Pizzaguy this is what I learned about roadforce balancing after owning my first car with low profile tires. One person described RF compared to spin balance as "you can spin balance an egg to within specs but you cannot make it go down the road smooth.

The machine finds the heavy spot in the wheel and the heavy spot on the tire. The tire is mounted so the heavy spots are opposite then puts a roller against the tire as it measures the balance. You tell the machine where you are placing weights relative to the wheel meaning if you don't want/can't have clip on weights on the outer lip but can have them on the outer edge of inside of the wheel it will calculate for weight by placement.

The machine measures RF in pounds of force. The lower the better. It will find runout and out of round wheels. It finds out of spec tires for round & run-out. It will tell you which corner to place the wheels on the car for the least amount of pull and give you a print-out of the results.

DISCLAIMER; I am in no way affiliated with the makers of these machines. What I do know is when used properly I get a glass smooth ride and want to share this information. See RF balancer or Road Force Touch GSP9700 - The World's #1 Diagnostic Balancer This is one mfr's webpage.

My local car dealer has one and knows how to use it. They charge $80 for the rotate and balance. Once done I have been able to just rotate tires w/o a rebalance. (not my XF!) I have also been to places that say they have one but must first wipe the dust off the screen to use it so look for a place that has one and knows how to use it. The tech has to be smarter than the machine to get proper results. One of the most common mistakes is using the hub centric machine adaptors in a lug centric wheel.

Before I bought my XF a dealer I was working a deal with on a different XF that has rash on the wheels, I asked them to measure the tires/wheels on their RF machine. Once they did they refused the sell the car to me. It musta needed new wheels and they didn't want to sell to a "fussy" smooth ride guy like me. Their tech said they were the worst they have ever measured. 70 lbs. of RF! I like mine in the 2- 5lb range, I have been told less than 15 is considered good so when I have a RF done the dealer knows I will ask for the lowest possible reading.

 

DT performance & wheels where I deliver and pick up for,has had the road force balancer for about a year and a half. We use it on all custom wheels, and of course I use it on every car i have, this Includes my slicks.jim

 

My best friend is the local Hunyer rep and has ine of these in his peraonal garage next to the 700+bhp hemi cuda he is building

 

It is interesting timing that this came up now, as I am about to order tires for the car.

I now have MORE homework to do....


THANKS!

 

Used exclusivly for learning the selling points for sure!

 

Please share your answers with the rest of us......