I saw an add for this stuff in a recent mag. The add says "Eliminates the use of lead weights to balance a tire". Looks like it's granuals you pour into the tire prior to mounting. Does anybody have any experience with this product. Sounds to good to be true.

I have something called Centramatic wheel balancers that self balance the tire everytime I take off... Not sure if this is what your talking about but they work awesome as far as balancing my 38.5 TSL's

Originally posted by Rubicrawler
I saw an add for this stuff in a recent mag. The add says "Eliminates the use of lead weights to balance a tire". Looks like it's granuals you pour into the tire prior to mounting. Does anybody have any experience with this product. Sounds to good to be true.

I know several folks who run or have run Equal. Results are mixed. Bout 50% saying it didnt do squat and 50% saying its the best thing since sliced toast. I dont and havent run it, so I cant give you a personal opinion.

I have one 38 with it, we could not get it to ballance with weights,
WOrks fine no longer shakes the crap out of me, i have the old stuff, it comes in ziplock bagge things you toss in there then aroud 40 MPH the bag brakes up and balances it self i guess

4WPW has the new stuff where they inject it into your tire, supposed to be better, it also has a new valve stem so when you air down the powder does not come out as well

4WPW does it for like 10 bucks a tire i think, my friend work there so i just got him to get some old bag style for me, i will see if he has more for you

we use Ëqual to balance most of the tires were i work,
at first i thought ya right, (just a way to save time) it does.

But i've since changed my mind. if your running a tire that don't take much weight normally ie... BFG A/T's or a factory truck tire and have good quality wheels it works very good....i found it hard to believe......
on the other hand if your running any size TSL's or a 35" or bigger mud tire (which usually have pretty large imbalances), the equal don't do as good of a job. i balance these with lead myself

also Equal is messy, like sand-blaster granuals. i don't put it anything i own because it's a pain to clean up and i seem to change my tires alot :rolleyes:

remember if a tires not round you can't balance the "Hop" out of it

I've got 2 bags in each of my 37" SSR's. It works pretty well, but the valve cores they use with the stuff seem to leak. Only thing I don't like is the tires have to re-balance themselves out after every time the Jeep gets parked for a while.

A couple of guys on the 4x4wire Toyota SUV board are running equal and they have had good results, but these are street rigs.

The problem I see for a trail rig is if you unseat a bead --- POOF ---- no more equal...

That and it would take for friggin ever to deflate the tires through the filter style valve stem.

Originally posted by Dan-H
A couple of guys on the 4x4wire Toyota SUV board are running equal and they have had good results, but these are street rigs.

The problem I see for a trail rig is if you unseat a bead --- POOF ---- no more equal...

That and it would take for friggin ever to deflate the tires through the filter style valve stem.

Doesn't take too long to air down. I remove all the valve caps, go back to the frirst tire and start checking for the pressure I want, then finish off the other three. Remember........ mine leak themselves down. :D :D

Did not do squat for my 38" TSL's:( :(

3/4tonYJ said it all

i tried it for a few years on a few sets of 38.5/16/16.5 TSLs
doesnt make them round

Thanks for all the reply's:) I was hoping it would it would help with a couple of my SX's that won't balance. I guess it might be worth a try.

Originally posted by welndmn


4WPW does it for like 10 bucks a tire i think, my friend work there so i just got him to get some old bag style for me, i will see if he has more for you

Thanks!

It is very important to realize that there are TWO different types of Equal.

The first type is made for public use, is injected through the valve stem, and is meant to AUGMENT regular lead weights. This type of stuff WILL NOT balance your tires all by itself.

The second type is commercial Equal, which comes in bags of various sizes (like 3oz, 5 oz, 8 oz) which you throw in your tires, then they break apart as you are driving to balance the tire. This type IS make to REPLACE lead weights, and is supposed to balance the tire by itself. I'm guessing because you are obivously putting a lot more of the stuff in your tire.

I got this information from the manufacturer. I have no experience using either product, I'm neither endorsing or dissing it. Take it for what it's worth. I'm simply pointing out that according to the manufacturer there ARE 2 products designed for different purposes, and if you are using the wrong type that MIGHT be why it is not working for you.

I personally am concerned more about other issues than whether it will work or not. In theory it should work. I've gotten all kinds of comments both for and against it regarding whether it 'clumps up' inside the tire. The manufacturer claims this only happens if you get oil or something in there, that water does not cause it to clump. I use co2, so if water DOES cause it to clump that is a definite problem for me. Will it clump? if it does, will that interfere with its ability to balance the tire? who knows? The second big concern is if it is going to interfere with airing down.

