I purchased a set of wheels and tires from an online vendor and they arrived with some yellow and red marking on the outer sidewall. The tires are Yokohama Parada Spec 2s. I didnt know what the markings meant, so i did some research and found the following:

Proper tire and wheel assembly balancing is important from a vehicle safety standpoint. In high-speed driving, improperly balanced tire/wheel assemblies will cause a vehicle to lose stability and not operate in a safe and comfortable manner. Improperly balanced tire/wheel assemblies also cause abnormal treadwear patterns.

To facilitate proper balancing, Yokohama places red and yellow marks on the sidewalls of its tires to enable the best possible match-mounting of the tire/wheel assembly. There are two methods of match-mounting Yokohama tires to wheel assemblies using these red or yellow marks:


Uniformity (red mark)
Weight (yellow mark)

Uniformity Method
When performing uniformity match-mounting, the red mark on the tire, indicating the point of maximum radial force variation, should be aligned with the wheel assembly's point of minimum radial run-out, which is generally indicated by a colored dot or a notch somewhere on the wheel assembly (consult manufacturer for details). Radial force variation is the fluctuation in the force that appears in the rotating axis of a tire when a specific load is applied and the tire rotated at a specific speed. It is necessary to minimize radial force variation to ensure trouble-free installation and operation. Not all wheel assemblies indicate the point of minimum radial run-out, rendering uniformity match-mounting sometimes impossible. If the point of minimum radial run-out is not indicated on a wheel assembly, the weight method of match-mounting should be used instead.

Weight Method
When performing weight match-mounting, the yellow mark on the tire, indicating the point of lightest weight, should be aligned with the valve stem on the wheel assembly, which represents the heaviest weight point of the wheel assembly. After match-mounting by either of the above methods, the tire/wheel assembly can be balanced.


I found that to be pretty interesting, but i couldnt find any mark indicating where the red should be, and the yellow isnt even close to the valve stem. How do i know my tires were mounted correctly?


--
Cheese

 

Without the ability to measure radial runout, the ride quality of the tire is really your test. The point of hight force variation (red) is prioroity over tire's light point. If the wheels were brand new, or totally round, you the could align the yellow with the valvestem to offset the couple of grams. In this case, proof is in ride quality

Dan

>>I purchased a set of wheels and tires from an online vendor and they arrived with some yellow and red marking on the outer sidewall. The tires are Yokohama Parada Spec 2s. I didnt know what the markings meant, so i did some research and found the following:
>>
>>Proper tire and wheel assembly balancing is important from a vehicle safety standpoint. In high-speed driving, improperly balanced tire/wheel assemblies will cause a vehicle to lose stability and not operate in a safe and comfortable manner. Improperly balanced tire/wheel assemblies also cause abnormal treadwear patterns.
>>
>>To facilitate proper balancing, Yokohama places red and yellow marks on the sidewalls of its tires to enable the best possible match-mounting of the tire/wheel assembly. There are two methods of match-mounting Yokohama tires to wheel assemblies using these red or yellow marks:
>>
>>
>>Uniformity (red mark)
>>Weight (yellow mark)
>>
>>Uniformity Method
>>When performing uniformity match-mounting, the red mark on the tire, indicating the point of maximum radial force variation, should be aligned with the wheel assembly's point of minimum radial run-out, which is generally indicated by a colored dot or a notch somewhere on the wheel assembly (consult manufacturer for details). Radial force variation is the fluctuation in the force that appears in the rotating axis of a tire when a specific load is applied and the tire rotated at a specific speed. It is necessary to minimize radial force variation to ensure trouble-free installation and operation. Not all wheel assemblies indicate the point of minimum radial run-out, rendering uniformity match-mounting sometimes impossible. If the point of minimum radial run-out is not indicated on a wheel assembly, the weight method of match-mounting should be used instead.
>>
>>Weight Method
>>When performing weight match-mounting, the yellow mark on the tire, indicating the point of lightest weight, should be aligned with the valve stem on the wheel assembly, which represents the heaviest weight point of the wheel assembly. After match-mounting by either of the above methods, the tire/wheel assembly can be balanced.
>>
>>
>>I found that to be pretty interesting, but i couldnt find any mark indicating where the red should be, and the yellow isnt even close to the valve stem. How do i know my tires were mounted correctly?
>>
>>
>>--
>>Cheese
>>

 

Dan,
So is it your opinon that if I purchased a set of new tires and new wheels that these are incorrectly mounted?

--
Dave

 

Not at all. Certain wheel manufactures allow more runout than others, and I would asume your highest point of foce is matched with your lowest point on your wheel. I would imagine that the tires and wheels were correctly match mounted, are you experiencing symptoms that rasie this question?

Dan
>>Dan,
>> So is it your opinon that if I purchased a set of new tires and new wheels that these are incorrectly mounted?
>>
>>--
>>Dave

 

Nope, they're not even installed yet (too cold in NJ), I was just curious why nothing lines up with the valve stem and if there was any kind of mark i could see with the tire installed on the wheel that would indicate that all was done correctly. Thanks for your input. I greatly appreciate it.

--
Dave

 

if you find you need a rebalance here is a site with a locator for the best balancers on the market, its the only one Tire Rack uses.
GSP9700

Dan

 

How do you know if a tire is balanced correctly or not? Will you feel vibration?

I just got a new set of rims and tires and I noticed these little metallic (lead?) squares stuck to the inside of my rim. Are they necessary for wheel balancing? Can I take off those "metal" stickers? Is this an old form of balancing and should I take them immediately to another place that uses the GSP9700?

 

Oh. This isn't what I thought this thread was about.

 

The squares are weights stuck to the rim to balance them. Don't remove them.

Clip on weights are often used on basic OEM wheels either on the inner or outer rim edges.

Aftermarket rims are usually balanced with the squares either mounted on the inside part of the width of the rim (normal for street use) on on the outer deep dish side if there is space (race use).

From tirerack.com
http://www.tirerack.com/tires-techpage-1/20.shtml
Quote:
The definition of balance is the uniform distribution of mass about an axis of rotation, where the center of gravity is in the same location as the center of rotation. In English, that would translate to...A balanced tire is when the mass of the tire, when mounted on its wheel and the car's axle, is uniformly distributed around the axle. Even easier yet, how about...there are no heavy spots.

Balanced tires can be the difference between a good or bad driving experience. Some cars (and drivers) are more sensitive to an out of balance tire than others, but no one is happy with a vibration.

An out of balance tire can adversely affect ride quality, shorten the life of your tires, bearings, shocks and other suspension components. If you have a vibration that is dependent on speed, and usually becomes noticeable around 40-45 mph and increases as your speed increases, it's probably balance related. The other primary cause of vibrations is that the tire and wheel assembly isn't perfectly round. (and more...)

And see-
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/inf...yKJzrthm2bKT19
About various weights used.