I can absolutely confirm- this WORKS. I watched this vid last night, it 'sorta' made sense but I told myself, I'll try it tomorrow and see what happens. I widened the hole about 5/16" being careful not to go too deep because I didn't want to disturb where the actual 'head of the pin' was going to rest. I just left enough room so the little shaft didn't run against anything. ONLY the point was touching the cone assembly. Well- right away, I could tell there was a huge difference. The cone assembly didn't 'settle' right away- and that was without the wheel even being placed in position. Then I put on a wheel that was supposed to be 'balanced' - not even close. I removed all the weights I put on and started all over only this time, with this 'new' setup- I got it right. I did both front tires, took the car for a ride- no vibration @ 50MPH- no vibration @90MPH. I was beside myself. Anyway- THANK YOU for making this vid.
My grandpa taught me how to use one of these almost 30 years ago, I finally bought one at harbor freight today and I'm glad you saved me a ton of of precious brain power to make it work right
@@madgingercustoms How do you make sure the sharp point centers in the hole when drilling it out? Seems like it could land off center, and throw off the balance.
The editing is hilarious! The explosion after hitting the weight had me cracking up.😂 And thanks for the mod knowledge. I came for the mod, I stayed due to the good energy, concise info, and the edits! Perfect balance of entertaining and informative. Pun intended. Good work!
I'm 67 ... I was mounting and balancing tires (on a bubble balancer) when I was 15 at our local Western Auto! 1970-ish😜 (Would you want a 15 year old kid mounting and balancing your tires today unsupervised? 😁 ) Great memories! Don't remember anyone ever bringing tires back for balance issues! Another great video!!! Thanks!
That reasoning right there is why I decided to just get the tools and balance them myself. Over paying 40 bucks a tire for some kid to do it. Everything pays for it's self after the first set on my camper.
I did a tyre fitting course age 16 at Beaurepairs, after fitting a tyre, I went to wheel it straight back to the XB Ford ute, One of the Beau guys yelled out, you forgot the balance
I’ve gotta say, I bought an Amazon balancer and I was not happy with how it was not moving as freely as I thought it should with a heavy wheel on it. I saw several different mods on various videos but this one seemed logical and the simplest to try. It worked wonders for me! It’s so free now, even a light breeze makes it swing. I balanced a couple 245/60/18’s and my car is smooth as silk. Thank you for the video!
I had this thing in my garage for over a year, but because mine didn't wobble properly I never used it. This mod is basically mandatory, well done trying it and making a video about it,
I said the drill sizes in the video and drilled them by hand. Basically you want to work your way up to a 3/8 final size but you don't want to increase the depth. Keep the taper on the end but remove the side material.
I went backwards. Started out with a 1/2" to hog out some material then to a 3/8" and then a 1/4". I went as deep as I could without touching the center point. Just take it slow and check to make sure you don't go too far. I basically stopped when I could get the centering cone to swing freely. If you go too far and kiss the center point, stop and check to see if it it swings freely and see if it centers. If it does you'll be ok👍
Man, it's best car channel i found in my life. The exact thing regular guy do in garage. Thank you. I was looking for diy tire change vid for a while and finally ended up with here.
I wish I knew this about 5 years ago. I had one of these and could never get the same reading twice. The balancer was useless. I finally got rid of it. I'll have to get another one now and try this.
So this is the second of your videos with the tire changer being the first and I just have to say, you have a great wife my friend. I imagine you two have a great time together as best friends busting each other's chops.
Greeeeaaaaaaattttt video! Thanks! Great to see non-spastic, non-quick edit videos by real people. So much better than most videos on youtube! Keep up the great work!
I just discovered your channel and what a great, informative, and entertaining channel for the DIY'er. They get 30 bucks a wheel here in long island and and now I see how I could use these tools and mods to do a pretty decent job on my 66 stang time and time again. Thank you both sooo much!
If your bubble is inside that circle, you are good to go. There is so much unsprung weight in those old wheels and suspension that you don't have to be perfect. Most balance issues will show up at the 55/60 mph mark. If you are smooth there, you are good. Bubble balance takes care of the static balance which is 95% of the issue. Splitting the weight between the inside and outside takes care of the dynamic balance for the most part, the last 5%. Great video!
@@madgingercustomsthank you very much. I have one and gave up on it due to the same problem. I could not get repeatable results. I will drill mine out now.