I'm still going back and forth about whether it will work for my SXs or not. I think I'll give it a try once I get the rockstompers on - what have I got to lose other than a few bucks? Right now these suckers are shaking my teeth out driving to the trail. lead weights are so far a waste, I start ripping them off within 10 feet on the first trail I go on.

Chad

off the equal topic but another 2 cents about balancing.

more important than balancing is if your tire is round (or how much "run out" they have. may sound funny but not all tires are round, generally speaking radials are alot better that bias ply, also bigger tires are worse than smaller. and not all tires of the same size (by the same manufacture are the same) kind of like when you hear the NASCAR teams say they got a bad set of tires

so if you have an out of round tire, it's like having a bent wheel "it can be balanced but will still shake going down the road" BUT you may still be in luck if any tire/wheel/aligment shop in your area has equipment to "true" your tire. they spin the tire while it's still on your vehicle and shave some rubber off while it spinning, making it round. (if you have bias ply, be sure they are warmed up to get the "flat spot" out before.) then it can be balanced. this will make any tire/wheel combo feel good.

a word of Caution, usually one tire is done at a time and if you running a locker, it can catch and be very dangerous to the mechanic. i had my front 2 done (with hubs unlocked) and then rotated the rear tires to the front the have them done.

i had a set of bias ply Q78 buckshots trued awhile back and it was money well spent.

good luck finding a shop that will still do this (try commercial truck tire places)

you do not need the fancy valve stems
all you have to do is blow some air in to ensure that there is no powder jamming the valve prior to putting a guage or attempting to air down.

I've ran my 36" swampers with and without Equal and it definitely made a big difference. I have regular valve stems and airing down doesn't seem to be a problem either.

Tass

Originally posted by Tass
I've ran my 36" swampers with and without Equal and it definitely made a big difference. I have regular valve stems and airing down doesn't seem to be a problem either.

Tass

sounds good, I'll try it with my new 38's :)

hmm I have been reading and it says they put a filter in the core to keep the stuff in - well since I remove my core to air down is it all gonna shoot out?

Originally posted by Brandon
hmm I have been reading and it says they put a filter in the core to keep the stuff in - well since I remove my core to air down is it all gonna shoot out?

Check with Mark H. He should be able to give you some solid advise:)

This thread reminds me of the BB trick or how about the golf balls:flipoff2:

I usually remove the core but maybe this is cause to get some oasis tire deflators ;)

Originally posted by Brandon
I usually remove the core but maybe this is cause to get some oasis tire deflators ;)

I have a set of those $10.00 tire deflators (the kind that you can't set at a certain psi) and I'm very happy with them. Just screw them on, wait for the first tire to get down where you want it, then remove the others in order. Takes just long enough to get one of your favorite beverages out of the cooler:) Then you're on your way!

Originally posted by Brandon
I usually remove the core but maybe this is cause to get some oasis tire deflators ;)

I have those deflators and they are great, you can do other stuff while airing down. mine have come out of adjustment. I will re calibrate them and try some locktite

I work at a big truck tire place...We use equal occassionally...IMHO I think its junk, we've had a few guys want us to remove the stuff, and for good reason, and no it doesn't shoot out, take the core out of a tire with 120psi in it and you get a quick sandblast but thats about it...

Easiest thing to do is have your valve stem at the top because the equal is basically a fine quality sand...

The centramatics are great though!!! Lead Balance your tires, and slap on a set of these and you are good to go.

If you all want to try balancing stuff out, take it to a big truck place that does nothing but semi's and industrial equipment, don't screw with the little car places. The balance machines we got could probably balance out a square block.

Sounds good to me I scraped mine down to half their size or just outright rip them off on the rock:D

Dident do squat for me eather,but i contribute that to using Co2 to fill my tires.I feel the moisture clumps up the equle?My two cents

Small drops of moisture will RUIN equal...

When we air up a truck tire filled with equal we must us a special hose that is used specifically for equal, it is also the small pump used to fill pre-mounted tires with equal, It has an extra sensetive in-line air dryer. Tires that run equal and have had moisture enter them, well you've basically wasted money. We break down a tire thats had wet equal in it and all you find are minature hardened balls of equal, look like thousands of small rubber balls.

Equal also sand-blasts the interior of your tire smooth too...Just FYI.