Gen 4 SZ5 Alloy wheels and 215/75/15 Toya Tyres - Balancing proving challenging
Often one must loosen the tire on the rim and turn it 90 or 180 degrees on the rim to achieve lesser need for balancing weights. Also if the design of the rims and the offset makes it difficult to avoid balancing weights to the outer edge, then I think you may have to accept them.. All my large tires have them.
Seems better to use steel wheels on larger rubbers like 31" but I have had that and 325 60 15 as well all balanced on alloy wheels for my SJ.
Norway 2005 Jimny M16A VVT, 235 BFG MT, 2" Trailmaster, ARB rear lck, 17%/87% high/low gears.
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Temeraire (2018 quasar grey automatic)
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- stiffsteve204me
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Lambert wrote: Another thing that is probably of little use now the tyres are fitted is that all new tyres will have a small yellow dot somewhere on the sidewall. This is a marker of the lightest part of the tyre and allows the tyre to be fitted with this mark against the valve on the rim, offsetting the weight and making the assembly easier to balance. It's why brand new cars have hardly any balance weights from the factory. It seems that most tyre fitters either don't know or don't care about this even if it would actually save them time and money.
I did not know that, Lambert - so I had to go out to the Jimny, and have a look.:laugh:
OSR

OSF

There is, also, a red dot.


The yellow dot, is, as you say, along side the valve on each wheel.
Steve.
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Steel wheels are rolled and welded together, and they won't be perfectly round, so the lowest point is marked with a punch mark, or a coloured dot on the rim. My gen 3 had blue dots on the rims.
If the rims are marked, the red dot is lined up to the rim marker, ignoring the yellow, as this makes the wheels have less radial run-out, and gives a better rotating balance.
If they aren't, the yellow dot goes by the valve, which helps with static balance.
I assume that as the wheels are cast, and have to be machined round, that it isn't much trouble to make them properly round to the locating holes in the first place, so they don't have any measurable radial run-out, so they aren't marked. (Rather than the less charitable explanation thatSuzuki couldn't be bothered testing and marking them :laugh: )
If it suddenly breaks, go back to the last thing that you did before it broke and start looking there

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stiffsteve204me wrote:
Lambert wrote: Another thing that is probably of little use now the tyres are fitted is that all new tyres will have a small yellow dot somewhere on the sidewall. This is a marker of the lightest part of the tyre and allows the tyre to be fitted with this mark against the valve on the rim, offsetting the weight and making the assembly easier to balance. It's why brand new cars have hardly any balance weights from the factory. It seems that most tyre fitters either don't know or don't care about this even if it would actually save them time and money.
I did not know that, Lambert - so I had to go out to the Jimny, and have a look.:laugh:
OSR
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OSF
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There is, also, a red dot.
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The yellow dot, is, as you say, along side the valve on each wheel.
Steve.
There's a whole heap of useful information out there. I'm just grateful for this forum for allowing us to share it. Bigjimny Rocks!
Temeraire (2018 quasar grey automatic)
One of the last 200ish of the gen3s, probably.
Bellerophon (2024 grello van daily
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facade wrote: The red dot is the point of "greatest harmonic force" = the highest point of the tyre when it is rotating.
Steel wheels are rolled and welded together, and they won't be perfectly round, so the lowest point is marked with a punch mark, or a coloured dot on the rim. My gen 3 had blue dots on the rims.
If the rims are marked, the red dot is lined up to the rim marker, ignoring the yellow, as this makes the wheels have less radial run-out, and gives a better rotating balance.
If they aren't, the yellow dot goes by the valve, which helps with static balance.
I assume that as the wheels are cast, and have to be machined round, that it isn't much trouble to make them properly round to the locating holes in the first place, so they don't have any measurable radial run-out, so they aren't marked. (Rather than the less charitable explanation thatSuzuki couldn't be bothered testing and marking them :laugh: )
Thanks for saving me typing that out. But I have quoted it so it has a chance to sink in. Thank you.
Temeraire (2018 quasar grey automatic)
One of the last 200ish of the gen3s, probably.
Bellerophon (2024 grello van daily
ADOS Attention Deficit Ooooh Shiny!
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.