AirSoft BB Tire Balancing

[YotaJosh]

I finally got my Pit Bull tires I won at the AR-TTORA event in September. I went with 33x13.50x15 Rockers. The Pit Bull warehouse is located in St. Louis, and I so happened to be going there for other reasons, so I got to pick them up and meet the folks, and tour the warehouse. Pretty cool.

Anyways, I've heard about using AirSoft BB's to balance tires, similar to DynaBeads. Using this chart (http://innovativebalancing.com/BigTirechart.htm), and a little research at Wal-Mart, I've decided how much to buy, etc.

The chart states that I need 8 oz for a 33x13.50x15 6 ply tire (what I have). Most AirSoft BB's are of the 6mm variety, an weight around .12 grams (around .0042 oz).

So I know that 1 oz = 28.35 grams (thanks Google), and 4 tires times 8 oz = 32 oz needed.

28.35 grams times 32 oz = 907.2 grams of BB's are needed. How many BB's is that?

907.2 grams divided by .12 grams = 7560 BB's. Great, now how many BB's per tire?

7560 BB's divided by 4 tires = 1890 BB's per tire.

According to my research, using more than the recommended amount per tire doesn't hurt anything. So if I bought 4 - 2000 count packs of BB's, I'd be right on at 8.46 oz each.

As for how to use them, just break a bead and dump them in, or dump them in before mounting the tire. They won't fit through the valve stem like DynaBeads will, so you have to break a bead. Getting them out is pretty easy using a shop vac.

The greatest benefit of using the BB's for balancing is that its dynamic. If I chunk a tire pretty bad, I don't have to rebalance the tire. The BB's will move around and compensate for the imbalance. Another benefit is that I can mount my tires myself, and don't have to pay a tire shop .

Hopefully this will help others later down the road.

[79coyotefrg]

SWEET so where the pics

[YotaJosh]

Originally Posted by 79coyotefrg

SWEET so where the pics

I'm working on that. I tried to mount them tonight, and the sidewalls are STIFF! I couldn't even get one bead on the tire. Oh well, looks like I'll be hitting the tire shop after all.

[99ARTaco]

Josh that rig is going to look sweet with some new Pit Bull's mounted on her!!!

[79coyotefrg]

see i wanted some pitbulls but didnt know how they would ride, BigMike on Marlin took his off because he had to air down to 3psi to get a soft sidewall


i think if you broke them in they would flex better but

[YotaJosh]

Just a quick "first impression" update...

The AirSoft BB's work well. I drove it around town, hitting 50 mph here and there, and they seem to be perfectly balanced. I'm running 22 psi in them now, and it still seems a little much. I think when I air down to wheel, I'll have to run 5-7 in them to get decent flex.

I'll keep ya posted.

[fulleroffroad1]

so, how do you like the air soft balance, long term update?

[YotaJosh]

Still working awesome. I'd suggest putting 1 more ounce than required.

I can run 70 down the interstate with a little vibe, but they are bias ply mud tires. 40-50 is still smooth, too.

Highly recommended.

[fulleroffroad1]

how hard would it be to mount a set of 33x12.50x15 ss trxus mt's on 15x8s myself, what tools would i need, other then a lot of soap n water and tons of patience?

[YotaJosh]

Used ones? Might not be too hard. I had a hard time trying to mount my Rockers myself, but they are known for stiff sidewalls. Get some good tire spoons, and it will go alot easier.

I paid a tire shop $4 a tire to mount them, and they dumped the BB's in and didn't care.

It never hurts to try...

[fulleroffroad1]

everywhere in town wants 15-20 dollars a tire!

[colsoncj]

I've heard this works well, but I tried it on my 37"s. I put IIRC 10oz each per tire, but it still didnt balance out, but they are large and have rock rash... I'd like to try more BB's, but I'm still curious why my results were poopy... (BTW my vibes started around 40 mph and accelerated from there.)

[fulleroffroad1]

did you mount the tires yourself cory?

[colsoncj]

nope... PITA... I had a local shop do it for me. 30 bucks for all 4.

[YotaJosh]

Originally Posted by colsoncj

I've heard this works well, but I tried it on my 37"s. I put IIRC 10oz each per tire, but it still didnt balance out, but they are large and have rock rash... I'd like to try more BB's, but I'm still curious why my results were poopy... (BTW my vibes started around 40 mph and accelerated from there.)

Were your tires radials or bias? I hear mixed results from people, and most that are running a radial seem to not have good success.

[wadeunderwater]

X2 on the radials. I had them in for about 4 weeks and they sucked and that was using actual dyna beads. My tires wore unevenly only after 4 weeks and my steering wheel shook so bad it made my eldbow hurt. 33x10.5 MT's. I had firestone balance them traditionaly and they are perfect now. Maybe air soft BB's work better? my

[colsoncj]

They would be radials... Goodyear MT/Rs I'm planning on just having them balanced the traditional way... whenever i get a rig that will clear them.

[YotaJosh]

Originally Posted by wadeunderwater

X2 on the radials. I had them in for about 4 weeks and they sucked and that was using actual dyna beads. My tires wore unevenly only after 4 weeks and my steering wheel shook so bad it made my eldbow hurt. 33x10.5 MT's. I had firestone balance them traditionaly and they are perfect now. Maybe air soft BB's work better? my

I think in your case (and Lance's for sure), you already had wear patterns on the tires that were probably causing some of your imbalance, and I don't think dynabeads nor airsoft BB's can fix that. I wonder how it would have worked on brand new tires.

[LDT98]

Old thread alert! Found a set of 37" MTR's with very few miles still like new. Looking at doing the airsoft BB's over the dynabeads mainly because I can run down to wal-mart and pick them up for $20-30 vs $75ish for the dynabeads. But I figure with the OMF beadlocks I don't have a lot of options and this seems to be a popular way to go when running 35's - up and especially for people with beadlocks.