Topic: Centramatic Wheel Balancers?

[Bender]

Anybody run Centramatic wheel balancers?  I'd like to smooth out my ride home a bit.  I'm a bit leery of some of the more homebrew type solutions (BBs, etc).  Any thoughts?

Thanks

[CTENG in KS]

Don't use them myself, but from what I hear, if you don't mind dropping the cash, they work very well.

[crawlerdan]

ive installed them and ridden in the vehicle before and after...what a differance!!!! by the way they where installed on a k5 blazer with 44 inch boggers that need 16 ounces each!!!!!

[Bender [OP]]

Thanks.  I may give them a shot.  I get worried about my bearings with all the vibration.  Not to mention my arms are numb after a long drive.   

[RockSlayer]

I use to sell them at a Peterbilt dealership that I worked at. Truckers swear by them. Smoother ride, longer tire life, less wear and tear on the associated components.

[Bender [OP]]

I ordered a set.  I found them new on Ebay for $175.  My wife was actually on board with this purchase since she's not a big fan of the ride.  Centramatic says they don't fit Toyotas and wouldn't sell me a set.  I found this write up that Roger Brown (4Crawler) did. http://www.off-road.com/toyota/tech/balancers/ I run a small spacer so I should be ok.  If not, I'll file down the caliper like he did.  I'll post up when I get them on. 

[Bender [OP]]

Just wanted to update this.  I got the balancers on.  I'm very pleased.  I left my old weights on so my tires were close when I started.  So far I'm very pleased.  They made the ride from Dusy to Sacramento much more enjoyable.  When pulling onto the freeway and getting up to speed you can almost feel them go to work.  There's a bit of a vibration and it works itself out as you keep moving. 

I can only hear them if I'm rolling with the engine off.  Once I turn on the engine it covers up the
"swooshing" noise. 

They weren't cheap, but I think that they'll pay for themselves in the avoided costs of tire balancing. 

[Rocksurfer]

Thought someone might like a link to their website if this thread peaks someones interest.



http://www.centramatic.com/

[Bender [OP]]

Oh yeah...I got mine new off of Ebay.  They were $25 cheaper and came straight from Centramatic.  Plus, Centramatic wouldn't sell to me because they said they wouldn't fit.  I explained the spacer thing, but they just told me I'd send them back anyway so they wouldn't ship them.  Oh well...saved me a few bucks doing it through ebay.