Red and yellow dot on tires...

[Bobby Sixkiller]

I always aligned the red dot with the stem. Certain brand tires needed no weight. Others do. Kelly’s were the worst. Winston were the best. As far as balances went. That was 20 years ago too.

 

[4gear]

Worked in biz for a lot of years. We were told by the manufacturer that the DOT is basically the heavy point of the tire. So with the wheels being drilled out for the valve stem, that is the light point of the wheel. So makes sense to line up the heavy point with the light point. Now, this is just in general. I’ve seen the whole unit still ask for a lot of weight on the balancer. When that happens, we would brake down the tire again and turn it 180 degrees on the rim and try the balance again. Some times that is the cure, so the DOT is not always correct, just most of the time.

 

[HOG RANCH]

I got some of the 'it doesn't matter' at work and that was a machine shop in a refinery! Told one guy that it'll matter when it fails and causes a fire and kills someone and then walked away from him. Another phrase that I can't stand is "it'll come out in the wash....."

 

[HOG RANCH]

I like the one, THAT,L HOLDER BY GOD

 

[Gort]

I mounted and balanced tires for years and from experimenting I can give the opinion that those marks mostly don’t matter...

 

[kbfallon]

You guy's want a nice riding vehicle? Find a competent shop with a Hunter Road Force balancer and a guy who knows how to use it.

Is that they type that spins them on the car? We had a machine with two big electric motors that spun them on the car(Front) and it would do a great job, it spun them at well over a hundred miles an hour.

 

[Cranky]

Is that they type that spins them on the car? We had a machine with two big electric motors that spun them on the car(Front) and it would do a great job, it spun them at well over a hundred miles an hour.

Got some of the best balance jobs ever with those but someone on a computer machine ain't bad either. One time I had tires that started bouncing at 65 so took them back to get done right. The guy asked me if they bounced at 55 (speed limit back then) but knew what he was gonna say next. Told him if they are bouncing at 65, they ain't right at 55 either bouncing or not. Fix em or give me my money back and I'll find someone else to do them right. He was also the same one that told me my cast aluminum rims weren't going to hold air but they made a liar out of him....

 

[kbfallon]

Got some of the best balance jobs ever with those but someone on a computer machine ain't bad either. One time I had tires that started bouncing at 65 so took them back to get done right. The guy asked me if they bounced at 55 (speed limit back then) but knew what he was gonna say next. Told him if they are bouncing at 65, they ain't right at 55 either bouncing or not. Fix em or give me my money back and I'll find someone else to do them right. He was also the same one that told me my cast aluminum rims weren't going to hold air but they made a liar out of him....

We had a customer with an old VW that was whining about how many miles were put on his car balancing the front tires...

 

[YY1]

Worked in biz for a lot of years. We were told by the manufacturer that the DOT is basically the heavy point of the tire. So with the wheels being drilled out for the valve stem, that is the light point of the wheel. So makes sense to line up the heavy point with the light point. Now, this is just in general. I’ve seen the whole unit still ask for a lot of weight on the balancer. When that happens, we would brake down the tire again and turn it 180 degrees on the rim and try the balance again. Some times that is the cure, so the DOT is not always correct, just most of the time.

Are you saying the valve stem assembly weighs less than the small disk of metal that is punched out of the rim to make the hole?

 

[72Satellite440]

Been a few years since I've posted. This was a super informative article. Good to know

 

[Bob Benson]

I just buy new tires to install on my brand new Magnum 500 wheels.
I notice a red dot on tires, don't pay attention right away.
But the next day I go surfing on the net to have more info...
We learn something everyday.
https://www.car-auto-repair.com/tires-balancebridgestone-tires-red-yellow-dots/

GREAT reference, thanks. A lot of people should read this and try to understand what the dots are for. Cheers

 

[Bob Benson]

I'm certain that the tire shop near me will just say 'it doesn't matter'

Then I would NOT be doing business there...

 

[Mark440]

I was in a pinch 1000 miles from home and had to got to a tire shop..

The 2 tires they put on had weights all around my wheel!!! 2 brand new BF T/A tires and the same wheels that had only 1 small weight before..He said my wheels were bent..WTH!!!!

Nice set of 14 original magnum 500's on my Charger,well he scratched the hell out of them too!! Now when I go on a trip I take 2 spares,now I will get 3 flats,thats how my luck is!!

Oddly the car shook at 45-80 with the weights he added..I got home my local tire shop laughed and yep,the same weights were back on..I got the scratches mostly out..Maybe on road trips I will put magnum 500's from 1969 on with trim rings!!

 

[dmoore]

Is that they type that spins them on the car? We had a machine with two big electric motors that spun them on the car(Front) and it would do a great job, it spun them at well over a hundred miles an hour.

No, You are referring to Hunter's "Tune In' on car balancer from the 50's/60's. The Road Force machine looks like a standard balancer but with a computer screen and large roller that applies force to the tire as it spins mimicking the real world situation of the tire on the car going down the road. It measures the amount of "road force" in the tire. Passenger car tires should ideally have no more than 26lbs of road force. The first step using the machine is too measure the rim run out. If the rim run out is acceptable you can proceed with measuring road force.

 

[dmoore]

This is a Hunter Tune In on car balancer. They worked well years ago because you were balancing the entire rotating assy, brake drums etc.

 

[khryslerkid]

I used the old bubble balancer for years and never had a customer come back with a complaint.

And yes you could see the difference between tire manufacturers with the amount of weight you did or didn't use.

 

[YY1]

35-

Good balance guys also put a paint dot on the brake drum and one lug stud so you could get the drum back on the same way.

 

[kbfallon]

This is a Hunter Tune In on car balancer. They worked well years ago because you were balancing the entire rotating assy, brake drums etc.




View attachment 886378

The one we used was very similar to that .....the machine had twin motors and was used mostly on UPS trucks that the shop owner serviced at the time. The balancer unit attached to the rim and i doubt it could be used for anything other than the old style steel rims....and it better be attached properly. It did exactly as you describe very well....if you knew how to use it.

 

[mopar 3 B]

35-

Good balance guys also put a paint dot on the brake drum and one lug stud so you could get the drum back on the same way.

Your buying tires. What the heck are the brake drums being removed for?

 

[bearman]

On the big rigs dot goes to valve stem. I always thought it was funny but was proof wrong. So I do what the tire manufacturer says.