Tech information furnished by Mike "Bullfrog" Fahey

--- Mike Fahey <mike.fahey@adelphia.net> wrote:

message content follows - images at bottom:

Thanks, John, for an interesting, if more costly, solution. Based on the info on the website, I called Centramatic for more info, which I am happy to share.

They do make a model with a 6x5.5" lug spacing which works equally well with 15" & 16" wheels. The cost is $199 for a set of 4 [although this product has been revised and they are very temporarily offering a set for $150 to gain some feedback on results on different kinds of vehicles. The offer will probably be around for very long [like a week or at max a month]. There is a 30 day unconditional full refund if you're not happy guarantee, but the folks seemed very customer service oriented and probably would work something out if you had problems past that point.

Some points to consider:

Many of the same factors that affect Equal's ability to perform also affect this product, specifically items 1/2/5/7 & 8 from my original list [below]. Also, their tech support guy advised that preload on wheel bearings should be checked and brought into mfgr. spec, or problems would occur. The balancers can be run in conjunction with Equal, as long as the compound is working properly in the tire and is not clumped or caked inside. Usually this occurs due to filling with air at truck stops, which are notorious for oil laden air, and it is the prime reason that they recommend removal of the compound for fleet service folks. Not a factor with oilless compressors though.

There is an excellent write-up on Centramatic Balancers at

http://www.off-road.com/toyota/tech/balancers/

However, it should be noted that the balancers shown were taken off the market and redesigned to improve fitment on light duty vehicles. They are now made out of aluminum which should limit corrosion and the rim tube containing the balancing media/oil is much smaller than the original model, which should reduce the amount of gunk buildup on the balancer. I have taken a couple photos of the new design and am forwarding them to Woody for inclusion on the www.ih8mud.com website along with the installation instructions. Hopefully they will be up for viewing in a few days for those who are interested.

I am installing a set on my wife's 94FZJ80 this week, and will update the list after we have used them for awhile. HTH.

Bullfrog


----- Original Message -----
From: "John Worthen" <fj40john@yahoo.com>
To: <landcruisers@birfield.com>
Sent: Friday, February 21, 2003 9:16 AM
Subject: RE: [LCML] Equal balancer
  --
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]

I had planned to run equal in my tires, but after reading that, I am looking for other options. Has anyone used the centramatic wheel balancers with good results?? http://www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/centramatic/index.htm Maybe these would be better as they wouldn't be affected by changing tire pressure.

"Williams, Lance" wrote:If you ask me these are reasons not to use equal in a truck that sees anything but light wheeling. Our wheels take abuse in the rocks, we air up and down frequently and with questionable sources, and our tires wear hard.

My read on the Equal website is that these very reasons are why this stuff is not suitable for the type of wheeling Tellico, Paragon or even less demanding trails dictate. The only people I know that have used it have found it ineffective.

When I wanted to use equal on a set of tires a couple years ago the dealer would not install it because he said that all the 4x4 guys complain and the only tires it really works on are tractor trailers or passenger cars.

Just my theory, but if you abuse your tires you need to plan for some imbalance because there is no bag of magic beans, even if the bag they come in says Equal on it.

Lance

-----Original Message-----
From: Brother Bullfrog [mailto:toadmanor@adelphia.net]
I think the problems that some people have had using equal are really not the fault of that product, but of other factors that were present in the situation. The most prevalent factors include:

1] Bent or otherwise untrue wheels.
2] Malformed tires, with major imbalances built in.
3] Use of oil lubricated compressors to fill tires.
4] Failure to install the special no leak valve stem recommended by the compound manufacturer.
5] Bead seal failures due to improper installation of compound or from the presence of materials between bead and rim due to extreme wheeling conditions in aired down state.
6] Insufficient or excess compound installed for tire size. 7] Tires are not rotated on a consistent schedule.
8] Other steering and/or suspension components which are worn, damaged or improperly setup, leading to uneven tire wear.













Posted March 3, 2003