DIY wheel balancing, take two...

[Safety Guy]

I just found this:

http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f43/diy-wheel-balancing-39109.html

Essentially, using a modded HF motorcycle wheel balancer to balance car tire/wheels. It seems like it would work okay to me. Any thoughts?

Part of this stems from my new (used) Estrellas. They all have stick on wheel weights inside them, covered with metallic tape. So does the ostensibly "new" one I just bought, minus the tape. Is it possible these wheels are balanced from the factory (made in China) with stick on wheel weights?

Karl

[htchbck]

Did you buy them with tires mounted? If tires have not been mounted then there should be no weights.

[festivaWES]

I haven't balanced my wheels in the past 5 years.....but i can deal with minimal vibrations. Harbor freight wheel balancers arn't that bad if you know how to use them.

[Safety Guy]

No, no tires were mounted. The first four were used, and the last one was "new." It looks new except for the weights.

My foray into the HF bubble balancer didn't go well. I couldn't seem to keep things constant. This new design I posted about may be an improvement.

Karl

[econoaddict]

I have a harbor freight bubble balancer and it works great.
I removed a couple of the tension springs so lighter wheel/tire combos will settle and seat on the cone area.
I have to admit that I was taught how to balance wheel/tires on a bubble balancer back in the day.
Dang, starting to feel a bit dated now.

[Zanzer]

Look around on Craigslist. I have an old Snap On gravity balancer that works just like the one in the pics except it's actually for automotive wheels/tires (I've done up to a 31x10.50 on it). It works great and you may be able to round up an old used one for about the same price as building your own.

[getnpsi]

Ive got 3 sets of tires and wheels to remount and balance. I need to do somehing DIY for sure.

--related--i love this video of the changer welded to the bush machine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn2KQgQvyH4&feature=related

[ejp2fast]

i actually have a full digital wheel balancer so if you're close i'll hook you up.