When
I spun it round it always stopped in the same place with the tyre label near the
top. I concluded that it was heaviest at the bottom and it needed some
balancing.I made a simple static balance out of two old brake drums with the centres filled in with bits of 16 gauge sheet steel (other thicknesses will do). The point was made out of a bit of studding and a point put on it. The centre of the balancing drum has to be found. The easy way is to put the drum in a lathe or found geometrically by scribing several arcs from different parts of the inner diameter of the brake drum so that the arcs cross near the centre of the drum. Centre punch or drill a small indentation for the point to sit on.
Mount the drum on the spike and lower the wheel onto the drum, the heavy side will fall to the ground. Put some weights on the opposite (high) side until the wheel balances on the spike. I used some strips of roof lead to wrap around the spokes to achieve a balance.
You can purchase lead weights on line that slip over the spokes (not cheap) and presumably from motor bike shops. All the 19” wheels on my RM needed between 50 and 75 grams of lead weight to balance the wheels.
I have taken the car for a spin, there seems to be less vibration from the wheels. I found a smooth bit of road down hill and got up to an indicated 60mph, all nice and relatively vibration free from the wheels.
Roger Ballard DA7C
