do a good job and the fellow put too many weights on the wheel (the weights sometimes do fall off, they are only glued on your wheel - again this is a workmanship question, how much care does the fellow take on your wheel is it clean when he sticks the weights onto your wheel).

I recommend that you make sure you get your wheels balanced and checked by a place you thrust, also make sure your wheel is clean and dry when it is checked for balance.

I get mine done at BMW

[koolit]

Not trying to hijack this thread but where do you guys go for tire servicing....
Discount tire, Evans, WalMart... just curious!

I never sent my SUV but Discount Tire Center and they put a lot of serious scratches on the rims each visit. I'm afraid they will do the same to my bimmer if I ask them to change RFT's to non-RFT's.

[John_01]

1) Your rim might have bent slightly due to the pothole hit.

2) The balance could have shifted due to the way the tyres have worn.

[Babydragon]

I never go to those shops, they suck. I do all my own wheel mounting, or I have a Goodyear in the neighborhood that I trust.

Originally Posted by koolit

Not trying to hijack this thread but where do you guys go for tire servicing....
Discount tire, Evans, WalMart... just curious!

I never sent my SUV but Discount Tire Center and they put a lot of serious scratches on the rims each visit. I'm afraid they will do the same to my bimmer if I ask them to change RFT's to non-RFT's.

[tomtom11]

Originally Posted by Rolf-Dieter

The only explanation I have is that perhaps your wheel was never properly balanced or the people that did your last balance did not do a good job and the fellow put too many weights on the wheel (the weights sometimes do fall off, they are only glued on your wheel - again this is a workmanship question, how much care does the fellow take on your wheel is it clean when he sticks the weights onto your wheel).

I recommend that you make sure you get your wheels balanced and checked by a place you thrust, also make sure your wheel is clean and dry when it is checked for balance.

I get mine done at BMW

both times the wheels were balanced at BMW. the first time they just had less weights on the wheel. so i was curious why they have to put the weights in a long row, because then they were balanced the first time they had one or two weights that were heavier, instead of a row of lighter weights. both balances were done at BMW

[tomtom11]

?

[chuckee98]

Originally Posted by tomtom11

is there any way to get the weight in one heavier piece instead of a row of like 6 lighter weights?

Yes, you need to find a dealer that carries the heavier factory style weights, instead of the more widely available and used 1/4 oz. segmented weights. The problem is that many dealers may not carry the larger weights because there are that many more specific weights to keep in stock, and the segmented weights are easier - they just snap off the amount they need. Independents are worse, they just carry the uncoated 1/4 oz. segmented weights that look like crap. I hated the uncoated weights so much that I bought a box of the coated segmented weights that I provide to my local Good Year to balance my wheels with when needed.

Here's a link to give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

http://www.zincwheelweights.com/prod...hesive-weights

[chuckee98]

In reading your post again, here's my thought - The wheel may not have been that far out of balance, if at all. Depending on the tech, he may have removed the original weights and rechecked the balance, or rechecked with the original weights on still. If the originals were the larger segments of, let's say, 1 oz. each, and there were two, then the total would have been 2 oz. If he removed them, rechecked, and had to put back the same amount in segmented weights, that would be 8 segments of the 1/4 oz. weights. Same total weight, but more "units".

I would go back to the dealer and ask if they have the larger weights, and if so, they can rebalance with them to achieve the "look" that you want.

[1QuikWS6]

As mentioned above, either your wheel got slightly bent after the pothole (which would change the weights needed), and/or the tires have worn since the 1st balance so weights needed has changed (prolly more likely).

Hopefully they used the Hunter Road Force Balance equipment - the machine tells them the exact number/size of weights to use, and where to place them.

I've had wheels balanced on this equipment where there has actually been weights toward the front of the rim behind the spokes + a weight near the rear edge of the rim on the same wheel. Just depends on what it tells them to do...


BTW chuckee98 - that's a great link to the wheel weights

[tomtom11]

ok thanks guys