Lug Centric vs Center cone

[Cracker]

I just had five new tires replaced and balanced. Dexter Axle recommended lug centric balancing vs cone so we tried that first. Watching the first tire on the balancer it appeared that it had a high spot but the tech went ahead and balanced it. He switched back to the center cone for the next tire, it ran smooth as silk, and he balanced it. With that in mind, he put the first tire back on the balancer - now with the center cone - and it ran smooth (no visible high spot) but out of balance. He pulled the weights previously installed and re-balanced it. There wasn’t much change in the balance weights required, aside from their location, but the tire obviously ran much smoother. At that point we decided to use the center cone for the three remaining tires. The factor that convinced me was the smooth running with the cone. Some old f—rts like me will remember that, back in the ‘50s it was quite common to have your tires “rounded” by shaving off the high spots. We used to check for this malady by dropping the garage lift down close to the floor and then spinning the tires by hand.

[first time 5er]

Back in the day! still shave the tires on my hobby stock when i race at the local track
shhhh

[FlyingAroundRV]

Whether you balance by the lugs or by the cone, the wheel is mounted by the lugs. If there is a bit of out-of-roundness relative to the lugs then I would think that regardless of how the wheel is balanced, there will still be some vibration as the rig goes down the road.
With that in mind, I think that balancing by the lugs will ultimately give a smoother ride than by the cone because the weights will compensate a little for the out-of-roundness of the wheel.
BTW, It seems odd that you noticed any variation when the tire was mounted by the lugs. It might be worth getting all the wheels spun by the lugs to see if they all vary or whether it is just one rogue wheel. Also, I wonder if there are any specs on concentricity for vehicle wheels.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Cracker

I just had five new tires replaced and balanced. Dexter Axle recommended lug centric balancing vs cone so we tried that first. Watching the first tire on the balancer it appeared that it had a high spot but the tech went ahead and balanced it. He switched back to the center cone for the next tire, it ran smooth as silk, and he balanced it. With that in mind, he put the first tire back on the balancer - now with the center cone - and it ran smooth (no visible high spot) but out of balance. He pulled the weights previously installed and re-balanced it. There wasn’t much change in the balance weights required, aside from their location, but the tire obviously ran much smoother. At that point we decided to use the center cone for the three remaining tires. The factor that convinced me was the smooth running with the cone. Some old f—rts like me will remember that, back in the ‘50s it was quite common to have your tires “rounded” by shaving off the high spots. We used to check for this malady by dropping the garage lift down close to the floor and then spinning the tires by hand.

It's not the axel that dictates the type of balancing required but the manufacturer of the wheel.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by flybouy

It's not the axel that dictates the type of balancing required but the manufacturer of the wheel.

Yup. Usually, when a vehicle is designed, wheels are designed with it to specifically fit the hubs on the axle. When after market wheels are employed, they are usually a "large hub" design so they can be used on a variety of axles. So the hub is "machined to fit any axle, as long as the lug placement is standardized".

Here are a couple of websites that address the differences:

https://www.discounttire.com/learn/h...vs-lug-centric
http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Hu...Vs-Lug-Centric

For someone who wants more information, a Google search for "Lug centric vs hub centric" will provide a "machinist's education" with days of reading.

[CWtheMan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocWAZqNGhM4