Balancing Wheel with adapter on?
Balancing Wheel with adapter on? So a friend of mine gave me a few inch and a quarter adapter spacers he got from a guy he works with who was going to put them on a Z28. They are brand new, but they're an ebay brand. I figured why not, i'm toying with the idea of widening my 10 spokes to 11" in the back anyways. I put them on the back of my SS just for the hell of it, and they look mean with the rear end spaced out a bit. I've torqued all the bolts down on the wheel, and took it out a few times (its currently just about ready to come out of winter hibernation). It vibrates when i hit about 80 and of course gets worse as i keep gaining speed. I'm going to repaint my wheels next weekend, and was wondering if i can get them balanced with the spacer on? I'm sure that would solve the vibration. Or if i should just scrap the idea all together. I'm sure they aren't a very great spacer, but hey they were free. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Last edited by Gordo78; Feb 21, 2009 at 11:12 PM.
I would guess that many of the adapters are made of 6061 Aluminum that was turned on a laithe then drilled and counterbored in a vertical mill. So the thing to look for is if the studs pressed in have 10.9 on the heads which is the Metric equivalent of the best quality SAE studs and that they are lug-centric (conical seat in the counterbores) to center them (like your wheels). Also make certain that the center hub opening is not contacting your hub and keeping the adapter from seating flush against your rotor!
From there, if it looks like they are worth keeping I would see if the tire tech could bolt up the adapter to the high speed balance by themselves and balance them, then the tires separately.
I have heard of "on the car" balancing which is best (because it accounts for more of the rotating mass) but could never find anyone that does it.
As a side note, they recommend re-torqueing the adapters just as you would your wheels.
From there, if it looks like they are worth keeping I would see if the tire tech could bolt up the adapter to the high speed balance by themselves and balance them, then the tires separately.
I have heard of "on the car" balancing which is best (because it accounts for more of the rotating mass) but could never find anyone that does it.
As a side note, they recommend re-torqueing the adapters just as you would your wheels.
Well they are lug centric, they have the conical hole that centers with the lug nuts. They also are aluminum, but i don't know if they have the 10.9 on the head of the studs. I'm positive they aren't hitting on the hub. I had them seated and torqued down good once, and checked them again, but i didn't re-torque them again, so i'll try that. I know a guy who mounts tires i'll ask him if i could have the spacer bolted up, and marked, then balanced, so i know what position it goes on to be balanced.
Last edited by Gordo78; Feb 22, 2009 at 09:56 AM.
