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MG TD TF 1500 - VIDEO - tires trued and balanced on the car

I had the tires on my TF trued (shaved) and spin balanced on the car a couple of weeks ago. I'm happy with the result.

Truing and balancing was pretty common fifty years ago. Today, there aren't very many shops left that can true and balance tires on the car. Doug's Alignment in Sanford, FL did the job.

One of my front brake drums is out of balance. So the rolling unit of tire / wheel / and hub was out of balance even though the tire had been spin balanced on a balancing machine off of the car. The tires were also out of round. Bottom line, I couldn't comfortably drive over 50 mph before I had the tires trued and balanced. Now it's smooth at any speed.

I was given an appointment time to arrive so that the tires would be warm from the drive and not flat spotted from sitting.

All of the work is done with the tires mounted on the front. Rear wheels are mounted onto the front hubs for truing and balancing so that they can be spun at 100+ mph to balance. However, I had the shop balance the rear wheels off of the car on a standard spin balance machine because the out-of-balance front brake drum would have produced a false balance if balanced on the car.

Tires are spun multiple times for balancing. Each time weights are added, changed, or moved to tweak the wheel to perfect balance. The whole job took about an hour.

>> Click this link to watch the process:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1EDG96gG38

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Found an error in the video. The link above will not work after I post a revised video to YouTube.

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Hendrix Wire Wheel in NC will also do this - good to know some shops still do things the old way!
DLD

UPDATE -

Here is the new link to the revised video ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFvHeVzhepI

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

"The tires were also out of round."

I wonder if you noticed your wheels (or at least the one in the video) are seriously bent? You probably shaved a lot of rubber (and life) from your tires to correct for out of round wheels. There are services that can repair bent wheels or replace rims as necessary. I'm surprised your shop didn't recommend straightening the wheels before balancing!
Steve Simmons

Steve -

Yes, we discussed the condition of the wheels. Sixty years of curbs and potholes haven't been good for them. I'll look into correcting the wheels the next time I buy tires.

What should I look for when choosing someone to straighten the wheels? Maybe I should start looking for a couple of spare wheels.

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

I have not been able to find any service to straighten a steel disc wheel. Most services seem to be for aluminum wheels. Steve, do you have any details on where the steel wheels may be sent?
DLD

Try Stockton Wheel in California. http://www.stocktonwheel.com/
Steve Simmons

An old Bear Alignment shop. Last place I know of around that can balance them on the car. Make sure you mark a lug to each wheel in case you remove the wheel as it will need to go back on in the same spot it came off to maintain the balance.

Surprising they let you in the shop to take video.
MG LaVerne

LaVerne

The brake adjustment hole in the wheel and in the drum make it easy to replace the wheel in the same position.

Don't know if it's a Bear shop or if they are just using an old Bear sign.

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Lonnie,
What brand of tires do you have??
Steve
Steve Wincze

Steve -

The tires are 165/80R15 Classic All Season Radial LL800. They were on the car when I bought it two years ago.

They are inexpensive tires. About half the price of Vredesteins. Manufactured in 2012, so I didn't want to replace yet.

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

DLD, Try Piedmont Wheel Repair Inc
136 Ostwalt Amity Rd, Troutman, NC 28166
(704) 664-9771

Ed
ECS Stanfield

This thread was discussed between 24/11/2015 and 26/11/2015

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