Whatever dude, anyone who listens to anything that this guy says is foolish. You shouldn’t drill down into the cone . The manufacturer has designed this product in a certain way and when you go modifying it based off what people like this guy says, well you’re making a mistake. It just goes back to the old saying that you shouldn’t believe everything that you see on the internet. Trust the manufacturer, not this guy. If he wants to design a wheel balancer based on his belief system then he should do that. When you deviate from the design of the manufacturer based off of what this guy is saying, then how are to know if it’s correct? Because if something goes wrong and you crash your vehicle, this guy is not going pay for your damages or medical bills. Trust the manufacturer, not this clown
@@matthewhuling8582 The Chinese manufacturer is not going to pay your damages or medical bills either. This man took a mediocre product and improved it.
Thanks for encouraging all of us, I spent a few hours replacing 4 tires on aluminum rims today, using your videos as a great source of tips. I made a "contraption" to mount the duckbill similar to yours, and it really works well. I drilled the center of my balancer as well, works like a charm now. Thanks again
My Harbor Freight balancer is sitting in the shed this past 20 years because I couldn't get the damm thing to balance right. Use to do static balancing at a gas station during college. Thanks for sharing the moods to the tire changer and balancer.
No doubt that Jess is a champion. She is definitely a keeper brother. The looks she gives you sometimes are priceless. Thanks for sharing her with us. Thanks for the video👍👍🇨🇦
In 1964 when I was 19 and working at a gas station we balanced with a bubble balancer and never had anyone come back with a vibration problem. Now at 78 and still working on old cars I might just get one of those balancers and use your modification. Lefty
You two work so well together, my wife and I are the same way. Love your content. I was actually wondering about that balancer and how well it would work and now I know. Thank you for doing this video and showing how easy the mods were.
I just received my bubble balancer. I knew from watching several of these videos that it was basically a "kit" I would have to tune. Your video gives me hope that won't be too onerous a task. Thanks much!
Man this brings me back. When i was a teen with no $$ my dad would make me change my truck tire with two large tire irons and a can of starting fluid to bead her up. The first time my friend and I worked on it for hours to no avail and my dad shook his head grabbed the irons and removed the tire and replaced it in just a few min bit i never could get it down it always took along time for me. Great channel btw keep it up.
After you put your weights on and have a perfect balance....have you tried turning the balance rig 180deg.....then see with the same wheel....if it still show a perfect balance. I would be interested in your results.
Just bought one of these and drilled what you said and you sir are a genius, thanks from North Wales UK . Oh I made an arm for my tyre fitter just like yours and that works well too 😊
I had never seen this mod anywhere before, so I tried it on a brand new balancer, and after I balanced four tires, threw them on my Ranger, I can scream down the highway at near 80 miles an hour, and the things as smooth as silk
Just found your channel, enjoyed this video. I can't remember if it was in high school shop class, or the gas station I worked at while in high school. The bubble balancer I learned was pretty cool, because it had a lever to lift the bubble assembly to balance, after finding the weights needed, you would move the lever to lower the bubble assembly to a solid surface to hammer the weights on without having to take the tire off and back on for the recheck.
I hope to get lucky with my china made wheel balancer I just ordered. I really wasn't expecting to make any modifications to anything when buying it. Thank you very much for making this video
I've been changing my own tires for a couple decades to save a dime, and have recently noticed a very slight vib at around 70 mph in one of my vehicles. I have one of those harbor freight balancers, and am considering trying it out. Thanks for the pointers.
Good video! I like your tip about modifying the hole on the head, as I found the same problem with my HF balancer. I wish I had my dad's old Ammco Tools bubble balancer. Far more accurate. It had a more sensitive bubble (10 minutes of angle) and instead of a centering cone, it had a variety of adaptor plates with pins that centered the wheel on the lug holes. My dad worked for Ammco for many years. While your 'Y-method' of applying weights will allow you to adjust balance to a fraction of an ounce, this kind of accuracy isn't necessary on a 50 pound wheel assembly. In fact, picking up a couple of stones will throw the balance off by more than that. Tire dealers did this in the old days because they charged by how much or how many weights they put on. More weights = more money.
Great video! I love the budget-friendly approach and the friendly tone. The gratitude section at the end of each video is is pretty classy too. Cheers!
I got one of them had it cents 1978 or before it’s old but still good. Great thinking again never wood of think that to do to it. But I’ll check it out thanks again for showing telling see ya next time see ya bye.
