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Wheel weights

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Location
South Carolina
Vehicle
2022 Explorer ST
#1
I don’t know what the deal is with wheel weights on the stock rims. They are prone to falling off. This normal or is there a way to keep these damn things on for a lot longer time? I usually get new ones if I have to get new tires or balance.
 

GearHead_1

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#2
I've never thrown a tape-on weight. There is much to be said about having a very clean wheel barrel when installing new tires and having them balanced using these products.
 

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Location
Massachusetts
Vehicle
2023 ST
#3
Haven't had an issue with stick-on weights on my stock wheels. I've swapped for snow tires and back, so i'm on my 3rd set of weights and no issue.

However, i do remember when i got a new set of wheels for my Mustang, i had trouble with the weights. Before mounting the tires, i did a wipe down of the barrels. Night i got the car home on the new wheels, they peeled off on their own as the car sat. never saw that before. Ended up having to find some good solvent and really going to town on the barrels to get them to stick
 

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Location
Nevada
Vehicle
2025 ST
#4
Like others above mentioned, definitely clean the barrel prior to going to the tire store. I don't even trust them to dismount and remount the wheels so I bring them in off the vehicle.
 

CessnaDriver

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Location
Bossier City, LA 7111
Vehicle
2020 Ford Explorer ST
#5
Like others above mentioned, definitely clean the barrel prior to going to the tire store. I don't even trust them to dismount and remount the wheels so I bring them in off the vehicle.
I should probably try that sometime, definitely seems smart. I worry about them not sticking. I had one start failing off a few months ago, had discount tire replace them. I also blame Ford for part of it. I took my Explorer in for front axle service due to leaking. I didn't notice it for a couple days but when Ford took the wheel off the front end they put duck tape over the weights. Don't know why, just had to clean it off.
 

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Chicago, IL, USA
#6
Only once had a tape on weight fall off many moons ago. Had the wheels balanced in winter and one weight fell off. I use Discount Tire for free balance and rotations the last 20+ years. They clean the wheel with solvent and use a blow dryer or heat gun to warm up the wheel if it’s cold out.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Messages
37
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20
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Location
Nebraska
Vehicle
2020 Ford Explorer ST
#7
I bet it comes down to the installer. Took my wheels off and took my takeoffs to Sam's Club for new tires. Big mistake. Luckily they did not scratch the outside of the wheel, which is pristine, but did scratch up the backside some which I had to touch up. I went to put them on and noticed some of the weights almost hanging from the inside of the wheel. Turns out they simply tore off the old weights and put new weights on top of remnants of the old tape. I had to mark the locations, take the weights off, thoroughly clean tape off the wheel and weights, then installed with new trim attachment tape. They would have surely came off if I had not fixed them. Last time I take any good wheels to Sam's Club for tires.

I think the only reason they were not all scratched up is because there was an experienced older guy helping out the young kid, and think he probably did them himself. One wheel was scratched up on the backside a lot more than the others, so suspect he took over after that. He did comment how nice the wheels still looked.
 

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#8
You folks will think I'm nuts, but when I have tire work done or need new shoes. I pull the wheels off at home, clean the wheel barrels very well, pulling the weights so that no damage is done to the finish. I throw them in the back of my truck and take them over to have the work done.

I then take them home and make sure things are torqued appropriately and that the air pressure is where I want it. I clean the hubs up so the wheels slide on with ease, makes getting the rotors off easy when I need to as well. The tires are rotated every 3,000 miles when the oil is changed, so they are taken off regularly.

No one other than me has worked on my vehicles other than emission inspections and I replaced a curb damaged wheel on the Exploder, my wife doesn't like to talk about that. I'm kind of a nitpicker when it comes to seeing the wheel barrels through the spokes. The last thing I want to see is a wheel that has been scratched up digging a weight off or scuffed up with a buffer.

I'll be needing truck tires come spring time, I really don't need new tread, but the tires are 9 years old so it's way past time. The truck literally has 21,000 miles on it, but it's easy to talk yourself out of buying new tires when the tires have between 8 and 9/32's all the way around and the truck is garage kept so they don't sit in the sun.

This is what friends with trucks are for. :cool: The tire shop is fairly close to the gun range, I don't even need to go home while they're being mounted.
 

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19
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Location
Nevada
Vehicle
2025 ST
#9
You folks will think I'm nuts,
Right there with you but I would say we have a level of standard.

One thing I'll add to agreeing with what you do (aside from 5k oil change intervals here) is I will bring black weights to the shop for my dark wheels just incase they don't have them.
 

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Exploder
#10
I stop by the shop in advance to make sure they have black weights on the shelf when I go in too.
 

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