Now that I'm 350 miles into running in my restored 2.2 I'm venturing onto motorways and finding out that the wheels have never been balanced since being refurbished by the previous owner. There are no weights on them at all, so once I reach 60 things start wobbling.
After several attempts locally in Manchester I can't find anyone who can balance the thick alloy solid centre wheels. Can anyone give me any help on how to find somewhere in the UK which can do these 1980's wheels? Meanwhile I'll have a look for classic tyre suppliers to see if they can help. ATS can do solid centre wheels but their machine can't cope with the thickness of the Murena wheels apparently.
Check the alloy wheel refurbishers in the Manchester area and there is one in Preston which is not too far, as they have to be able to balance wheels. Of course if it is the tyres that are out, they need to be fitted to check the overall balance, so check first if they can balance wheels with tyres on. Also you only really need to do the two front wheels and the spare. The rears would have to very seriously out (unlikely) to cause any problem as the rear suspension constrains them more, and since they are never going on the front, it is a waste of time to bother balancing them. I've never bothered balancing my rear wheels/tyres and never had a problem either.
One tip that might still be useful: truck places used to balance the wheels and tyres on the vehicle, partly because they are too big and heavy to put on a normal wheel balancing machine, and also because the rotating mass of the drum or disc could be a major component of the out of balance. Balancing them on the vehicle, balances the whole of the rotating mass, but you must mark the wheel to the hub so that its always fitted in the same place to retain that balance. I always used to balance my Murena front wheels on our truck on-vehicle balancing machine myself when I worked at Mercedes and it was easy, quick and spot-on. Like Peter says though, if I had to take mine elsewhere there are lots of places near me that can do these wheels with no hole in the centre and I'm amazed no one near you can do them.
One more thing concerning wheels and balancing: New tyres usually have a red spot one of the sidewalls and sometimes a yellow spot too. If it has a red spot, the tyre should be fitted on the rim such that the red spot is next to the tyre valve. Basically the red spot is the thickest point of the tyre so placing it next to the valve where the wheel is compromised by the hole for the valve places it where it will help. However, I have heard that this is to do with the runout of the tyre i.e. slight ovality but either way, the red should be next to the tyre valve. The yellow spot is where the tyre is lightest and the valve is where the wheel might be a fraction heavier, so if there is only a yellow spot that should be by the valve which will help initial balance. If it has both spots ignore the yellow spot, as the red always take precedent. These days I have found some tyre fitters don't understand what these signify and fit them anywhere!
Roy
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