Just did your mod except that I used a 1/4 inch bit a little at a time so as to NOT touch the bottom where the tip of the pin contacts. Did so 10 minutes ago and it's still moving a bit. So thanks I wasn't at all happy with its performance so I went looking on the net and found you and your mod. Now it works perfectly. But now I'm going to put the bare rims on the balancer to see if they're balanced in the first place. Which I just did and both of them are extremely close to right on. Which means it doesn't matter where the spots go and for me there are no spots on the used studded tires I bought. So advise if you're going to be changing tires and have the rims bare anyway, check the rim balance. 😊 And note on bang on weights or others, you can use a pair of side cutters to nip off a bit of lead if you don't have one that is light enough.:)
I noticed you attached the weights on one side of the wheel using the y method. They really need to be split equally on both sides or if you are using stick on weights stick them inside close to the middle of the rim. This keeps the dynamic balance from being way out of wack. Not gonna be perfect because this balancer only static balances but it gets it closer to true balance. Also if using stick on weights, keep in mind that if you set the weights and the rim edge, when you attach them to the inside of the wheel, the balnace is going to be off because you placed them slightly inward. You can hang them with a piece of tape if you have open wheels through the spokes or slots so they hang over the inside of the wheel while you adjust the weights or place some weight inside and recheck and adjust. Or you can use the y method and if you need more weight just add it in between the 2 weights
Outstanding video! I've watched countless video's on how to fix the HF bubble balancers and saw everything from glass to lasers used to retrofit the things to get them to work when all we have to do is step drill the hole up to 3/8". Simple fix that doesn't cost anything but my time. Thank you for showing us this mod.
The 14" set i put on my sons corolla dint have the red dot but the 17s of nexens did have the red dot i dont have a balancer yet so had to get them balanced the 17s i couldnt mount broke the changer and the tool that came with it i had alredy cut the ends off and welded them to a solid steel benh press bar thats made to hold a lot of weight and bent the crap out of trying to mount the 215/65/17s was going to buy a amazon install bar but after i watched your last video im going to go that rout. Thank you again for a great video!!! Have a wonderful day!!!!!!!!!
Your "Y Method" is called counter balancing and is not the professional way to balance a tire. When I worked in a tire shop, I was always told not to counter balance because it looks crappy. And most people, likes the cleaner look. But, yall did a good job. 👍
The Y method was actually the industry standard when these balancers were first introduced. I believe the counter balance is putting one on the inside and outside of the wheel from all the info I found. Thanks for watching!
Well done! This is the second vid of yours I've seen, the first one being the tire changer mods.Great ideas and plan on reworking my HF tire changer. One mod i made on mine was putting a spring on the bead breaker. That way i dont have to hold it up and out of the way while I'm sliding tires in or out.Thanks for the vid and keep up the good work!
I bought one of these off Amazon and thought it moved pretty freely. enlarged the hole a bit and it wobbles around for a long time now. Just mounted and balanced a set of tires the other day and I feel a little bit of a rumble on most roads, not very noticeable but I think I can make it better. Can't really say it was the balancers fault as 2 of the tires balanced ok with the weights from the previous tires so I let those fly and probably shouldn't have. Gonna give the Y method a try.
@@madgingercustoms I re did the tire balance with the Y method and it's smooth as glass up to 75 MPH and that's all the faster I was able to get up to because of traffic. Honestly the car is smoother than the last set of tires I put on it that were professionally mounted and balanced. I went with the Summit ultramax a/s from Amazon for tires.
Great fix to make a cheap product usable. I like to use balancing beads now, much easier and no need to rebalance. Used on 5 motorcycles and one car. Always have a smooth ride, even after 30k miles on a set of tires.
You two are awesome,if you have wife that will stop and help you hot or cold you hang on to her for dear life,just found your channel,keep the videos coming
i took your advice and drilled it on the tiny hole then used a little larger bit/drill it again /then a little larger/is that how it is done/i need to balance some new tires/OK did i mess it up -looks like a V down there/just guessed how deep to drill it/is that steel metal/it drilled slow/man i hope i did OK/yea got new weights to balance the tires/many thanks/thanks much
Just a quick one. I use a piece of chalk to mark on the tire. That way you can just rub it off when you're done. Thanks for the video. I think I'll go out and buy me a balancer...
Just a little bit of information the best balancer is one that does it on the car.. I first seen one of these years ago when I was in the RAAF, you use it by just lifting the tyre off the ground then you bring this thing up to the tyre and turn it on it spins the tyre so you can see where to add your weights and by doing it this way it takes of wear in you hubs, brakes and any other wear so everything is in balance.
Glad I got to see your video on this. I'm going to do that to my balancer. I thought that's what was wrong with mine, but I just wiggled and spun my tires a few times just to be sure that they will center each time. After 3 times then I marked the spot and then put my weights on. I balance my tires every time I rotate them.
Enjoyed the video very professional and very detailed thanks for it. I was wondering have a 1000 watt inverter. Bought 6 foot inverter cables. Trying to figure out how to run the cables from my battery to inside of my vehicle, which is a 2017 Toyota Yaris. My purpose is to be able to heat of my food while I am own my lunch break and not go to my break room. with a 700watt microwave inside my vehicle,it is possible but trying to figure out how to run the wires, thank TC.
when I learned how unreliable bubble balancers are, I had given up on setting up a tire changing area. Other mods seemed so obnoxious that I figured I could just pay mounting fees. This was great.
