Tire balancing issues!!!

I’ve been told by where I buy my tires that KO2’s are really hard to get balanced.

 

maybe that’s part of the problem

 

Thanks, I appreciate the link. I will make sure to ask them to document the run-out numbers, in case any need replacement.

 

Thanks, yeah. I already took it back to Toyota once so going elsewhere. They also tried to say it was just how it was and then later said they had to rebalance all 4 tires

 

Yeah, I am definitely not going back to Toyota, except to request a refund when I can prove another shop did it correctly.

 

I did not

 

They came out with a new version, the KO3. It supposedly does better in wet conditions. I've had multiple sets of KO2s, and now the KO3, they both are difficult to balance, but they're excellent tires, which is why they're so popular.

 

Yeah, I have heard good things about the KO3's too

 

It may be that the dealership you got those tires from were trying to get rid of old inventory. I second the motion to check the mfg. date on the tire sidewall.

 

Yeah, looks like I will have to check that out when I get off of work today. Appreciate it.

 

I bought my KO2s (stock size) at DT. Now have almost 15k miles on 'em and they still ride smooth as glass. All the way up to 90 mph. Find a different shop lol.

 

My son worked at a tire shop and runs KO2s on his Taco. He knows how go properly balance tires and has never had a problem
They have up to date tire balancing .equipment but nothing out of the ordinary.

 

Great, then all the KO2 owners should pay him a visit.

 

Ko2s are old. Try ko3s. 5g 4r are picky with balancing

 

At least find someone competent with a tire balance machine.

 

i took the advice of a couple people on here and checked the manufacture date of the tires. I thought the first 2 digits were the week and the last 2 digits were the year but that cant be right with these lol.

 

Check the other side of the tire. Should be an additional date code.
The code you're looking at could be the manufacturing plant/DOT code.

 

Thanks, I will have to check later when home.

 

thats why I like Falkens. Never any balancing issues, knock on wood.

 

thats the date stamp for sure. Wow, gave you almost 4 year old tires

 

Not everyone is lucky. I think most cases its not about tires, its about the shop.
When shop is unable to balance you see Falken issues on forums of 4Runner, Tacoma, Tundra, FJ, Land cruiser, Ford, GM, Subaru etc..

 

E or C load?

 

true about being a shop issue as opposed to a tire

 

I can't speak to these tires, but after doing research online I did the road force balance at Discount Tire and it solved about 95% of my steering wheel vibration issue.

 

Ive had 3 sets of falkens. All three have had a tire or two replaced due to high road force and shake at 50-60mph. Its par for the course with t4r, lifts, tires

 

I agree that it's key to ask for the numbers. The numbers are Road Force Variation, called R1H. Simple concept, the tire sidewall stiffness is not exactly the same at every point on the tire and if the variation is excessive it feels just like imbalance. The Hunter machine mounts the tire/wheel assembly and presses it against a small metal cylinder that can measure the force so by turning the tire/wheel they get the variation in force around the whole tire. 20 is a good bogey, as I recall 18 pounds was a spec I've seen. If your tires have excessive R1H a "road force balance" may help but may not eliminate vibration.

 

i got lucky with mine. No issues on the 07,11 or 22 with AT3s

 

I had KO2s warrantied because they could not be balanced by 4x4 shops, Toyota Dealers, etc.

In my time owning Toyota trucks with 6 lug wheels the only shop that was able to get tires perfect for me was Sullivan who are only in the Northeast I believe.

They used a finger plate adapter to secure the wheel to the road force machine versus securing via a cone. So last two sets of Michelins on my Tacoma and 4Runner were done with the finger plate adapter and both have been perfect. I chased the balancing devil on the 4Runner for some time, Toyota dealers did not even know what the finger plate adapter was. Whatever the factors may be, some 4Runners are super sensitive to balance but a dealer or tire shop who states that its a characteristic of the truck/tires is just coming up with excuses.

 

Mine always balanced fine, when they were balanced at a good shop.

This

A friend returned a set of AT3's to Discount tire for balancing issues. To be fair, it could have been the shop. But, I think that's generally the case with KO2's as well.

 

This is the only way..