Balance markings on tires and wheels

I think I read on the forum on Miata.net that there are markings on new
tires and on wheels that could be lined up when mounting. Supposedly,
as I understand it, with these markings lined up, the wheels would need
minimal balancing. I looked at my new Toyos and notices little yellow
circles painted on the sides. Are these the balance markings, if
indeed this is the case? Do they actually balance tires at the factory?

It's not a balance mark, it is locating the high (low?) spot of the tire
which is supposed to be aligned with the valve stem which is always
drilled at the low (high?) spot of the wheel. Thus assures the highest
level of round possible with that tire and wheel but doesn't do anything
for the balancing but can substantially help the "ride" of the tire on a
Miata. My original 91 had the typical Miata shimmies at 65/70 until a
real tire shop remounted the tires aligning these marks and it
completely eliminated the shake (of course, they also rebalanced them
the right way). Most chain tire shops look at you like you've been
drinking too early in the day if you start talking about lining these
marks up and then balancing within a 1/10 of gram because they have no
idea what those marks are for.

Tom
92 Red
05/06 Vette to be? (red, but of course)

DBLZOOM wrote:

> I think I read on the forum on Miata.net that there are markings on new
> tires and on wheels that could be lined up when mounting. Supposedly,
> as I understand it, with these markings lined up, the wheels would need
> minimal balancing. I looked at my new Toyos and notices little yellow
> circles painted on the sides. Are these the balance markings, if
> indeed this is the case? Do they actually balance tires at the factory?
>

In article >,
Tom Howlin > wrote:

> balancing within a 1/10 of gram

Jeez, Tom. Even I'm not that picky--I'll settle for within 2 or 3 grams.
There's probably more than 0.1g of bug guts on your wheels at any given
moment.

--
Lanny Chambers, St. Louis, USA
'94C
the alignment page:
http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html

"Lanny Chambers" > wrote in message
...

> There's probably more than 0.1g of bug guts on your wheels at any given
> moment.
>

Lanny, where have you been driving? I don't know about you, but I get bug
guts on my windshield not my wheels. You must really be flying in your
Miata.

Gus (91 BRG)

In article <egnQd.32641$6u.29945@fed1read02>, "Gus" >
wrote:

> > There's probably more than 0.1g of bug guts on your wheels at any given
> > moment.
> >
>
> Lanny, where have you been driving? I don't know about you, but I get bug
> guts on my windshield not my wheels.

You're obviously not spending enough time sideways... :-)

--
Lanny Chambers, St. Louis, USA
'94C
the alignment page:
http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html

Actually, that should have been 1/10 of oz which is about 3 grams(?).
The Hunter Roadforce they use will do grams or ounces and has two
decimal places on it but of course they don't have weights that size so
it's a matter of shaving the smallest weight down. Perhpas this is why
they put the closed sign up when they see me coming! I have to admit
the tire shop I use (Courthouse tire, Fredericksburg, Va.) is the
absolute best at getting rid of ride problems. I bought a new 99 GMC
pickup that had a shake from day one that the dealer couldn't find. Took
it to Courthouse, they hooked up the roadforce and printed out the
profile of each tire - 3 of 4 were defective! My 03 4Runner had a very
similar problem with Dunflops and they produced enough "evidence" for
the dealer to swap all five out for Michelin Cross Terrains. It's
amazing how many defective tires get made today, even by the major
companies and having good tire shop is invaluable.

Tom
92 Red
05/06 Vette to be? (red, but of course)

Lanny Chambers wrote:
> In article >,
> Tom Howlin > wrote:
>
>
>>balancing within a 1/10 of gram
>
>
> Jeez, Tom. Even I'm not that picky--I'll settle for within 2 or 3 grams.
> There's probably more than 0.1g of bug guts on your wheels at any given
> moment.
>

Tom Howlin > wrote:

>Actually, that should have been 1/10 of oz which is about 3 grams(?).

Actually, I believe 1/10 of oz is quite heavy. I don't think we should
underestimate them.

Unless you mean 1/10 of an oz, maybe?

Leon

--
Leon van Dommelen Bozo, the White 96 Sebring Miata .)
http://www.dommelen.net/miata
EXIT THE INTERSTATES (Jamie Jensen)

"Lanny Chambers" > wrote in message
...

>
>> > There's probably more than 0.1g of bug guts on your wheels at any given
>> > moment.
>> >
>>
>> Lanny, where have you been driving? I don't know about you, but I get
>> bug
>> guts on my windshield not my wheels.
>
> You're obviously not spending enough time sideways... :-)
>

You're probably right. Sideways and LA freeways just don't mix. Do you get
more bugs on the left or the right side?

Gus (91BRG)

Leon,

You must be a riot in the classroom - LOL. This is why I teach business
and not English - in business we're happy with 90% solutions in a short
period of time, engineering and mathematics obviously work on problems
for years (how long have we been talking about calculating Pi all the
way out?).

Tom
92 Red
05 Corvette, Magnetic Red as of 02/18/05

Leon van Dommelen wrote:
> Tom Howlin > wrote:
>
>
>>Actually, that should have been 1/10 of oz which is about 3 grams(?).
>
>
> Actually, I believe 1/10 of oz is quite heavy. I don't think we should
> underestimate them.
>
> Unless you mean 1/10 of an oz, maybe?
>
> Leon
>

you can't calculate pi "all the way out" there is no end. You just add a few
(hundred, thousand...) digits to prove how good your new supercomputer is.


"Tom Howlin" > wrote in message
...
> Leon,
>
> You must be a riot in the classroom - LOL. This is why I teach business
> and not English - in business we're happy with 90% solutions in a short
> period of time, engineering and mathematics obviously work on problems for
> years (how long have we been talking about calculating Pi all the way
> out?).
>
> Tom
> 92 Red
> 05 Corvette, Magnetic Red as of 02/18/05
>
> Leon van Dommelen wrote:
>> Tom Howlin > wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Actually, that should have been 1/10 of oz which is about 3 grams(?).
>>
>>
>> Actually, I believe 1/10 of oz is quite heavy. I don't think we should
>> underestimate them.
>>
>> Unless you mean 1/10 of an oz, maybe?
>>
>> Leon
>>
>