Those weights are a pain haha i worked at a shop that used those. Got to the point i could hold them, swing and let go before it hits and get them on lol great video ive been wanting to just do everything at home.
wow you have it really awesome with a wife that does things with you. treasure her. I might suggest why not use litle chalk marks on the tire instead of a red dot. of course black dots would work unless you make a mistake and not cover it with a weight later. I watched your tire mounting video too. I like your informative way. I may buy these now. being in Canada will see princess auto.
I can absolutely confirm- this WORKS. I watched this vid last night, it 'sorta' made sense but I told myself, I'll try it tomorrow and see what happens. I widened the hole about 5/16" being careful not to go too deep because I didn't want to disturb where the actual 'head of the pin' was going to rest. I just left enough room so the little shaft didn't run against anything. ONLY the point was touching the cone assembly. Well- right away, I could tell there was a huge difference. The cone assembly didn't 'settle' right away- and that was without the wheel even being placed in position. Then I put on a wheel that was supposed to be 'balanced' - not even close. I removed all the weights I put on and started all over only this time, with this 'new' setup- I got it right. I did both front tires, took the car for a ride- no vibration @ 50MPH- no vibration @90MPH. I was beside myself. Anyway- THANK YOU for making this vid.
Thanks for coming back and commenting after trying it!
My grandpa taught me how to use one of these almost 30 years ago, I finally bought one at harbor freight today and I'm glad you saved me a ton of of precious brain power to make it work right
Hope this helps! Thanks for watching!
I just did this to mine. What a difference. It swings for days now and centers perfectly. Thank you brother🤙
Glad this video helped!!
@@madgingercustoms How do you make sure the sharp point centers in the hole when drilling it out? Seems like it could land off center, and throw off the balance.
The editing is hilarious! The explosion after hitting the weight had me cracking up.😂
And thanks for the mod knowledge. I came for the mod, I stayed due to the good energy, concise info, and the edits!
Perfect balance of entertaining and informative. Pun intended.
Good work!
Mental note, add more clips....... Got it! 😁
I did what you did and drilled it out a bit, and now it wobbles long time rightly. Thanks again!
Thanks for checking in after trying it!!
I'm 67 ... I was mounting and balancing tires (on a bubble balancer) when I was 15 at our local Western Auto! 1970-ish😜 (Would you want a 15 year old kid mounting and balancing your tires today unsupervised? 😁 ) Great memories! Don't remember anyone ever bringing tires back for balance issues! Another great video!!! Thanks!
Thanks for watching!! And I'm sure you were the right guy for the job, 15 years old or not!
That reasoning right there is why I decided to just get the tools and balance them myself. Over paying 40 bucks a tire for some kid to do it. Everything pays for it's self after the first set on my camper.
I did a tyre fitting course age 16 at Beaurepairs, after fitting a tyre, I went to wheel it straight back to the XB Ford ute, One of the Beau guys yelled out, you forgot the balance
Jess is the cutest little bubble balancer on TH-cam! ❤
Awww thank you! 😊
@@MadGingerJess 🥰😘
Shouldn’t it now be Mad GingerS Customs?
@@bradfindley470 hmmm probably. But it doesn't have the same ring to it!
I’ve gotta say, I bought an Amazon balancer and I was not happy with how it was not moving as freely as I thought it should with a heavy wheel on it. I saw several different mods on various videos but this one seemed logical and the simplest to try. It worked wonders for me! It’s so free now, even a light breeze makes it swing. I balanced a couple 245/60/18’s and my car is smooth as silk. Thank you for the video!
Glad this helped out!! Thanks for watching our video!
I had this thing in my garage for over a year, but because mine didn't wobble properly I never used it. This mod is basically mandatory, well done trying it and making a video about it,
It's much more useful when the resistance is gone. I'd love to see your video!
I've used mine on all my wheels with success so far and it's paid for itself easy , thanks for video great advice.
Thanks for watching!!
Mine wobbles for a long time out of the box. This is a great idea for the ones that don’t !
I bet its just inconsistency in the brands and manufacturing. Some are way better that others! Thanks for checking it out!
I wished you would have recorded the drilling process and drill sizes!
I said the drill sizes in the video and drilled them by hand. Basically you want to work your way up to a 3/8 final size but you don't want to increase the depth. Keep the taper on the end but remove the side material.
I went backwards. Started out with a 1/2" to hog out some material then to a 3/8" and then a 1/4". I went as deep as I could without touching the center point. Just take it slow and check to make sure you don't go too far. I basically stopped when I could get the centering cone to swing freely. If you go too far and kiss the center point, stop and check to see if it it swings freely and see if it centers. If it does you'll be ok👍
Use a Dremel or a die grinder. It's easier to access and see what you're doing.
