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Balancing knock-off wheels

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Lukens

Lukens

Jedi Warrior
Offline
It’s a crime, but most knock-off wheels are balanced incorrectly... Tire shops will insist they know what they’re doing but in fact they don’t.Study the drawing below and you’ll see the right and wrong way to mount a knock-off wheel on a balancing machine. All Dunlop wheels (and Dayton wheels manufactured before 1990), have only two surfaces machined concentric to the rim. That’s the inside taper of the inboard side of wheel, and the outside taper of the outboard side. I visited a dozen shops in my area and they all wanted to stick an adapter (see 2C) into the outboard side. None of them had the proper adapter (see 1D).
I’ve made my own adapter. It basically mimics the knock-off nut, but fits all modern machines. It’s simple and it works. And it can be sold for under 25 bucks. I’m not a vendor, but I’m wondering if there’s enough interest for me to pursue running off a quantity?
Russ

Note: The drawing is borrowed from Moss Motors literature
Edit: If you're fortunate enough to have a shop that balances your wheels on your car, disregard my big idea.:rolleye:　
　
 

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I'd go for a set for $25.
 
Hendrix Wire Wheel uses a complete spindle hub from a wire wheel car with knockoff nut to balance their wheels. The problem with regular tire shops is, even with your attachment, which is a great idea I might add, is their machines are not designed for wire wheels in the first place. The inter cone does not match the taper of the British wheel, also most of tire shops machines are somewhat beat, watch how they throw a wheel on it at times. That's why Hendrix re designed his balancing machine using a complete wire wheel hub with splines to except the British wheel. I had my new wires and tires done by them, which even included shaving the tires for trueness. When a wheel/tire comes out of his shop, it's in perfect balance and no harm is done to the wheel.
 
I don't know where Hendix is, but if they were near me this issue wouldn't exist.
But they're not. And although the tapered adapter that the current machines use may not match the taper of the wheel exactly, it still "centers" the bore. Do this on the inboard and outboard tapers and you pretty well establish the proper axis of rotation. BTW my adapter does have the same taper as the wheel, so at least one side of the equation is a net fit.
 
Why not just use a bubble balancer?
 
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