Road Force Balancing
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Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 382
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E55
Road Force Balancing
Road Force balancing is something I have always heard of but never really paid any attention to. Recently bought new tires at Discount Tire which did a good job and was on point price wise.
Anyway, After being in a Bentley for a while the car felt very slightly shaken at highway speed. D Tire offers free rebalancing so I tried that and it helped but now I just couldn't stop driving my family crazy by asking;'Do you feel that" every time we were in the car.
I looked up RF balancing places and found one close by, I have to tell you I was blown away with the process.The whole laser measuring is very impressive. The shop actually sent me video on each wheel. I was also very disappointed to find out that three of my rims that show zero signs of external damages were bent. 20's don't work everywhere in the country.
Even with the supposed bent 3 wheels the car just felt amazing. I don't remember it feeling that way new. For $125 it just makes the car feel so solid and zero road shake. It is hard to explain but it is a noticeable difference. I don't even think I'm going to change the wheels as I figure why bother as where I live now is just full of pot holes so a new R Rover is on order.
Just passing a long a possible fix or even just an upgrade if you have $125 to throw around.
Anyway, After being in a Bentley for a while the car felt very slightly shaken at highway speed. D Tire offers free rebalancing so I tried that and it helped but now I just couldn't stop driving my family crazy by asking;'Do you feel that" every time we were in the car.
I looked up RF balancing places and found one close by, I have to tell you I was blown away with the process.The whole laser measuring is very impressive. The shop actually sent me video on each wheel. I was also very disappointed to find out that three of my rims that show zero signs of external damages were bent. 20's don't work everywhere in the country.
Even with the supposed bent 3 wheels the car just felt amazing. I don't remember it feeling that way new. For $125 it just makes the car feel so solid and zero road shake. It is hard to explain but it is a noticeable difference. I don't even think I'm going to change the wheels as I figure why bother as where I live now is just full of pot holes so a new R Rover is on order.
Just passing a long a possible fix or even just an upgrade if you have $125 to throw around.
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Being an S-Class, the type of vehicle vibration you were describing certainly is a sign that something is wrong and is hindering your experience and enjoyment of the vehicle, glad you found the cause. Enjoy your ride! Thanks for sharing.
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15 S550 4Matic, 86 560SL
Excellent post. I agree that RF balancing is imperative on any high-speed or luxury automobile. At the same time, I think your great results are because you found a shop that takes pride in their work. Sending you videos says a lot. That kind of shop would have given you an amazing balance even if they didn’t have the Hunter machine!
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From: Maryland
2024 S580
And you have to find a shop that knows how to use the RF machine. Its not easy, doing it right requires testing them, dismounting the tire and matching up the heavy spots with the rim and remounting and testing again. A lot of shops don't do that despite having a RF balance machine.
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From: Corona Del Mar, CA
2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
And you have to find a shop that knows how to use the RF machine. Its not easy, doing it right requires testing them, dismounting the tire and matching up the heavy spots with the rim and remounting and testing again. A lot of shops don't do that despite having a RF balance machine.
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Joined: Jun 2015
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From: Maryland
2024 S580
Yeah, it is!
Normally I order tires online and have them mounted at this great shop I know, but my LS460L needed tires during the height of COVID and that shop was closed, so I got them locally and the shop tried to talk me out of RF balancing and even though they charged me they really didnt do it. I could feel the slightly out of balance tires. My good shop opened back up about a month later and I took it to them and had them RF balance them and sure enough they weren't RF balanced. Once they were done the ride was night and day.
Normally I order tires online and have them mounted at this great shop I know, but my LS460L needed tires during the height of COVID and that shop was closed, so I got them locally and the shop tried to talk me out of RF balancing and even though they charged me they really didnt do it. I could feel the slightly out of balance tires. My good shop opened back up about a month later and I took it to them and had them RF balance them and sure enough they weren't RF balanced. Once they were done the ride was night and day.
Last edited by SW20S; Nov 29, 2021 at 11:58 AM.
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From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
Yep, RF balancing is becoming a must, especially with low profile tires. As somewhat explained above, it matches up the high and low points between the wheel and tire to have a smooth ride once the force of the road is applied. The RF balancer applies a roller to simulate the road force. The process roots out faulty tires and bent wheels. There's a certain threshold that has to be met and if it can't be reached then either the wheel needs to be repaired or the tire needs to be replaced, but if the wheel is only slightly bent they may be able to mask it.
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From: New Orleans Area
2015 E400 Sedan
Make sure the RF shop you go to has a Hunter Engineering RF machine.
They have the best machines
Road Force® Elite Wheel Balancer | Hunter Engineering Company®
check the brochure for the machines and see all what they do... amazing tech for tires and wheels.
They have the best machines
Road Force® Elite Wheel Balancer | Hunter Engineering Company®
check the brochure for the machines and see all what they do... amazing tech for tires and wheels.
Super Member
Joined: Mar 2019
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From: Half Moon Bay, CA
2016 S550e, 2005 Nissan Xterra 4x4, 1984 300ZX
My mechanic has been doing this for years, he's in LA and for years before most mechanics and tire shops got these he used to get MB, Porche, Bently and other high end shops that sent their cars to him for RF. He's got the Hunter machine and it is night and day from a regular balance.
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2014 S550 AMG, 2017 XT5
My mechanic has been doing this for years, he's in LA and for years before most mechanics and tire shops got these he used to get MB, Porche, Bently and other high end shops that sent their cars to him for RF. He's got the Hunter machine and it is night and day from a regular balance.
IF........ The workers know how to use them!
Super Member
Joined: Mar 2019
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From: Half Moon Bay, CA
2016 S550e, 2005 Nissan Xterra 4x4, 1984 300ZX
That is for sure!! The mechanic I used in LA Z Expert the owner was the one that always the one to do it. I miss those smoother road balancing that he did but I left LA a while ago and just take my old Z down to him every few years to chase gremlins.
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S600
First of all, there are 2 colored dots on the tire, one marks the heavy side of the tire, and the other colored dot (gold-orange) should be aligned with the (air) valve stem. Doing this step correctly minimizes tire/wheel imbalances.
Then there is static balance which works on soft suspensions and when the imbalance in the tire is ON the centerline of the tire (and the wheels are n balance)
Then there is dynamic balance (A.K.A., road force) where weights are placed on both inner and outer edges of the wheel (or strategically placed) to balance non-centered weight imbalances.
And if you are going to get the suspension aligned--get it aligned when the tires have 0.000 miles on them, at operating pressure (3-4 PSI above cold-in-the-garage pressures) and with the driver's weight in the driver's seat.
Then there is static balance which works on soft suspensions and when the imbalance in the tire is ON the centerline of the tire (and the wheels are n balance)
Then there is dynamic balance (A.K.A., road force) where weights are placed on both inner and outer edges of the wheel (or strategically placed) to balance non-centered weight imbalances.
And if you are going to get the suspension aligned--get it aligned when the tires have 0.000 miles on them, at operating pressure (3-4 PSI above cold-in-the-garage pressures) and with the driver's weight in the driver's seat.
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From: on my way
2012 CLS63
I have been a big fan of D Tire for years! I'd go no where else. The RF machine is fawking killer and just a basic 'given' at D Tire. I just mounted a different set of wheels the other day and the power of the RF is imperative!
