CJITTY

Does anyone have experience with getting aftermarket wheels and tires balanced at the dealer, especially 20"+ sizes? How smooth of a ride do you have past 65mph?

I know there is an art to balancing bigger wheels..I am considering all options and may also consider going back to the high speed on the car balance which is about $100..which was the best balance I ever had. My current tire shop hookup got the off the car balance perfect the first time, but since then it is not how it needs to be.

I travel on the highway and very particular about vibration..just need to find a spot that can nail it down without return trips..high speed on car is most $$$ option..normal price is $140..sigh

Lextrician

roadforce balancing??? not all shops have them but that seems to be the best. not too familiar with dealerships doing my balancing cant see why they would be better, thats a hit or miss in that area, once you find a shop you keep them!! good luck and post your experience...

Falbz

I had the dealership realign my car after I put 22's on. I had the tire pull issue and wanted to make sure the alignment was in spec first before going back to my wheel shop. Ended up getting the car aligned at dealership and went back to the wheel shop for a new set of front tires. I've had no issues so far and car rides great.

Falbz

Sorry just read your post again (typing from my phone). Dealership checked balance too at the time and wheels balanced perfectly. So between the wheel shop and the dealership balancing my car, I've had no problems.

Good luck!

cheez80

iTrader: (1)

i had my 22's mounted and balanced at a tire shop -- no vibration issues up to 95mph, which is as fast as i've taken it (on a closed course in mexico, of course). they did just a normal balance and i only paid $15/wheel for mounting and balancing haha

adamls2

My dealer gave me a decent alignment after I installed my springs and came out pretty good. The tech there tales care of me.

Also, this is off topic but is the 600h limited to 130mph just like the 460's?
You should be able to hit it quite quickly Charles

CJITTY

I have been running aftermarket wheels on literally every car i have ever owned since 1992 and tire balancing is the one thing that is probably the most frustrating. I will say that the Vossen wheels I have balance up pretty good with little weight, but I question more the tires and whether or not they have belt issues or just out of round..it happens sometimes. Like I said, it is hit or miss. The first time I had them mounted..perfect balance. I needed new front tires so they rebalanced them and now I have the issue again. The place here in ATL metro area called Butler Wheel and Tire mount and balance large diametr wheels/tires all day and so far provided the best balance i ever had when they did the high speed balance.

I recently had to get brake and suspension work done, so I have to get all that out of the way before I can do the high speed on the car balance since ALL moving components are factored in..if the wheel is removed and placed back on the lugs different than how they came off, it will throw things off..(so they say)

My current tire place is awesome, but the balances are just hit or miss and I don't pay for them there...but they cannot do high speed on the car. I may give them one more shot and see what happens..if not, I will pay the $100 for the maybach version of tire balancing lol.

For those not familiar...they do a regular road force first..then mount to the car and then spin them at 120-130mph and use a strobe light system to smooth out any vibrations placing/removing tape weights as required..pretty slick

kitchamp

I think it depends on what equipment the particular dealer has, and how often they perform the work. The dealer I bought the car from was pretty basic, not even a decent cup of coffee (must be how they lower prices), and I ended up going to another dealer to buy custom wheels. Surprisingly they were well stocked and had a huge selection (relatively) on hand for the LS460, and were willing to match and even beat prices on wheels and tires that I had quoted from online. Most of the cars in the showroom, and many on the lot had custom wheels fitted, so they have more equipment and experience than most when it comes to handling plus size wheels. I haven't had a problem yet, unlike other national tire and battery shops that I have been too...

cheez80

iTrader: (1)

i think it is -- the tires and such are rated for the same speed as the 460. i'm scared to drive it that fast, though -- the 600h doesn't have the same planted feeling that the w221 or d3-chassis a8 have. consequently, i haven't driven the 600h faster than what i posted previously :P

adamls2

Are you on stockers? When I was on the original 235's all around it was really bad at high speed stability. I wasn't sure if that was just my car but it turns out all of them have that "about to jump off the road feeling" but it seems the stock tires don't provide enough stability for this car. Once my car was lowered and had the massive tire patches the car felt like it was glued to the road and the rain traction is MUCH improved. The car could easily handle 130+ with confidence now.

I also don't condone going illegal speeds on public roads BTW.

CJITTY

Agreed.I felt the same way until I upgraded

ok, hopefully soon we can get back on topic with the wheel/tire balancing discussion

cheez80

iTrader: (1)

stocks or 255/30/22s, still didn't feel planted. i'll let you know after i get my new set of wheels on there (going to be running a 245/35 all around)

LXurious

When you're going at 65 freeway speeds then punch it, it gets up pretty fast I drove it at about ~115mph for about 8 seconds I didnt notice how fast and smooth the CVT got there. Hit the 130 limiter also for a split second wont go past it unfortunately but it gets scary at about 115+ due to the mass of the car.

adamls2

You need some more than 255 in the rear, remember the larger the contact patch the more traction therefore creating more stability. Lots of things also go into it like your alignment. More camber than the factory (which mine is around 2.7 in the rears) helps out a lot and toe and caster etc. all go into that good stuff as well. Also, a lowered car means less of an air stream under the car which can also help out. Staggered tire combinations also are a +. Just depends on what you are trying to accomplish (show car vs. DD beater) I'll try to post my recent alignment specs...

The type of road surface you are on and the head winds can make a huge difference also. After beating on the limiter a few times it let me surpass to around 137ish I want to say, and the car had a lot left in it IMO. It helps to have a bunch of airfields to go cruise on where I live Also, being an arab and being use to driving with people in Kuwait, Dubai etc, that seem to cruise at like its the autobahn, I can definitely tell the limits of most of the ultra-luxury cars and seeing how they react to high speed stability. The Germans definitely have this art down that's for sure.

CJITTY, sorry for hijacking your thread we should try to keep it on topic now...

CJITTY

Y'all absolutely murdered my thread with this hella over the top hijack lol