Your videos have come into my feed fairly often. I Enjoy the energy, instruction and encouragement you both give. You have gained another subscriber!
Thanks so much!! We appreciate it!
Man, it's best car channel i found in my life. The exact thing regular guy do in garage. Thank you. I was looking for diy tire change vid for a while and finally ended up with here.
Thanks for finding us and the kind words!!
I wish I knew this about 5 years ago. I had one of these and could never get the same reading twice. The balancer was useless. I finally got rid of it. I'll have to get another one now and try this.
It really does make it more useful. Still using it.
So this is the second of your videos with the tire changer being the first and I just have to say, you have a great wife my friend. I imagine you two have a great time together as best friends busting each other's chops.
That's correct. She's hilarious!
Greeeeaaaaaaattttt video! Thanks! Great to see non-spastic, non-quick edit videos by real people. So much better than most videos on youtube! Keep up the great work!
Thanks!!
I just discovered your channel and what a great, informative, and entertaining channel for the DIY'er. They get 30 bucks a wheel here in long island and and now I see how I could use these tools and mods to do a pretty decent job on my 66 stang time and time again. Thank you both sooo much!
Thanks for the kind words!! We appreciate you spending time with us.
When you said the tire was balanced “dead nuts” the gingers look she gave you was priceless! LOL
If your bubble is inside that circle, you are good to go. There is so much unsprung weight in those old wheels and suspension that you don't have to be perfect. Most balance issues will show up at the 55/60 mph mark. If you are smooth there, you are good. Bubble balance takes care of the static balance which is 95% of the issue. Splitting the weight between the inside and outside takes care of the dynamic balance for the most part, the last 5%. Great video!
Great, thanks for watching!
@@madgingercustomsthank you very much. I have one and gave up on it due to the same problem. I could not get repeatable results. I will drill mine out now.
Whatever dude, anyone who listens to anything that this guy says is foolish. You shouldn’t drill down into the cone . The manufacturer has designed this product in a certain way and when you go modifying it based off what people like this guy says, well you’re making a mistake. It just goes back to the old saying that you shouldn’t believe everything that you see on the internet. Trust the manufacturer, not this guy. If he wants to design a wheel balancer based on his belief system then he should do that. When you deviate from the design of the manufacturer based off of what this guy is saying, then how are to know if it’s correct? Because if something goes wrong and you crash your vehicle, this guy is not going pay for your damages or medical bills. Trust the manufacturer, not this clown
Imagine crying like you shill @@matthewhuling8582
@@matthewhuling8582 The Chinese manufacturer is not going to pay your damages or medical bills either. This man took a mediocre product and improved it.
Thanks for encouraging all of us, I spent a few hours replacing 4 tires on aluminum rims today, using your videos as a great source of tips. I made a "contraption" to mount the duckbill similar to yours, and it really works well. I drilled the center of my balancer as well, works like a charm now. Thanks again
Awesome!! Glad it worked out!
My Harbor Freight balancer is sitting in the shed this past 20 years because I couldn't get the damm thing to balance right. Use to do static balancing at a gas station during college. Thanks for sharing the moods to the tire changer and balancer.
Thanks for checking out the video!
No doubt that Jess is a champion. She is definitely a keeper brother. The looks she gives you sometimes are priceless. Thanks for sharing her with us. Thanks for the video👍👍🇨🇦
Thanks for watching! ❤
What a wonderful woman you got there, and she likes DIY things.
She's a good egg.
She appears to be a good mechanic. I don’t know if you trained her or she trained you but keep up the good work. You guys are helping people.
You are a genius! Love watching you guy's!
We appreciate you!
In 1964 when I was 19 and working at a gas station we balanced with a bubble balancer and never had anyone come back with a vibration problem. Now at 78 and still working on old cars I might just get one of those balancers and use your modification. Lefty
Awesome, thanks for watching!
You two work so well together, my wife and I are the same way. Love your content. I was actually wondering about that balancer and how well it would work and now I know. Thank you for doing this video and showing how easy the mods were.
Thank you for watching it!
He is so excited over that marker. She is adorable
It's the little things in life.
Aw thank you! 😊
I just received my bubble balancer. I knew from watching several of these videos that it was basically a "kit" I would have to tune. Your video gives me hope that won't be too onerous a task. Thanks much!
Great video! Entertaining and informative !
Thank you!
Great video, thanks for creating and sharing!
Great job, on the modifications to the tire machine and wheel balancer ..
Thanks for watching the videos!!
