Posted by WOJ on July 13, 2000 at 09:54:42:
In Reply to: brake drums posted by Winget on July 13, 2000 at 08:42:38:
Balancing is critical not only from the stand point of drive ability at high speeds but also in the life of drive line components. An unbalanced tire and rim assembly is unbalanced at any speed and is magnified at higher speeds. This unbalance will wear out bearings and seals. Also there is an effect called "resonance". This is when the unbalanced frequency will match the natural frequency of the vehicle with an exponential increase in the vibration. Sailors see this phenomena in the "rogue" wave.
Tires and rims should be balanced on the vehicle. Hunter makes these still and they also show up at swap meets for around $50.00, although the larger ones for truck tires are 230 volts.
Basically anything which rotates around a central point , and has mass, should be balanced like drive shafts, clutch and pressure plates, tires and drums. Also note that tires and rims on trailers should be balanced also. I have found most failures in boat trailers are caused by an unbalanced condition destroying the hub seal and that lets in water which destroys the bearing grease, that is when you end up with a broken axle 50 miles from home on the side of the freeway.