So I've always had some vibrations in the steering wheel going 75-85 mph. Sort of just dealt with it since the truck isn't a daily driver. Got some new tires about a year ago and it really didn't change much. Again, no real biggie since I don't use the truck daily.

Lately, I've spent some real coin on it and will be using it more for long distance drives. So I finally figure to tackle the vibration issue 100% and get this resolved.

Enter dynabeads. They are supposed to be self adjusting so I figured let me give them a shot. First thing is that unless you put them in prior to mounting the tires to your wheels, getting them in through the valve stems is time consuming and requires patience. So I got past that and took it for a stroll. Horrible. Absolutely horrible. Violent vibrations above 60 mph.

Get home, read the instructions and see that you need to pull the original wheel weights off. DUH! Pull them off from both sides of the tires and go for another spin.

Better. Much better but still not 100%. I get the shakes at higher speeds but below 70 mph, it's butter smooth. Hmmmm.......maybe add a few more ounces in each tire?? An alignment too??

Stay tuned.

 

Thanks for the story, I've been thinking about these as I spend A LOT of time cruising at 75mph and, like you, never been 100% happy with the shimmy/shakes.

 

I had the shakes also. Mine started at 60mph. I have 190,000 miles on my 2003 X. No new parts or tires. The vibration just "showed up" one day. 'I put up with it for about a year. Finally I got a new truck and decided it was time to deal with it. It took two different driveline shops to finally balance my driveshaft. Now my X is smooth as silk.

 

I have the Dynabeads installed on mine for about 1300 miles. They work extremely well but it does take a little for them to work when changing speeds or sometimes when turning. There are guidelines to use to know how much to install in each tire. One way is to try a static balance on each tire and then you can use the next size up bag in each wheel. For example - if the tire requires 4.5 ounces to gain a static balance - go with the 5oz packet of beads. For my size (285/75-16) my distributor recommended 6 oz packets and they seem to be working well.

The upside is no weights to lose and no need to have the tires rebalanced as they wear. The downside is it can take a bit of time - sometimes as much as 1-2 tenths of a mile to balance out when changing speed (like 55 - 70). Up to about 35-40 it makes no difference as an out of balance situation rarely shows until over 40mph.

 

I figured to look at the obvious then move on to stuff like the driveshaft which I considered too. Being that the vibration intensity has changed, I have to conclude I'm heading in the right direction but I'm not leaving anything out.

 

I have 285's as well and the site I ordered from has a chart that suggested 8 ounces per tire. Hmmmm.....

 

Yep - I went with my sales guy recommendation and it seems to be working so far. I looked at their web site and saw the 8 ozs as well and he said in his experience that too much weight can be detrimental and recommended going with a little less.

 

I have never heard of these..... I might give them a try, it sounds like a good idea.... very cool.

 

Work great on motorcycles too!

 

Are there any reputable online dealers that will sell 32 ounces of beads for under $50, including shipping? I have an Expedition and just ordered some 285/75/16's, I have run dynabeads in both my motorcycles and had no complaints.....butter smooth all the way to 160mph.

 

Dynabeads, Got'em, love'em

My old F-350 is smooth as glass at spead with 37" of swamper, no weights, 16oz of Dynabeads and no cares in the world.

The transition speed where the beads just start to fling around the inside of the tires feels a lil funny, for me about 25-30 MPH but above that it's smooth as glass no matter what I do with these tires.

Ohh and a slow roll the beads rolling around sounds like my tires are leaking, worried me at first.

 

I use the Magnum Plus version at my shop and the prices are from $6 for 3oz bag to $16 for the 16oz version. The 8.5oz is $11 so the prices you are getting seems to be about right with shipping. I also include installation since even if it's a previous install you only have to remove old weights, break the bead and add the beads.

 

Thanks for the info sir, I found a website that carries Magnum Plus and only paid around $35 for four 8.5 ounce bags, including shipping.

EDIT: the website does not have any inventory currently, so I need to find an online retailer or maybe even your shop would be able to sell me some over the phone.

 

That's a good deal, what site was that? I just had 8 - 3oz bags put in and it was $48 at the shop.