How to balance your tires at home and how to modify your Harbor Freight/Amazon bubble balancer!
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- Опубліковано 16 чер 2023
- On this episode of Mad Ginger Customs we take a Harbor Freight/Amazon Bubble Balancer, and we modify it to work amazing!!! One simple trick and the best part is it's FREE!!! Do it yourself and save your hard-earned money!!
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My grandpa taught me how to use one of these almost 30 years ago, I finally bought one at harbor freight today and I'm glad you saved me a ton of of precious brain power to make it work right
Hope this helps! Thanks for watching!
I can absolutely confirm- this WORKS. I watched this vid last night, it 'sorta' made sense but I told myself, I'll try it tomorrow and see what happens. I widened the hole about 5/16" being careful not to go too deep because I didn't want to disturb where the actual 'head of the pin' was going to rest. I just left enough room so the little shaft didn't run against anything. ONLY the point was touching the cone assembly. Well- right away, I could tell there was a huge difference. The cone assembly didn't 'settle' right away- and that was without the wheel even being placed in position. Then I put on a wheel that was supposed to be 'balanced' - not even close. I removed all the weights I put on and started all over only this time, with this 'new' setup- I got it right. I did both front tires, took the car for a ride- no vibration @ 50MPH- no vibration @90MPH. I was beside myself. Anyway- THANK YOU for making this vid.
Thanks for coming back and commenting after trying it!
If your bubble is inside that circle, you are good to go. There is so much unsprung weight in those old wheels and suspension that you don't have to be perfect. Most balance issues will show up at the 55/60 mph mark. If you are smooth there, you are good. Bubble balance takes care of the static balance which is 95% of the issue. Splitting the weight between the inside and outside takes care of the dynamic balance for the most part, the last 5%. Great video!
Great, thanks for watching!
@@madgingercustomsthank you very much. I have one and gave up on it due to the same problem. I could not get repeatable results. I will drill mine out now.
I just did this to mine. What a difference. It swings for days now and centers perfectly. Thank you brother🤙
Glad this video helped!!
Jess is the cutest little bubble balancer on UA-cam! ❤
Awww thank you! 😊
@@MadGingerJess 🥰😘
Shouldn’t it now be Mad GingerS Customs?
@@bradfindley470 hmmm probably. But it doesn't have the same ring to it!
Man, it's best car channel i found in my life. The exact thing regular guy do in garage. Thank you. I was looking for diy tire change vid for a while and finally ended up with here.
Thanks for finding us and the kind words!!
I'm 67 ... I was mounting and balancing tires (on a bubble balancer) when I was 15 at our local Western Auto! 1970-ish😜 (Would you want a 15 year old kid mounting and balancing your tires today unsupervised? 😁 ) Great memories! Don't remember anyone ever bringing tires back for balance issues! Another great video!!! Thanks!
Thanks for watching!! And I'm sure you were the right guy for the job, 15 years old or not!
That reasoning right there is why I decided to just get the tools and balance them myself. Over paying 40 bucks a tire for some kid to do it. Everything pays for it's self after the first set on my camper.
The editing is hilarious! The explosion after hitting the weight had me cracking up.😂
And thanks for the mod knowledge. I came for the mod, I stayed due to the good energy, concise info, and the edits!
Perfect balance of entertaining and informative. Pun intended.
Good work!
Mental note, add more clips....... Got it! 😁
No doubt that Jess is a champion. She is definitely a keeper brother. The looks she gives you sometimes are priceless. Thanks for sharing her with us. Thanks for the video👍👍🇨🇦
Thanks for watching! ❤
How do you know when to stop drilling? The best way to check to see if the balancer works as designed is repeatability. Balance the tire. Remove it from the balancer then reinstall. If the tire is still in balance, it is working ok. Step 2, add a weight anywhere after it is balanced. Reinstall it on the balancer. If the balancer indicates to add the same amount of weight you previously installed in a random location directly opposite of the randomly installed weight the balancer is working as designed. If the balancer works properly out of the box, it will save time not waiting for the tire and rim to stop moving.
There are tons of arguments for spin balancing. All are fine to a point, but, weights can only go where they can go. Also, tires spin while being pressed to the ground by the weight of the car, not in free air, as a static spin balancer would do.
The best I've used, car tire to semi tire is as follows;
With steel wheel hammer clip weights;
You can pre check rims for heavy side if you like
Determine a slightly heavier weight than needed. Use 4 weights. Place two each way from center placed together. Move them out equa-distance until balance is achieved. Crayon mark the tread at those spots.
