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[TheBoy]

How do you balance it, as the guy here normally takes 2 attempts?

If the wheels are a bit shaky at speed, local garage does it gratis at MOT time.

Even if my MOTer would, I only MOT my cars annually, so that's not gonna work for me.

[STEMO]

Unbalanced wheels, bodged brake warning lights.......fickin danger to other road users if you ask me. 

[Steve B]

Unbalanced wheels, bodged brake warning lights.......fickin danger to other road users if you ask me. 

[terry paget]

Unbalanced wheels, bodged brake warning lights.......fickin danger to other road users if you ask me. 

Who brought bodged brake warning lights into this thread?

[05omegav6]

TB, albeit inadvertently

[TheBoy]

bodged brake warning lights

You mean Fixed Brake Warning Lights, surely

[05omegav6]

bodged brake warning lights

You mean Fixed Brake Warning Lights, surely

You can make custard or you can pour if from the tin... which is genuinely custard is purely a matter of opinion...

If the lights is out, but working when required, then I say job jobbed

[terry paget]

I take off my hat to MigV6, I have never mastered changing car tyres. I can do it on pedal cycles and motorcycles, if I could not I would not ride them. On cars I change wheels, and the Omega still carries a full sized proper spare allowing me to proceed at full speed, like all cars should do.

I have twice in my life tried to master changing car tyres, and failed on both occasions. Problem was getting the tyre down from the rim into the well. Tyre shops use an airline tool for the purpose, with the wheel clamped on a rig. I bought a Machine Mart tool I can bash with a lump hammer to get it off, but still failed, so gave up.

Do all tyres on wheels really need balancing? The wheels seem pretty symetrical, just a hole for the valve, the valve is obviously an out of balance, and that's it. I believe tyres have balance spots on them to align with the valves. I never used to balance my bicycle wheels, but they were bigger. Come to think of it, I don't think balance was a problem on older cars. Could it be more of a problem on small wheels, as on Minis?

[Kevin Wood]

bodged brake warning lights

You mean Fixed Brake Warning Lights, surely

You can make custard or you can pour if from the tin... which is genuinely custard is purely a matter of opinion...

If the lights is out, but working when required, then I say job jobbed

Still useless for TheBoy either way because the most likely failure mode - meltage - doesn't put the light on anyway.

[TheBoy]

I take off my hat to MigV6, I have never mastered changing car tyres. I can do it on pedal cycles and motorcycles, if I could not I would not ride them. On cars I change wheels, and the Omega still carries a full sized proper spare allowing me to proceed at full speed, like all cars should do.

I have twice in my life tried to master changing car tyres, and failed on both occasions. Problem was getting the tyre down from the rim into the well. Tyre shops use an airline tool for the purpose, with the wheel clamped on a rig. I bought a Machine Mart tool I can bash with a lump hammer to get it off, but still failed, so gave up.

Do all tyres on wheels really need balancing? The wheels seem pretty symetrical, just a hole for the valve, the valve is obviously an out of balance, and that's it. I believe tyres have balance spots on them to align with the valves. I never used to balance my bicycle wheels, but they were bigger. Come to think of it, I don't think balance was a problem on older cars. Could it be more of a problem on small wheels, as on Minis?

I have found the Omega to be particularly sensitive to balancing, so its probably bigger, wider wheels making it more sensitive?

The fact there really aren't that many perfectly round alloy wheels out there after a few miles on UK roads makes it even worse.  The MFL MV6 Irmscher alloys are particularly bad, guaranteed to go out of round at the sight of a catseye at 1000 paces...

[TheBoy]

bodged brake warning lights

You mean Fixed Brake Warning Lights, surely

You can make custard or you can pour if from the tin... which is genuinely custard is purely a matter of opinion...

If the lights is out, but working when required, then I say job jobbed

Well, light comes on with handbrake, and if I undo the reservoir cap, and is out at other times so far, so looks like there was a loom fault 

[TheBoy]

bodged brake warning lights

You mean Fixed Brake Warning Lights, surely

You can make custard or you can pour if from the tin... which is genuinely custard is purely a matter of opinion...

If the lights is out, but working when required, then I say job jobbed

Still useless for TheBoy either way because the most likely failure mode - meltage - doesn't put the light on anyway.

