Wheel balancing at generic tire store?

[thinice]

Here a question too stupid for Vic's list. Wonder if it's OK to have wheels balanced at a generic/discount tire joint. Is there anything Sprinter specific (other than observing proper hoist procedure) regarding wheel balancing that would rule out using my local garage or tire shop?
Thanks
Tim

[sailquik]

thinice,
No!, and Yes!
For 2500 Sprinter wheels your local tire shop should be OK, but a truck tire shop would
be better as alot of car tire shops cannot mount/dismount Sprinter tires.
Don't ask me why, as I do not know! Maybe their jacks and equipment are not heavy duty enough for Sprinters.
If you have a 3500 Sprinter, the local truck tire shop can balance them, but without the
centering adapter that the MB dealers have, they may not be able to get them centered
in the balance machine precisely enough (they depend on a taper that's supposed to engage a radius on the wheel, but they only get a sharp edge contact point on a 3500 Sprinter Van wheel unless they have the MB wheel centering adapter.
Someone out there must have a lathe and a bunch of about 3/8" scrap steel and could go into the business of making 3500 centering adapters that fit the most common truck tire shop
balancing machines.
I can get the dimensions, but do not have the lathe!
So, yes, you might get a good balance job at a high end local truck tire shop, and then again
maybe not if you have a 2500.
If you have a 3500, the possibility of them getting a really good balance job (that takes out the imbalance without trying to compensate for wheel center runout) is a bit less.
Roger

[Altered Sprinter]

Not a stupid question, but there are values to consider .

1. no longer reverential a rim is balanced to zero, not a bad idea as to showing how much a rim can swing out of balance

2. both tire and rim are balanced to zero then any discrepancies are rectified by additional weights, for a true balance.

3. Although a tire and rim can be balanced, it's important to understand both rim and tire have load and speed ratings.

4. Placing a rim back onto a van more so in the front, once placed on the ground the dynamics may change as to a tire running out of round, this due to a suspension issue [camber offset] etc.
Most tire centers will match the balancing of the rim and tire as to the tracking of alignment. of which incurs a separate pricing schedule.There is little room to move with adjustment on a Sprinter.Example in part onlyWheelAlignment.gif
Richard

[thinice]

thanks Sailquik
Need to add 2500 to my profile.

[skill3]

I took my 2005 3500 to my local big truck repair service. They did a spin balance on the vehicle. The charge was $10 per wheel and it now rides smooth as silk. I was amazed at the difference.

[Boater]

Originally Posted by sailquik

Someone out there must have a lathe and a bunch of about 3/8" scrap steel and could go into the business of making 3500 centering adapters that fit the most common truck tire shop
balancing machines.
I can get the dimensions, but do not have the lathe!

I have a lathe or three (only one running) but would probably need to buy some 3/8 steel (or 10mm) and I think the shipping costs would be prohibitive.

One thing I have learned from the lathe forums is that there are hobby machinists all over the US doing stuff like this for beer money, look for ads in local papers and shop windows and I'm sure you'll find someone who can knock one up. A lot of secondhand lathes seem to come from farms, so I guess a lot of farmers have them to keep their machines running....

Jim

[habdala]

Just did mine at Wally's 6.00 ea. smooth as silk