Pull off the tire, place a weight at each mark on the back, put the tire back on, set the remaining weights up front loosely again at the mark. Fine tune the balance using the equidistant movement again.
Attach the weights there, and you're done.
The pendulum effect of the weights carry through the spinning motion of the tire rolling on the ground, which is a dampening effect of the spinning weight.
Just found your channel, Very well presented! If you work on cars yourself, this is reality.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment!! We actually just used balance beads in the video coming out Monday. They seem to be a great option as well!
@@madgingercustoms they use something like that on my dually bucket truck back wheels. At speed its smooth, when it's cold and low speed, you feel it for a little while.
In 1964 when I was 19 and working at a gas station we balanced with a bubble balancer and never had anyone come back with a vibration problem. Now at 78 and still working on old cars I might just get one of those balancers and use your modification. Lefty
Awesome, thanks for watching!
Great video guy's, thank you 👍
Thanks for checking it out!
I did what you did and drilled it out a bit, and now it wobbles long time rightly. Thanks again!
Thanks for checking in after trying it!!
Old school here love it. Restore
So this is the second of your videos with the tire changer being the first and I just have to say, you have a great wife my friend. I imagine you two have a great time together as best friends busting each other's chops.
That's correct. She's hilarious!
OD Green Daluth. Very nice Army Veteran approved.
I love Duluth! 😊
I appreciate you getting back to me. Thank you….
He is so excited over that marker. She is adorable
It's the little things in life.
Aw thank you! 😊
I just received my bubble balancer. I knew from watching several of these videos that it was basically a "kit" I would have to tune. Your video gives me hope that won't be too onerous a task. Thanks much!
So much good info. Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
I LOVE THIS. Thank you sooooo much!!!
Thanks for checking it out!
I like the way your wife does the heavy lifting. P.S. Jess you look awesome in the coveralls. 👍
Thank you! 😊
She handles all the business.
Man this brings me back. When i was a teen with no $$ my dad would make me change my truck tire with two large tire irons and a can of starting fluid to bead her up. The first time my friend and I worked on it for hours to no avail and my dad shook his head grabbed the irons and removed the tire and replaced it in just a few min bit i never could get it down it always took along time for me. Great channel btw keep it up.
Thanks for the kind words! Thanks for checking out our video.
It's too bad your dad was not better at passing his skills on to you. I was very fortunate in having a dad that was great at that.
Thanks for encouraging all of us, I spent a few hours replacing 4 tires on aluminum rims today, using your videos as a great source of tips. I made a "contraption" to mount the duckbill similar to yours, and it really works well. I drilled the center of my balancer as well, works like a charm now. Thanks again
Awesome!! Glad it worked out!
You guys make a great team, and awesome mod. Thanks.
Thanks for checking out our video!
Thanks for the tip !
Thanks for watching!
Awesome video Great work !
Thanks!
Thanks for this, big help.
Thanks for watching!
I just discovered your channel and what a great, informative, and entertaining channel for the DIY'er. They get 30 bucks a wheel here in long island and and now I see how I could use these tools and mods to do a pretty decent job on my 66 stang time and time again. Thank you both sooo much!
Thanks for the kind words!! We appreciate you spending time with us.
Thank you. This is another one of those videos that provide great information.
Thanks for watching!
Great modification , thank you man
Thanks!
Top work, well explained, Cheers.
Thank you sir!
Thank you for sharing,good job
Thanks for checking out our video!
Excellent job.very helpful.thanks you guys
Thanks for watching!
Great static balancer!!!!
I've used mine on all my wheels with success so far and it's paid for itself easy , thanks for video great advice.
Thanks for watching!!
Good stuff guys ,much respected
Thanks for checking out our video.
Thank you 👍
Thanks for checking out our video!
Great video! I love the budget-friendly approach and the friendly tone. The gratitude section at the end of each video is is pretty classy too. Cheers!
Love your comments!! We appreciate you!
Great video! Entertaining and informative !
Thank you!
Great video good content. Keep it up!
Thanks for watching our videos!
Outstanding.
Thanks!!
Great mod. I've seen several mods and this is by far the easiest and least expensive. This is only the second video that I have watched of yours and I have just subscribed. looking forward to seeing more of your stuff. You both make a great team by the way.
Thanks for subscribing!
Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
nice and simple.
It works well now. Honestly, 10 minutes to make it work way better!
Thanks I'll try it
Awesome
Greeeeaaaaaaattttt video! Thanks! Great to see non-spastic, non-quick edit videos by real people. So much better than most videos on youtube! Keep up the great work!
Thanks!!
You guys are adorable 😂 and absolutely love the diy content
Thanks for checking out our video!!
