Author Topic: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...  (Read 1029 times)

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Offline jbcollier

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Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« on: Monday,January 17, 2022, 03:41:56 PM »
Long story:

I have struggled with a shake in the 70mph (110kph) to 80mph (130kph) speed range.  I've tried multiple tires and balancing, hand balanced brake drums, etc.  I can make it better, but not eliminate it.  Finally I got yet another new set of brake drums and spun them up on a lathe:

https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-rbgL44H/A

I then spun them up on a wheel balancer.  It called for 60gms/2.2oz of weight (!)

I then put them back on the lathe and spun them up at various rpm.  At 160, the whole lathe started to "hop".  I then machined the "outsides" true and put them back on the wheel balancer.  One took 7gms (1/4oz) the other 14gms (1/2oz).  Much, much better.  I'll now spot weld on steel slugs as the stick on wheel weight won't stand the heat.

Short story:

New brake drums are junk.  Get the "outside" machined true.  If you can find a sympathetic shop, ask them to spin them up on their wheel balancer and balance them with stick on weights.  Then take them to a welder who can tack weld on matching steel slugs.


Offline tedtaylor

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Re: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« Reply #1 on: Monday,January 17, 2022, 04:33:18 PM »
story long or short....did you solve the vibration???
TED
"Driving a Lotus is a triumph of bravery over intelligence." Stirling Moss

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owned nearly 50 Lotus cars over the years!
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Offline jbcollier

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Re: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« Reply #2 on: Monday,January 17, 2022, 04:40:52 PM »
Good question!

Dunno for sure but I'm feeling more confident.  It's -21 tonight and the Europa won't see the light of day until at least April due to all the salt on the roads.

Offline GavinT

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Re: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« Reply #3 on: Monday,January 17, 2022, 07:28:46 PM »
Whoa . .
Judging by eye, it looks like the drum spigot is not centred on the drum.
If you flip the drum over, does the working surface of the drum have reasonably run out relative to the drum spigot?

Many moons ago a mate also noted the poor quality of the drums available.
He also reckoned the drums weren't sufficiently rigid and ended up adapting a drum that had a reinforcing ridge around the circumference of the drum.

Offline jbcollier

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Re: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« Reply #4 on: Monday,January 17, 2022, 07:58:06 PM »
Brake surface is true to the spigot.  First thing I checked.

Offline GavinT

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Re: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« Reply #5 on: Tuesday,January 18, 2022, 05:51:19 PM »
Apologies JB . . of course you would have.
Your video should well be enough to get a refund.

I wonder if they were made by the same guys who make these brake pads in Pakistan.

https://youtu.be/IL031aSTSuI

Offline TurboFource

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Re: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday,January 18, 2022, 06:37:00 PM »
That brake pad video is crazy…..no safety equipment in use at all :-\
The more I do the more I find I need to do....remember your ABC’s …anything but chinesium!

Offline Exlimey

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Re: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« Reply #7 on: Tuesday,January 18, 2022, 07:02:05 PM »
Amazing video,thanks for that.

Offline kram350kram

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Re: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« Reply #8 on: Tuesday,January 18, 2022, 07:18:48 PM »
Anyone know what the Diamond part number is for a Europa? I would be interested in rear shoes too.

Offline BDA

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Re: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« Reply #9 on: Tuesday,January 18, 2022, 07:44:33 PM »
That brake pad video is crazy…..no safety equipment in use at all :-\

OSHA? Who needs it?!

Offline jbcollier

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Re: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« Reply #10 on: Tuesday,January 18, 2022, 08:53:42 PM »
Gavin, not looking for a refund, just drums that are in balance.  Believe it or not, this is my third, new set.  Hopefully my last for a while.

Offline 4129R

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Re: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« Reply #11 on: Wednesday,January 19, 2022, 01:17:36 AM »
It's -21 tonight and the Europa won't see the light of day until at least April due to all the salt on the roads.

At those sort of temperatures, do you drain all the liquid out of the screen wash and use pure antifreeze in the whole cooling system?

What other things do you have to do on a car not used in the winter to stop extreme low temperature damage?

Do you get ice in the tyres from just inflating the tyres with damp air? 

Offline jbcollier

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Re: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« Reply #12 on: Wednesday,January 19, 2022, 09:39:56 AM »
The Europa shelters in a heated garage.  Along with all you mentioned, exposing fibreglass to freeze/thaw cycles is not a good idea.

60/40 antifreeze/water mix is pretty much standard up here.  Gives protection down to -40 and it really only gels at that point so it's still fine even lower with a careful warm up.  Washer fluid is also rated down to -35 and lower.  We use winter washer fluid year round so you don't have to drain it come the cold.  Oils need to be thin and preferably synthetic.  Conventional gear oils at -40 are essentially a soft solid.

Tires, at REALLY cold temperatures, do take a few hundred feet/meters to lose the frozen flat spot but less to do with water inside than cold, stiff sidewalls.  Modern radials are much better in this regard.

My main vehicle lives outdoors and is not plugged in.  It's an '04 Land Rover Disco 2 with two Webasto heaters.  One warms the coolant and the other the interior.  Down to -20, I hit the remote and, 20 minutes later, the interior is warm and the engine starts like a hot start in summer with instant warm air from the heater.  By -40, again after 20 minutes, the interior is just above freezing and the engine starts -- which it sure wouldn't otherwise.

It all sounds pretty dire but it isn't really.  At these temps there is virtually zero moisture in the air so it feels no where near as cold as it sounds.  Still you always have to dress as though the car might break down, or get stuck, and cary the appropriate gear for recovery and survival.
« Last Edit: Wednesday,January 19, 2022, 09:43:35 AM by jbcollier »

Offline BobW

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Re: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« Reply #13 on: Tuesday,January 25, 2022, 10:16:26 AM »
My drums were balanced by a shop that builds competition engines. That got rid of the vibration in the rear. I still have a residual vibration in the front.

Offline jbcollier

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Re: Wheel balance again, and again, and again...
« Reply #14 on: Thursday,April 21, 2022, 08:20:11 PM »
Finally got a chance to take it out on the highway.  Holy Poop!  I can see out the rearview mirror!  Worked like a charm, no vibration... at least not from the wheels.  (It's an S1 so the engine vibrates the chassis, body, etc)