Man this brings me back. When i was a teen with no $$ my dad would make me change my truck tire with two large tire irons and a can of starting fluid to bead her up. The first time my friend and I worked on it for hours to no avail and my dad shook his head grabbed the irons and removed the tire and replaced it in just a few min bit i never could get it down it always took along time for me. Great channel btw keep it up.
Thanks for the kind words! Thanks for checking out our video.
It's too bad your dad was not better at passing his skills on to you. I was very fortunate in having a dad that was great at that.
Great info, brother. Watched the tire machine and the balancing. Jess is a keeper, too!
Thanks! And yes she is!
Hey thanks! I guess I'll stick around..😂😂
Very nice video on how too use old school tools I’ll be getting one of those thanks
Thanks for watching!
After you put your weights on and have a perfect balance....have you tried turning the balance rig 180deg.....then see with the same wheel....if it still show a perfect balance.
I would be interested in your results.
We actually spun them around a couple times off camera. It all looked good.
Just bought one of these and drilled what you said and you sir are a genius, thanks from North Wales UK . Oh I made an arm for my tyre fitter just like yours and that works well too 😊
Great to hear!! Glad it helped!
I got the JC Whitney version 20 years ago, works great!
Those were better quality I would think!
I had never seen this mod anywhere before, so I tried it on a brand new balancer, and after I balanced four tires, threw them on my Ranger, I can scream down the highway at near 80 miles an hour, and the things as smooth as silk
Glad you found it helpful! Thanks for checking it out!
Wow! i just ordered one on Ebay. Will check for this point issue, and use the drill if its off. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for checking it out!
Just found your channel, enjoyed this video. I can't remember if it was in high school shop class, or the gas station I worked at while in high school. The bubble balancer I learned was pretty cool, because it had a lever to lift the bubble assembly to balance, after finding the weights needed, you would move the lever to lower the bubble assembly to a solid surface to hammer the weights on without having to take the tire off and back on for the recheck.
That sounds cool. Thanks for checking out our video!
I hope to get lucky with my china made wheel balancer I just ordered. I really wasn't expecting to make any modifications to anything when buying it. Thank you very much for making this video
Thanks for checking out the video!
Old school here love it. Restore
Bubble balance University ?!!!! Thanks , I will purchase this balancer
Thanks!
I've been changing my own tires for a couple decades to save a dime, and have recently noticed a very slight vib at around 70 mph in one of my vehicles. I have one of those harbor freight balancers, and am considering trying it out. Thanks for the pointers.
Thank you. This is another one of those videos that provide great information.
Thanks for watching!
Good video! I like your tip about modifying the hole on the head, as I found the same problem with my HF balancer.
I wish I had my dad's old Ammco Tools bubble balancer. Far more accurate. It had a more sensitive bubble (10 minutes of angle) and instead of a centering cone, it had a variety of adaptor plates with pins that centered the wheel on the lug holes. My dad worked for Ammco for many years.
While your 'Y-method' of applying weights will allow you to adjust balance to a fraction of an ounce, this kind of accuracy isn't necessary on a 50 pound wheel assembly. In fact, picking up a couple of stones will throw the balance off by more than that. Tire dealers did this in the old days because they charged by how much or how many weights they put on. More weights = more money.
Thanks! And yes completely agree on the weights.
Great video! I love the budget-friendly approach and the friendly tone. The gratitude section at the end of each video is is pretty classy too. Cheers!
Love your comments!! We appreciate you!
I got one of them had it cents 1978 or before it’s old but still good. Great thinking again never wood of think that to do to it. But I’ll check it out thanks again for showing telling see ya next time see ya bye.
Thanks for watching!
I appreciate you getting back to me. Thank you….
Just did your mod except that I used a 1/4 inch bit a little at a time so as to NOT touch the bottom where the tip of the pin contacts. Did so 10 minutes ago and it's still moving a bit. So thanks
I wasn't at all happy with its performance so I went looking on the net and found you and your mod. Now it works perfectly.
But now I'm going to put the bare rims on the balancer to see if they're balanced in the first place. Which I just did and both of them are extremely close to right on. Which means it doesn't matter where the spots go and for me there are no spots on the used studded tires I bought.
So advise if you're going to be changing tires and have the rims bare anyway, check the rim balance. 😊
And note on bang on weights or others, you can use a pair of side cutters to nip off a bit of lead if you don't have one that is light enough.:)
Glad this helped and thanks for the tips!