Thanks!! ❤
Best tip I've seen in some time. I just completed this mod and it's insane how much difference it made.
Awesome! It's amazing how much better it is than stock.
That was beautiful. I like it. Great job and makes a whole Lotta sense whole Lotta sense.
Thanks for checking out our video!
You two work so well together, my wife and I are the same way. Love your content. I was actually wondering about that balancer and how well it would work and now I know. Thank you for doing this video and showing how easy the mods were.
Thank you for watching it!
Good job
Thanks!
You two are awesome,if you have wife that will stop and help you hot or cold you hang on to her for dear life,just found your channel,keep the videos coming
Oh, I'm holding onto her!
Thank you Sir 👍
Thanks!
Great job, on the modifications to the tire machine and wheel balancer ..
Thanks for watching the videos!!
Great info, brother. Watched the tire machine and the balancing. Jess is a keeper, too!
Thanks! And yes she is!
Hey thanks! I guess I'll stick around..😂😂
Pretty Kool 😮 I got the new HF Black tier changer still in a box, Awsome job drilling it to balance better.
I wonder if the black one is any different besides the paint? 🤔
I've been changing my own tires for a couple decades to save a dime, and have recently noticed a very slight vib at around 70 mph in one of my vehicles. I have one of those harbor freight balancers, and am considering trying it out. Thanks for the pointers.
It's great to see how well you two work together! Thanks for sharing that with us.
Thanks for watching! We appreciate it.
Just found your channel tonight. You have a new subscriber
Thanks for subscribing!
Very nice video on how too use old school tools I’ll be getting one of those thanks
Thanks for watching!
Liked you’re video!
Thanks!
That was a good tip......
Thanks!!
Thank you for charing a great modification. I love how you both cooperate ♥️. I wished my wife was interested like your.
She will be on Mondays video. Hope to see you then!
Just found your channel, enjoyed this video. I can't remember if it was in high school shop class, or the gas station I worked at while in high school. The bubble balancer I learned was pretty cool, because it had a lever to lift the bubble assembly to balance, after finding the weights needed, you would move the lever to lower the bubble assembly to a solid surface to hammer the weights on without having to take the tire off and back on for the recheck.
That sounds cool. Thanks for checking out our video!
It nice job
Thanks!!
Wow! i just ordered one on Ebay. Will check for this point issue, and use the drill if its off. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for checking it out!
Well done! This is the second vid of yours I've seen, the first one being the tire changer mods.Great ideas and plan on reworking my HF tire changer. One mod i made on mine was putting a spring on the bead breaker. That way i dont have to hold it up and out of the way while I'm sliding tires in or out.Thanks for the vid and keep up the good work!
Thank you!
Nice one 👍
Thanks!
Mine wobbles for a long time out of the box. This is a great idea for the ones that don’t !
I bet its just inconsistency in the brands and manufacturing. Some are way better that others! Thanks for checking it out!
You got yourself a subscriber! 👍🏽
We appreciate you!
I wished you would have recorded the drilling process and drill sizes!
I said the drill sizes in the video and drilled them by hand. Basically you want to work your way up to a 3/8 final size but you don't want to increase the depth. Keep the taper on the end but remove the side material.
I went backwards. Started out with a 1/2" to hog out some material then to a 3/8" and then a 1/4". I went as deep as I could without touching the center point. Just take it slow and check to make sure you don't go too far. I basically stopped when I could get the centering cone to swing freely. If you go too far and kiss the center point, stop and check to see if it it swings freely and see if it centers. If it does you'll be ok👍
Use a Dremel or a die grinder. It's easier to access and see what you're doing.
Just a little bit of information the best balancer is one that does it on the car.. I first seen one of these years ago when I was in the RAAF, you use it by just lifting the tyre off the ground then you bring this thing up to the tyre and turn it on it spins the tyre so you can see where to add your weights and by doing it this way it takes of wear in you hubs, brakes and any other wear so everything is in balance.
Certainly makes the most sense. Balance the entire rotating assembly!
In the 70s the alignment shop I used did it this way. It is a really neat method,
Just found you keep up the great content
Thanks for checking out our video!
You guys make a good couple
good video
Thank you!
Lead weights are very soft. They can be easily cut with a hacksaw to customize the weight amount.
Absolutely!! Thanks for watching.
I had never seen this mod anywhere before, so I tried it on a brand new balancer, and after I balanced four tires, threw them on my Ranger, I can scream down the highway at near 80 miles an hour, and the things as smooth as silk
Glad you found it helpful! Thanks for checking it out!