Anyone who has driven for more than a year or 2 will fully recognise the warning signs of over warming the brakes. The more intelligent ones then drive a tad slower.

Guess I'm just the stupid kid from the local comprehensive then


Joking aside, well maintained standard Omega brakes using GM/TC components will take a heck of a lot of abuse, and most road users will have to go some to properly cook them.

[Nick W]

I take off my hat to MigV6, I have never mastered changing car tyres. I can do it on pedal cycles and motorcycles, if I could not I would not ride them. On cars I change wheels, and the Omega still carries a full sized proper spare allowing me to proceed at full speed, like all cars should do.

I have twice in my life tried to master changing car tyres, and failed on both occasions. Problem was getting the tyre down from the rim into the well. Tyre shops use an airline tool for the purpose, with the wheel clamped on a rig. I bought a Machine Mart tool I can bash with a lump hammer to get it off, but still failed, so gave up.

Do all tyres on wheels really need balancing? The wheels seem pretty symetrical, just a hole for the valve, the valve is obviously an out of balance, and that's it. I believe tyres have balance spots on them to align with the valves. I never used to balance my bicycle wheels, but they were bigger. Come to think of it, I don't think balance was a problem on older cars. Could it be more of a problem on small wheels, as on Minis?

It's possible to change car tyres without a machine - watch a truck fitter or 4x4 mechanic, but the larger the diameter and the lower the profile the harder it gets. The key is a heavy hammer, two long levers, plenty of practice and lots of soap. Plus large, wide alloys are easily damaged even if you have the knack. They're easily damaged using an old machine too.


As for balancing, you have it the wrong way around; small wheels need less balancing than big, as the larger diameter dramatically emphasizes any faults. Modern wheels are quite soft, and the huge offset and widths make them prone to buckling. A good quality tyre fitted with care to a round wheel won't need much balancing. Put the same tyre on a buckled wheel and you'll be using more lead than the Romans.

[terry paget]

I take off my hat to MigV6, I have never mastered changing car tyres. I can do it on pedal cycles and motorcycles, if I could not I would not ride them. On cars I change wheels, and the Omega still carries a full sized proper spare allowing me to proceed at full speed, like all cars should do.

I have twice in my life tried to master changing car tyres, and failed on both occasions. Problem was getting the tyre down from the rim into the well. Tyre shops use an airline tool for the purpose, with the wheel clamped on a rig. I bought a Machine Mart tool I can bash with a lump hammer to get it off, but still failed, so gave up.

Do all tyres on wheels really need balancing? The wheels seem pretty symetrical, just a hole for the valve, the valve is obviously an out of balance, and that's it. I believe tyres have balance spots on them to align with the valves. I never used to balance my bicycle wheels, but they were bigger. Come to think of it, I don't think balance was a problem on older cars. Could it be more of a problem on small wheels, as on Minis?

It's possible to change car tyres without a machine - watch a truck fitter or 4x4 mechanic, but the larger the diameter and the lower the profile the harder it gets. The key is a heavy hammer, two long levers, plenty of practice and lots of soap. Plus large, wide alloys are easily damaged even if you have the knack. They're easily damaged using an old machine too.


As for balancing, you have it the wrong way around; small wheels need less balancing than big, as the larger diameter dramatically emphasizes any faults. Modern wheels are quite soft, and the huge offset and widths make them prone to buckling. A good quality tyre fitted with care to a round wheel won't need much balancing. Put the same tyre on a buckled wheel and you'll be using more lead than the Romans.

Thanks Nick I do not recall any weights on wire wheels or old cars, yet none suffered from balance problems. Perhaps their narrowness helped. On my Velocette I had tyre clamps which must have affected the balance, but gave no problem.
So wide wheels are trouble, and alloy wheels are more prone to distortion and damage.
I have never seen a truck mechanic or 4X4 owner changing tyres. I have seen pick up trucks with comprssors and tyre changers in the back, which supports my belief that it's tricky. I shall try again.
Perhaps steel wheels are less prone to distortion, and therefore balance problems.

[STEMO]

Why bother, Terry? Maybe as a personal challenge, but you're not going to save a fortune by the time you've bought all the kit.