Re: wheel balancing problems

[Robert Houk - SMCC Bos Desktop Hardware <rdh@UrQ.East.Sun.COM>]

   For those of you having wheel balancing problems - particularly with
   aftermarket wheels - here's why:

   Aftermarket wheels are built so that they will fit a number of different
   cars...different bolt patterns, different hub styles, etc. They can take a
   single "blank" and drill 4 bolt, 5 bolt, different spacings, etc, in the
   same wheel...

   So the problem is that the *hub* doesn't mate perfectly with the wheel. On
   a factory wheel, the hub section will mate nicely to the wheel, usually
   with an indentation on the wheel that *just* matches the hub. On an
   aftermarket wheel there's more play...maybe a lot more. So on a factory
   wheel you have a better mating of hub to wheel and no potential for
   eccentricity.

   That's why an aftermarket wheel may spin balance properly and still cause
   a vibration. Oncar balancing may help, but then again, it may not...

   OTOH, if you can't balance a factory wheel, then you may have a bad tire,
   and you ought to check the wheel w/out tire...

   I haven't had this happen personally...just know of a guy that spent 2
   months with aftermarket wheels on a $aab before someone told him the
   truth...

Caveat Emptor fer sur!

On the other hand, when I had a set of Panasports custom made for my ole
Lotus Europa, they were amazing (and not hub-centric either!), as near
perfect as I've ever seen. And the Lotus was a *picky* car about wheels
and tires.

A well-engineered/manufactured aftermarket wheel can easily surpass any-
thing the factory is willing to spend on "the masses"; a cheap shoddy
aftermarket wheel is a total waste of money, time, etc. -- definitely not
a "bargain"!

IMHO...

					-RDH