[chief1richard]

Was wondering if it is worth balancing Track Tires, especially 100 Treadwear and under, considering that after a few hot laps the tires become unbalanced due to Track Rubber and Rubber from tire itself chunking off and sticking on other sections of tire. Have been going thru many tires and flipping them to get most wear out of a set, and would like to hear from anyone who has not balanced theirs, and if they notice any difference.

[dvas]

I don't balance my wheels/tires any long for the reasons you stated above. The race shop I go to has cars and TCR racing and they likewise have suggested that it's a waste of time.

I have not felt a difference either way.

[M2guru]

I don't balance mine either, but I think it doesn't hurt to balance the rim separately without tires and then mount tires thereafter without balancing. Never had an issue after 5ish sets of take-offs so far.

[M2guru]

oh...and I use aluminum tape over the wheel weights so they don't fly off

[3LiterBeater]

A common issue with I've experienced is the wheel slipping inside of the tire, ruining the balanced spots.

Motorsport wheels with the knurled inner edge help tremendously with this. Also, the track boogers/ funky grooved rubber will sometimes burn off on the drive home or over the next couple weeks.

Hope that helps!

[Dean_Clevername]

I forgot to use aluminum tape over my wheel weights and they fell off in paddock after the first session. Wheels were pretty unbalanced the rest of the day, particularly the front left. Was annoying over 70mph, but it really sucked over 100mph. To the point that I got them re-balanced before day 2.

Did it make a huge performance difference? I don't know. Braking into t1 at Summit Main felt much better/stable. But I was also less frustrated and distracted. And that's important.

Sticky tires will always slip on the bead when you drive hard enough. A re-balance is cheap. I'd rather feel what the car is doing in fast corners and not have to filter out a layer of vibration that clouds the feedback. So I guess it's just down to preference

[chief1richard]

Originally Posted by M2guru

I don't balance mine either, but I think it doesn't hurt to balance the rim separately without tires and then mount tires thereafter without balancing. Never had an issue after 5ish sets of take-offs so far.

How is the Wheel balance feeling on the track? Do you feel it is worth just balancing the wheel? I have a new set of tires and feel I should just balance the wheel. So much rubber compound sticking on the tires after a few sessions seems to be not worth the expense to "balance the tire".

[M2guru]

Originally Posted by chief1richard

How is the Wheel balance feeling on the track? Do you feel it is worth just balancing the wheel? I have a new set of tires and feel I should just balance the wheel. So much rubber compound sticking on the tires after a few sessions seems to be not worth the expense to "balance the tire".

In 4-5 sets of take off slicks, I have had no issue up to 130 mph at the track I spend most of my time at. They get boogers on the inner barrel and the slick tread but I have not felt a vibration yet.