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Tire balancing with bbs or air soft pellets?

42K views 29 replies 19 participants last post by  heavy hitter 
#1 ·
So has anyone on here used bbs or air soft pellets to balance out tires? I was wondering how this works. It seems the airsoft pellets/bbs would be much quieter than the steel bbs. I just wonder how many ounces of bbs one would have to put in to balance a tire?
 
#3 ·
I have two of my 40" Iroks filled with Airsoft BB's, and two without..


Other then the noise of the BB's splashing around inside coming to a stop, I have yet to notice any difference in any tires...


I don't think I will ever do it again, and I drive my jeep on the road alot!!
 
#5 ·
I've heard of people using steel bb's, plastic bb's, equal, and dyna beads. I have heard that steel bb's can rust, and Equal can clump. I have not heard any bad info on airsoft style plastic bb's. I have heard that dynabeads have many benefits but is expensive and if plugs get used they stick to the plug.

IMO I would try something cheap like airsoft beads.

Here is a link to dyna beads. http://www.innovativebalancing.com/
 
#8 ·
That is my plan when I get to it. Then use Airsoft pellets. They are much cheaper.
 
#15 ·
????

I'd never heard about doing this... so I'm curious. What keeps the weight from building up at one point and throwing everything off-balence?? What is the theory behind this?

And why wouldn't some sort of liquid work? Water might be too corrosive, and oils might break down the rubber, but if something else were found that had the consistency of, say, Maple Suryp... would that do the same thing and be silent too?

(Or just invest in enough Slim and let it do double duty... sealing small punctures and creating a self-adjusting balance) LOL.
 
#18 · (Edited)
A viscous fluid will take time to flow into the area that needs the weight . Think winter and maple syrup:drool:, yummy!! Water freezes. The bbs distribute themselves as soon as you get rolling. There is a sort of powder, I think called equalize, that is used but it is messy and can clump up. I guess if you got some moisture in the tire, the bbs could also stick together and clump. But they should break apart and balance out. Slime will help with the punctures but it coats the inner tire. It may help with the balance, although it is pretty thick.

I am going to go get some today and will try to get them in the tire before the weekend. We will see if I can break the bead off the rims to get them installed. Maybe they will make enough noise to drown out the sound of my square driveshaft clanking.
 
#19 ·
I had Les Schwab put in "equal" they have a machine that just shoots it in through the valve stem. No muss no fuss :idea:and you can tell them how much you want based on the size of the tire (they have a chart too). It is actually made for this use, unlike bb's which are made for shooting - stuff.

jT
 
#28 ·
I've ran both bb's and airsoft. BB's first (Jeep) then airsoft(jeep and DD(95 F350)). I noticed the bb's are louder because it's metal on metal and they beat up my rim (bb's dropping on rim when coming to a stop). Airsoft aren't as loud but noticeable when the windows are down. I've been runing the airsoft now for 2 years in the DD and about a year in the jeep. As for balancing my tires, the best I've ever had.
 
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