The 3000 Forum

I am very experienced in wheel balancing having sold and serviced Balancers for many years. However I could never balance my new BT7 wire wheels, could never get them to run evenly on the 40mm balancer shaft, there was always a wobble. A good friend lent me the modified hub nut from a 3000 hub with the centre of the nut machined out to 45 mm. Each wheel balanced up correctly as I imagine it now held the outer centre of rim in the correct plane. Thank you Ted for that loaner nut.

Hi Mike,

Were wheels trued and the tires shaved before you balanced the whole assembly?

Thanks,
Peter C.

I cannot understand why the tires should need shaving. What’s different with the Healeys to all other cars.

Richard

Me to . I’ve never understood this whole tire shaving thing .
How many thousands of tires go onto every kind of vehicle and get balanced and installed …never shaved and all is well .

---

That’s not an oil leak , it’s my patent pending rust proofing system .

From what I understand it's actually the rubber tire that causes the wheels to be out of balance.
Apparently you cannot make a perfectly round tire as there is always one spot that's thicker and heavier then the rest.

Shaving levels the face of the tire so it's smoother.
Truing helps the wheel run straight and
Balancing evens out the assembled wheel and tire.

I sent all four wheels mounted with tires to Hendrix Wire Wheel and was totally amazed at how smooth the car drove after.
It was like a miracle to me because I didn't ever think the car would drive smoothly.

You want to reduce more vibration in the car?
Have them balance the Rear Brake Drums to smooth out the ride even more.

Note the size of the weights welded to the old stock brake drums!!!!
No wonder I always felt a vibration from the rear end...
I've since installed a set of ALFIN Brake Drums.

Good luck,
Peter C.

I had shimmy problems with my 3000 for years even after having them balanced by several shops set up for wire wheel. I finally bit the bullet and sprung for truing, shaving and fine balancing. No problems since.

The big problem is that the Healey is just very sensitive to wheels that not near perfectly balanced, true and circular. Wire wheels are not perfect circles because every time you loosen or tighten spokes you change the shape of the circle and the trueness (side to side wobble). Once you make them true by adjusting the spokes, the only way to get the wheel close to being a perfect circle is to shave the tire. This is easy to do if you have access to a tire shaver (set up for wire wheel hubs) but they are pretty rare now a days. The tire shaver rotates slowly, measures the high spots at a given point and grinds off a little of the tread a quarter of a turn later. Repeat until the tire is a perfect circle.

See now I know the answer .
I have only ever used Dayton Wire Wheels on both my BJ8s . Guaranteed true and never need truing . Good quality tires balanced correctly , no shimmy or shake and Elvis wasn’t driving

---

That’s not an oil leak , it’s my patent pending rust proofing system .

Olin Kane is correct in my opinion.

A local person privately mounts and balances wire wheels/tires (he used to run a major wheel shop in California). He also has tire shaving equipment.

As I understand it from speaking with him, the problem was nobody made and sold completely round wire wheels (and mounting didn't make it better).
And, older bias ply tires were never round. Shaving tires after mounting was a bandage back then to make sure that mostly round tires ran true after
being mounted on mostly round wire rims. Obviously, mounted wheels and tires were balanced after shaving since the weight changed asymmetrically
during shaving.

Modern tires are much better. He will shave modern tires on wire wheels if you want, but recommends you have him true the wheels instead if there is
a significant run-out problem. However, truing wheels requires more time and skilled labor; and it costs more.

Regards, Bill

Everything costs more William but in this case, with these cars, the wheels need to be round if
you want to have a truly smooth ride.
I lived with "scuttle shake" for 25 years and couldn't believe the feel of the car after I got the wheels back from Hendrix.
It was a virtual transformation and felt like I was driving on a cloud.

Unfortunately for me I got new tires and need to have them re-balanced....but
it'll still be one of the best investments I'll make towards the driving experience.

At least the UPS Store is next door, that'll make it a little easier to send them off this time.

Peter C.

Hi Peter,

I am not sure I completely understand the point of your post to me. As I posted, shaving tires was a more standard procedure years ago (when these cars were new) because the tires were not truly round. Most good, large tire shops had the equipment to shave tires if requested (at least they did where I grew up). Its not done much today because modern tires are built to higher standards and are uniform and round.

My point is, it really isn't needed today IMO if your wheels have been carefully trued and are in good enough condition to remain true. Unfortunately, according to my tire guy who is one of the best, people often have their tires shaved now because it is less expensive than properly rebuilding and truing their wire wheels. A nearby shop is known around the world for their multi-million dollar car restorations (using Borrani wire wheels as was original). They don't see the need to shave the tires on their cars either. Plus, it voids the tire warranty.

Both shops still shave tires if a customer needs to replace a tire and doesn't want to buy a full set. The new tire is shaved to match the wear (diameter) of the other tires. Again, its done to save money.

We have two old British cars with wire wheels (one with Dayton and one with Borrani) and have never needed tire shaving for a smooth ride on either car. And, talking to owners in the two clubs where we are members, nether have any of the people who keep their wire wheels maintained properly.

Maybe, your wire wheels just needed rebuilding and truing?



Regards, Bill



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022-07-09 08:54 AM by WHT.

I solved the "scuttle shake problem" with rear disc brakes and 72-spoke Daytons. When I replaced the tires, the wire wheel shop said they were still true.