Bought everything you folks have from princess auto up here in Canada 🇨🇦 works amazing after I did the mods
That's awesome!! Glad it's working for you!
Great Vid! Thanks! For the record though you did Say H lol
Outstanding video! I've watched countless video's on how to fix the HF bubble balancers and saw everything from glass to lasers used to retrofit the things to get them to work when all we have to do is step drill the hole up to 3/8". Simple fix that doesn't cost anything but my time. Thank you for showing us this mod.
Thanks for watching it!
@@madgingercustoms Thank you for making the video. I did your mod on my bubble level today and it took all of 10 minutes and the results are perfect.
@@scottbeverly188 thanks for letting us know!!
i always divide the wight for each side if rim , prevents wobble, love that you work with your wife . your wife looking good on camera
She always looks good lol
I hope to get lucky with my china made wheel balancer I just ordered. I really wasn't expecting to make any modifications to anything when buying it. Thank you very much for making this video
Thanks for checking out the video!
Glad I got to see your video on this. I'm going to do that to my balancer. I thought that's what was wrong with mine, but I just wiggled and spun my tires a few times just to be sure that they will center each time. After 3 times then I marked the spot and then put my weights on. I balance my tires every time I rotate them.
I feel it works much better like this!
@madgingercustoms most definitely. Nothing there to bind it up.
I'm buying one on my home from work. Great video and buy the way your wife is a keeper and has beautiful hair.
She is a keeper!
Thank you! ❤
Do I need to find the heaviest part of the wheel/rim first before i mount the tire so that it's not going to be on the same side of the high point of the tire ? Or is it enough to just line up the red/yellow dot on the tire with the valve stem ?
I got two things from this one I'm going to do it now and second if you were my neighbor it would be awesome
I like helping the neighbors! I'm an HVAC guy by trade so usually it's that and not car stuff.
I got one of them had it cents 1978 or before it’s old but still good. Great thinking again never wood of think that to do to it. But I’ll check it out thanks again for showing telling see ya next time see ya bye.
Thanks for watching!
Job's a good'n. 👍👍🙂
Thanks!
The 14" set i put on my sons corolla dint have the red dot but the 17s of nexens did have the red dot i dont have a balancer yet so had to get them balanced the 17s i couldnt mount broke the changer and the tool that came with it i had alredy cut the ends off and welded them to a solid steel benh press bar thats made to hold a lot of weight and bent the crap out of trying to mount the 215/65/17s was going to buy a amazon install bar but after i watched your last video im going to go that rout. Thank you again for a great video!!! Have a wonderful day!!!!!!!!!
Give it a shot, it certainly makes it easy.
I used 1/2" drill bit to make a wide, shallow, cone.
Whatever works for you!! Thanks for watching.
Just a quick one. I use a piece of chalk to mark on the tire. That way you can just rub it off when you're done. Thanks for the video. I think I'll go out and buy me a balancer...
Thanks! And yes, we also did buy some chalk!
Good thing you timed the way it came. There may have been some confusion!
Thanks for watching!
Great fix to make a cheap product usable. I like to use balancing beads now, much easier and no need to rebalance. Used on 5 motorcycles and one car. Always have a smooth ride, even after 30k miles on a set of tires.
Yeah I think we will try balance beads next!
During my time in the service while stationed in Germany I watched a German garage balance a Mercedes tires on nothing but a bubble balancer. Don't forget the Autobahn often has no speed limit (and they use it)!
For all the people that said this doesn't work, it sure did work for decades! Thanks for watching!
wow you have it really awesome with a wife that does things with you. treasure her. I might suggest why not use litle chalk marks on the tire instead of a red dot. of course black dots would work unless you make a mistake and not cover it with a weight later. I watched your tire mounting video too. I like your informative way. I may buy these now. being in Canada will see princess auto.
I love the chalk idea!! Thanks for watching our videos!
I did read the patent filed 1957 for the Y method, the purpose was to enable a tire shop to only need to stock 3 different weights and still be able to balance any wheel. 0.6 oz & 1.6 oz & 2.25 oz. With normal balance method a shop would need to stock many different weights.
Thanks for the info!!
Absolute brilliance on the friction. Been around them for years and seen so many stupid fixes
Sometimes the simpler solution is best. Thanks for watching!
I'm going to have to buy this balancer. Local shop won't balance my 12" tires because their 'high falutin' expensive machine won't do 12" trailer tires and they dont' have a bubble balancer. Guess the 19 year old "punks' couldn't be bothered to learn how to use it. All tires, even small 12" trailer tires should be balanced.
I'm going to do all my trailer tires now!