At 330 MPH, the rear tires are spinning pretty dern fast. Lets say a wheel is out of balance 1 ounce. At that speed and the distance away from the center of the wheel, that 1 ounce is now probably 150-200 lbs if I had to guess. Would I want that? Nope... If you have a tire that's 1 ounce out at 55 mph, you can feel it. It's just a little shake but you can feel it. Now double the speed. At 110 the vibration is 3 times worse. Again, that 1 ounce just became 50 lbs (a guess, but you get the idea...I can figure the math but too lazy right now!) To get an idea, take a small rock and tie a string on it. Now spin the rock around your head. The faster you spin it and the longer the string, the more force you feel. Same principle! Crankshafts are the same way. At 6500 RPM a few grams is a few lbs and at the speeds that stuff happens inside an engine, it's possible to have problems.
Is this the thread to watch on this boring Friday night...the one that will be the most fun to watch? With all the GOOD action?
Didn't hold my attention long.... I sold a truck, shot my new gun, took the wife out to eat. Now Im back home to watch this thread... Atleast for now, cuz we have no kids all weekend!!!!
As I said if you would have neutral balanced the rim first you would not have to match mount the tire, and to be honest there is no way that a top fuel rail car could have a perfectly balanced rimmed. Physics will not allow it. Just using a balancer a few times will show you this. As stated the tire hieght increases because the the casing on a slick is soft. Once it increases in height passsed that which it was balanced at, it will go out of balance. Also realize that most of you are getting your slicks that will spin at 100-150mph on a machine designed to balance at 35mph. The faster you go the more out of balance it gets. You answered your own question with centrifugal force. Metal is easy to balance as it barley effected by rotational mass compared to a rubber tire. The reason your dad is getting a high quote from a race shop is they have a High speed balancer. That would be the right way to go. Still even then they will never be perfect. I know balancing a tire is IMPORTANT. Having race slicks done at your local tire store isn't the best solution. I do them to make people happy but I explain it isn't the ideal way to do it. I feel like I am just taking peoples money.
I drank...and read a bunch of boring forum posts... c'mon guys, I am paying big bucks to be entertained here!!! I did want to go shoot my Kimber Ultra CDP today...but was too busy...God, I love this gun...
You may be correct but at the same time balancing a wheel even on a low speed balancer is better than not balancing it at all because it will be in balance to a certain extent. And then when out of balance it will only be out of balance a bit, instead of a lot more w/ no balance at all
' Yes but this why I say neutral balance a wheel first. The wheel will never grow in size or get smaller(unless you put in a compactor) Start with a balanced rim and then worry about the tire. It works. Another fun fact that will fry your brain is that all tires have harmonics that can not be balanced out that can cause vibrations. Manuactures of tires know this and design the harmonics to be present at a speed the tire is likey not to achieve or on the far end of that scale. Since I work in the industry i have to know this kind of stuff.
I hate it when you "I think I agree" i would say in a race application.. no.. not worth it or needed.
Hawkco might know a little sumthin' http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/faqpage.php?faq=25 And, so may Lance... Q. At the back half(end) of the track the tires have a tendency to shake or vibrate the car. A. Make sure the tires(mounted) are balanced. Unbalanced tires may have a tendency to shake or vibrate the car. It is good practice to balance the rim by itself before mounting the tires to see how out of round or balance the rim is itself. From this website: https://rsracing.com/faq-drag.htm Q. How should I balance the drag slicks? A. We recommend dynamic balance in high-speed applications, however, because the tire changes shape as you race, no method can guarantee balance. From this website: http://www.lsdragslicks.com/faq.asp and http://www.toyo.com/docs/tires/dragfaq.asp
Geeez. A guy tries to leave himself an out and take a firm, wishy-washy stand and he gets caught on it. Fine way to treat to a kid.