I noticed you attached the weights on one side of the wheel using the y method. They really need to be split equally on both sides or if you are using stick on weights stick them inside close to the middle of the rim. This keeps the dynamic balance from being way out of wack. Not gonna be perfect because this balancer only static balances but it gets it closer to true balance. Also if using stick on weights, keep in mind that if you set the weights and the rim edge, when you attach them to the inside of the wheel, the balnace is going to be off because you placed them slightly inward. You can hang them with a piece of tape if you have open wheels through the spokes or slots so they hang over the inside of the wheel while you adjust the weights or place some weight inside and recheck and adjust. Or you can use the y method and if you need more weight just add it in between the 2 weights
Yeah I have seen that in videos. We have now tried the weights several different ways over the last 6 months.
Bought everything you folks have from princess auto up here in Canada 🇨🇦 works amazing after I did the mods
That's awesome!! Glad it's working for you!
I'm buying one on my home from work. Great video and buy the way your wife is a keeper and has beautiful hair.
She is a keeper!
Thank you! ❤
Outstanding video! I've watched countless video's on how to fix the HF bubble balancers and saw everything from glass to lasers used to retrofit the things to get them to work when all we have to do is step drill the hole up to 3/8". Simple fix that doesn't cost anything but my time. Thank you for showing us this mod.
Thanks for watching it!
@@madgingercustoms Thank you for making the video. I did your mod on my bubble level today and it took all of 10 minutes and the results are perfect.
@@scottbeverly188 thanks for letting us know!!
That was beautiful. I like it. Great job and makes a whole Lotta sense whole Lotta sense.
Thanks for checking out our video!
Pretty Kool 😮 I got the new HF Black tier changer still in a box, Awsome job drilling it to balance better.
I wonder if the black one is any different besides the paint? 🤔
The 14" set i put on my sons corolla dint have the red dot but the 17s of nexens did have the red dot i dont have a balancer yet so had to get them balanced the 17s i couldnt mount broke the changer and the tool that came with it i had alredy cut the ends off and welded them to a solid steel benh press bar thats made to hold a lot of weight and bent the crap out of trying to mount the 215/65/17s was going to buy a amazon install bar but after i watched your last video im going to go that rout. Thank you again for a great video!!! Have a wonderful day!!!!!!!!!
Give it a shot, it certainly makes it easy.
Your "Y Method" is called counter balancing and is not the professional way to balance a tire. When I worked in a tire shop, I was always told not to counter balance because it looks crappy. And most people, likes the cleaner look. But, yall did a good job. 👍
The Y method was actually the industry standard when these balancers were first introduced. I believe the counter balance is putting one on the inside and outside of the wheel from all the info I found. Thanks for watching!
I like the way your wife does the heavy lifting. P.S. Jess you look awesome in the coveralls. 👍
Thank you! 😊
She handles all the business.
Well done! This is the second vid of yours I've seen, the first one being the tire changer mods.Great ideas and plan on reworking my HF tire changer. One mod i made on mine was putting a spring on the bead breaker. That way i dont have to hold it up and out of the way while I'm sliding tires in or out.Thanks for the vid and keep up the good work!
Thank you!
Video was great. What color you going to paint the car. Looking forward to next video.
Undecided on paint. That's a long way off I think. Maybe just like matte black or maybe a gloss white. What do you think?
@@madgingercustoms Chrysler put out a med gray that's not bad . Blue always a good color .
I bought one of these off Amazon and thought it moved pretty freely. enlarged the hole a bit and it wobbles around for a long time now. Just mounted and balanced a set of tires the other day and I feel a little bit of a rumble on most roads, not very noticeable but I think I can make it better. Can't really say it was the balancers fault as 2 of the tires balanced ok with the weights from the previous tires so I let those fly and probably shouldn't have. Gonna give the Y method a try.
Sounds great. Maybe the Y method would square it away!
@@madgingercustoms I re did the tire balance with the Y method and it's smooth as glass up to 75 MPH and that's all the faster I was able to get up to because of traffic. Honestly the car is smoother than the last set of tires I put on it that were professionally mounted and balanced. I went with the Summit ultramax a/s from Amazon for tires.
I did it to mine. It worked! Thank you!
Glad it helped!
Great fix to make a cheap product usable. I like to use balancing beads now, much easier and no need to rebalance. Used on 5 motorcycles and one car. Always have a smooth ride, even after 30k miles on a set of tires.
Yeah I think we will try balance beads next!
Thank you for charing a great modification. I love how you both cooperate ♥️. I wished my wife was interested like your.
She will be on Mondays video. Hope to see you then!
Just found your channel tonight. You have a new subscriber
Thanks for subscribing!
You two are awesome,if you have wife that will stop and help you hot or cold you hang on to her for dear life,just found your channel,keep the videos coming
Oh, I'm holding onto her!
i took your advice and drilled it on the tiny hole then used a little larger bit/drill it again /then a little larger/is that how it is done/i need to balance some new tires/OK did i mess it up -looks like a V down there/just guessed how deep to drill it/is that steel metal/it drilled slow/man i hope i did OK/yea got new weights to balance the tires/many thanks/thanks much
As long as you still have a tapered hole to a point it should work properly.
