So i've had a vibration in my wheel for over a year...i tried at least 4 times to have different shops balance my tires...i also replaced all my bushings front and rear, new tires, etc...the vibration would move between different MPHs but always was in the sweet spot of 70MPH so it drove me nuts...so i did some research, thanks to you all ...and went to the Hunter Website at this link Hunter GSP9700 Wheel vibration Control System solves wheel vibration and tire pull problems that balancers and aligners can't fix

and you can do a search to find where the machines are located...i started calling around and when i felt comfortable with the shop i made the appointment and told him my issues...he spent the time to listen and lined me up with his best guy on the machine...and whamo no more vibration and my car now drives with the new car feel...

so the long and short of it...the road force balance works, you need to find the right guy!

for any of you in south florida, this is where i went...it works like a charm and was well worth the money...

G T Import Automotive Inc
2025 NE 154th St
MIAMI, FL 33162
Phone: 305-940-1016

 

+1, it worked for me too!
Vector

 

Nice one guys, glad you got all sorted
Thanks for sharing too, may help others at some point!

 

I don't have any balance problems at this time but when I went to the web site to locate a shop that does this my local Chevy dealer popped up. The same dealer that I always use for my auto repairs. Imagine that!!
Dave

 

my dealer popped up to...but i tell you i had them balance my tires twice and they definitely didn't do it right...with any latest and greatest types of technology a lot of it comes down to the person...

BTW mine cost $30 bucks a wheel and the guy who owns the shop is gustavo...
G T Import Automotive Inc
2025 NE 154th St
MIAMI, FL 33162
Phone: 305-940-1016

it was the best money i spent on my jag so far...

 

Thanks for your time on this topic , I know Road Force can solve problems but literally hearing this confirmation is important too

 

I'm pretty sure you have to request that they use the Hunter RFB equipment and pay extra for the service or you won't get it done that way.
Vector

 

Just curious, what kind of tires ? The guys that balanced my current tires said it was road force balancing, but the balancer was in the TireVan van, so it might have been a cheaper version. I've got Kumho Extas or something close. I like 'em.

 

My past career for 30 years was managing vehicle brake tests for a major OE & A/M parts supplier. We had good equipment in the shop for tire changing since some tests would wipe out a set of tires in a week. I put BFG TAs on my F-350 truck about 8 years ago. Despite have a Coats balancer in excellent condition and the special balancer wheel adapters for a Superduty (we were also testing Superdutys), I couldn't get those tires to run smooth to my liking. Played with re-balance for two weeks almost every day. Sometimes seemed to be good, then not after a few hundred miles.

Finally took the truck to the Front End Shop close by where I live who had the Hunter GSP-9700. Found two tires that were out of spec. Tire Rack replaced them and FES completed the work. Balance turned out great.

I was so impressed with the Hunter I put in a capital request for get the GSP-9700 for my test facility. Part of our testing was for what is known as DTV (Disc Thickness Variation),many mistake it as warped rotors. The test drivers noticed a difference in these types of tests as we would be looking for steering wheel nipple, the very start of DTV. This was a big improvement for our work as when a factory engineer got into the vehicle sometimes it was hard to subjectively distinguish between DTV and tire force inconsistency during deceleration. To prove to the engineer out of his subjective condemnation we would have to do a complete mapping of the rotors thickness.

But the other factor was with the test personnel who all rebalanced their own tires with improved results, and the improvement that we saw in tire balance across the board with the test vehicles. These were not a bunch of garage mechanics.

I'll never balance another set of tires on anything but a road force balancer. It finds issues with rims, mates the tire to the rim, will tell you where to put each tire for the best tracking.

 

JimmyL my tires were 255/40ZR -18 Hankook Ventus on the R1 spec 2 piece Milan BBS 18" rims

 

THANKYOU, you need to ask for it, its not just alittle more work. if theyre out, you need to break them down and spin on the rim to match the high and low spots together. And just because tires are new does NOT meen theyre in spec for roundness(roadforce). 1 of 5 my BFG KM2's on my truck was a 60! way out of spec. I went back to Discount and replaced it. If the tire is out of spec youll never be able to get a smooth ride even though you CAN balance it. The 2 are NOT the same