The Saylors

So i have finally gotten tired if blowing up tires on 3s lipos. Its becoming every 2-3 days of play and i'm starting to notice that balancing seems to be the issue as the surfaces are the best possible ones short of carpet I.e. smooth cement or looser dirt with rounded rocks. The tires even when new are vibrating like crazy with the wheels off the ground while also causing a visible bulge during rotation. So my question for every one is what tire balancers do you use and what do you feel are the pros and cons of the setup. Not looking to spend $300 bucks on some crazy high tech balancer but 50-60 is totally fine especially if it makes me get a lot more tire life. I was looking at these.

http://www.amazon.com/Precision-Tire...=sr_1_2&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/Integy-C25925B...=sr_1_3&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.com/Integy-C25884B...r_1_13&sr=8-13


If anyone has any suggestions at all please let me know! Also any pointers on the procedure for balancing itself would be nice as i only have experience with 1/1 scale car tires.

RustyUs

Modeling clay along with any axle with good ball bearings is good enough for me for finding the heavy side of the rim/tire . Same basic principle as what is linked above.

Maj_Overdrive

My Feedback: (11)

My homemade balancer. Just an old knuckle with a frame I welded up from 1/2" EMT tubing. I made it a little big to easily accomodate any 1/8 monster truck tire I'd possibly want to run.

Rusty is right though, you don't need to buy or make anything. Just use your vehicle. If your vehicle is 2wd you got it easy, just prop up the vehicle so the tire has as little camber as possible. If your vehicle is 4wd then you'll need to remove the dog bone or take apart the cvd to remove the axle portion. Either way it'll work just as well as a store bought balanced as long as the bearings are good.

RustyUs

Looks good to me. Thanks for the reminder of welding. Thoughts of finding a low priced, good quality welding machine has been in the back of my head for years. So many times I see that I could use one for small projects, and then I forget about it.

EXT2Rob

My Feedback: (1)

I got one of these.http://www.motionrc.com/top-flite-po..._DcaArMU8P8HAQ
The supplied magnets aren't strong enough to hold up a tire and wheel, but if you glue on some strong button magnets it works great. For balancing, I use lead tape. Does modeling clay actually stick?

The Saylors

That is a fantastic idea using the front end of my slash! I knew you guys would have a good tip for me and you saved me $40 bucks on another rc tool. Thanks for the help as always!

Maj_Overdrive

My Feedback: (11)

I started out with a 110v Harbor Freight MIG that was shield gas capable. The cheapest HF only does flux core wire and the welds just aren't as clean or pretty. Spend the little extra and get the shield gas model, learn on the cheap flux core and switch to shield gas, it's actually a little easier to work with. You could buy a used Miller or Hobart but they're gonna be ancient in that price range, maybe you could find a used low end Lincoln. Honestly though that little HF was great for sheet metal and typical hobby stuff, even fine for thinner wall frames like on a go kart. I got about 2/3 of my investment back when I sold it too, not counting the cost of materials for the cart I made for it. Only reason I upgraded to my Miller was I got more into heavier duty full size automotive stuff where I needed more power. My Miller is much nicer to use, but he HF got the job done. Only issue with the HF is the drive roller for the wire feed will end up slipping and you'll need to replace it or run it clamped down really tight and deal with the occasional slippage when the gun hose is curved the wrong way.

RustyUs

Thanks for the welding info. I'm headed over to Harbor Freight and Northern Tool right now.

Modeling clay works for balancing, but don't get the stuff that hardens...it'll just fall off when drying out. I've seen poster putty used, and that's too tacky. It will attract too much dirt. Also, if you're into washing your wheels and tires then I'd suggest lead tape. The clay will absorb too much moisture and undo your balancing. I hardly ever worry about balancing the front wheels on 2wd buggies unless driving on hard packed clay.