You have to be straight drilling that hole or that balancer will be ruined
I got two things from this one I'm going to do it now and second if you were my neighbor it would be awesome
I like helping the neighbors! I'm an HVAC guy by trade so usually it's that and not car stuff.
Just a quick one. I use a piece of chalk to mark on the tire. That way you can just rub it off when you're done. Thanks for the video. I think I'll go out and buy me a balancer...
Thanks! And yes, we also did buy some chalk!
Good thing you timed the way it came. There may have been some confusion!
Thanks for watching!
Just a little bit of information the best balancer is one that does it on the car.. I first seen one of these years ago when I was in the RAAF, you use it by just lifting the tyre off the ground then you bring this thing up to the tyre and turn it on it spins the tyre so you can see where to add your weights and by doing it this way it takes of wear in you hubs, brakes and any other wear so everything is in balance.
Certainly makes the most sense. Balance the entire rotating assembly!
In the 70s the alignment shop I used did it this way. It is a really neat method,
Would removing the wheel and placing it back on different studs throw off the balance?
You guys are adorable 😂 and absolutely love the diy content
Thanks for checking out our video!!
Thanks!! ❤
rain will fill up those anchors in the cement. Wonder how long they will last
Time will tell but they are cheap and I bought a box of them.
Glad I got to see your video on this. I'm going to do that to my balancer. I thought that's what was wrong with mine, but I just wiggled and spun my tires a few times just to be sure that they will center each time. After 3 times then I marked the spot and then put my weights on. I balance my tires every time I rotate them.
I feel it works much better like this!
@madgingercustoms most definitely. Nothing there to bind it up.
Top work, well explained, Cheers.
Thank you sir!
i use an 1/8 inch ball bearing works great also raze the height of the bubble on a aluminum shaft about 4 in makes the bubble have a greater swing
Thanks for the tips!
You guys make a great team, and awesome mod. Thanks.
Thanks for checking out our video!
Excellent job.very helpful.thanks you guys
Thanks for watching!
Enjoyed the video very professional and very detailed thanks for it. I was wondering have a 1000 watt inverter. Bought 6 foot inverter cables. Trying to figure out how to run the cables from my battery to inside of my vehicle, which is a 2017 Toyota Yaris. My purpose is to be able to heat of my food while I am own my lunch break and not go to my break room. with a 700watt microwave inside my vehicle,it is possible but trying to figure out how to run the wires, thank TC.
This is random and amazing all at the same time! I'm not sure I'm the guy to ask but I'd love to watch a video of you getting this done!
Lead weights are very soft. They can be easily cut with a hacksaw to customize the weight amount.
Absolutely!! Thanks for watching.
I never do that I always have a full variety of used weights and I only dealt with used tyres
Great modification , thank you man
Thanks!
That was a good tip......
Thanks!!
I LOVE THIS. Thank you sooooo much!!!
Thanks for checking it out!
when I learned how unreliable bubble balancers are, I had given up on setting up a tire changing area. Other mods seemed so obnoxious that I figured I could just pay mounting fees. This was great.
Glad you found it useful!
5:33
I put some light oil on the tip just just to keep it from wearing or galling over time.
That’s why.
(I would not use grease. Too stiff)
We'll give it a shot.
Great video I wonder how a counter sink would work. 😊
I bet amazing if I owned one!!
Thank you for sharing,good job
Thanks for checking out our video!
It's great to see how well you two work together! Thanks for sharing that with us.
Thanks for watching! We appreciate it.
So much good info. Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
OD Green Daluth. Very nice Army Veteran approved.
I love Duluth! 😊
Those weights are a pain haha i worked at a shop that used those. Got to the point i could hold them, swing and let go before it hits and get them on lol great video ive been wanting to just do everything at home.
I'm gonna blow out a finger for sure!
Good job
Thanks!
Have you heard of the triangle method?
We use it in other videos.
Excellent mod
Thank you!
Great video guy's, thank you 👍
Thanks for checking it out!
wow you have it really awesome with a wife that does things with you. treasure her. I might suggest why not use litle chalk marks on the tire instead of a red dot. of course black dots would work unless you make a mistake and not cover it with a weight later. I watched your tire mounting video too. I like your informative way. I may buy these now. being in Canada will see princess auto.
I love the chalk idea!! Thanks for watching our videos!
Thanks I'll try it
Awesome
Best tip I've seen in some time. I just completed this mod and it's insane how much difference it made.
Awesome! It's amazing how much better it is than stock.