Tire Balance

[Fred Brooks]

     Ed, I believe they are Chinese. Great tires, no problems from any of my customers. Regards Fred

[Jerry Emert]

I've heard that they are Korean.

[Fred Brooks]

    I'm wrong and you be correct, Korean,  Fred

[Joel Weiss]

Joel good report on the Hancooks, what country are they made in?

Hankooks are made in Korea, I believe.  I first had them on a car more than 10 years ago.

[Edward Buker]

Thanks Joel,

Korea makes very innovative products, is schooled on quality principals, and with the exception of Japan (who would be first on my list) the Koreans would be next on my list from that area of the world as far as manufacturing of quality products. They are also innovating at a faster rate then the rest of the world if you look at the improvements in their cars, phones, and appliances in the last few years. The low price of these tires made me wary, but given good reports from both you and Fred I will keep them on my short list.

Later Ed

[Joel Weiss]

Ed:

The tire dealer I bought them from, who deals exclusively in large truck tires, said that the Hankooks were the only brand, other than Michelin, that he would recommend, even though he could obtain any of them.

Joel

[Glenn Perkins]

Ed,
Checkout Centramatic. I've been told they are one of the largest suppliers of balance rims. They worked very well on my Contessa which had chronic balance problems with Goodyear tires. I got #700710 for the front and #600640 for the rear. I'm pretty sure they were applicable for all Magnum chassis.
http://www.centramatic.com/
Steve

I would agree with Steve's reference to Centramatic balancers.  We have had them front and rear on our 99 Marquis for probably close to 100K miles and 3 sets of tires.  I went to these when I had developed a severe vibration going down the road and rather than removing and balancing 6 tires, I took a chance and had them installed.  One of the best things I ever did on the MH ... immediately resolved the vibration and have promoted great tire wear as well.

[Edward Buker]

Thanks for all the info from everyone. I did not really have the time to order the Centrematic Balancers and deal with this issue given our leave date was fast approaching. I had 6 Toyo M144s mounted. Had the fronts spin balanced and the rears mounted as they were. I have about 1200 miles of travel with them now and I sense no balance issues and no vibration so I am very happy. They have performed very well and I am happy that they are manufactured in Japan. There was a 6 week lead time to get them if not stocked. Dates were WC 4314 and I purchsed them in April of 15 so I consider the dates to be good. I had Michelin XZA2 Energy tires which I loved. By comparison I would say the ride of the Toyos is slightly stiffer but also a little more precise steering wise so it is a tradeoff. The Michelin sidewalls bulge more and the Toyo sidewalls have less of a bulge while sitting and my sense is that translates into a slightly stiffer ride. I am very happy with the Toyos and either of these tires would in my mind be a top tier choice. Just wanted to give a Toyo M144 report....

Later Ed

[Adam Hicklin]

Side note.  Why not balance the rears?

[Edward Buker]

Adam,

I was in a truck shop owned by a friend and he did not have spin balancing equipment that would handle this size rim and tire. I loaded the mounted rims for the fronts into a pickup and went to another shop and had them spun balanced.... a pain to do and tying up his shop.

You sit over the fronts and being just a single tire I think it is more critical to balance these. I'm not sure spin balancing the rears accomplishes much when all the mass of duals is involved in the rears. Gerald pointed out this is what he does normally, just balance the fronts. I trust his judgment on motorhome matters more than anyone, given his years of experience. I cannot sense any vibration issues at all so I am happy.

Later Ed

[Adam Hicklin]

Ed, I agree with you on Gerald!  The last time I changed tires I had all 6 balanced. I was of the attitude that it couldn't hurt and after dropping $3000 on tires, I was looking for any possible advantage