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Posted

I am looking to purchase the Hunter Road Force Balancer and wondering if anyone has one and would like feedback on it. Any help will be appreciated.

 

I have one. I like it but don't sell many road force balance jobs. Comes in handy when hunting a problem.

Can be used to build value in your tire sales but it is hard to get customers to pay more because of the road force balance. A good balancer is probably sufficient for most jobs. I feel like it does a great job but won't bring in tons of money. Could be our lack of sales ability also. My opinion is if you want to own the best buy it, if you are expecting to increase revenue dramatically becasue you have it don't expect that.

  • 2 years later...
Posted

I've used the machine many times ... it adds roughly ten minutes to the tire job due to the increased amount of time waiting for the road force arm to swing down. The machine also costs 2-3x more than a traditional balancer.

 

The industry is divided on these. From what I have gathered, Discount Tires does not believe in them and no longer keeps them in their stores. Kauffman Tire, however, will not build a store without a Road Force in it.

 

Anyone have more input here? We will be buying one or the other shortly.

Posted

Discount Tire here opened two years ago and they have a road force balancer.

 

Looks like I am mistaken, in that case. Have you seen any issues with your current balancer that would necessitate the Road Force?

Posted

 

Looks like I am mistaken, in that case. Have you seen any issues with your current balancer that would necessitate the Road Force?

No there are only two situations I can ever remember. One was a Corvette and the other was a Mercedes. If I need to road force balance I will just use Discount. It is cheaper than buying a machine.

Posted

I used it at the Chrysler dealer I last worked for. The time it took was a downer BUUTTTT it was great for the vibration issues. My then girl friends father had a set of Michellens ? put on his grand marq and took it back to the installer 3-4 times. They finally told him it was as good as it gets. Took it to work with me one day and run a road force on all 4 after work. Took care of all the problems.One of the bigger local tiore jobbers has one that I send folks to when they complain of a tire vibration that balancing wont take care of.

I would love to have one. I feel the added time in the balance will more than than pay for it in customer satisfaction. They are pricey tho!

  • Like 1
Posted

One situation, I bought a used Hunter GSP9700 Roadforce balancer and used it on a 21" Rim setup running low profile tires. The wheel was a stock setup from the factory (Mounted and balanced from factory). When driving at freeway speeds (approx 65-75) there will be periodic vibrations with the vehicle. I thought it may be the road. I drove on different lanes and different freeways (asphalt and concrete). Threw the tire on the balancer, no problems... The wheel was balanced. I enabled the roadforce on the machine, and it complained that the Roadforce variations were high for one of the wheels (approx 26 lbs). After match mounting the tire to the wheel, it reduced it down to 12 lbs. I match mounted the remaining wheels and and re-balanced. I test drove the vehicle again. The vibrations were gone. I personally believe it makes it difference, but more prevalent with larger rims with lower profile tires. Trucks/SUV have more tolerance than sedans than sport cars. If possible, I try to reduce the roadforce variation to under 15 lbs. The machine has a maximum setting of 26 lbs, but I think it is more for sedans. Trucks/Suv are higher.

 

Just my .02.

 

  • Like 1
Posted

The dealership I worked at (just a few months ago), all they had were Hunter road-force balancers. Everyone who worked there pretty much used the road-force feature on every balance... Especially when putting on new tires. It really doesn't add that much time to a balance either. I'm gonna guess it adds about 15 seconds per tire to measure road-force.

 

Like AutoFanatic experienced, I have seen cars with vibration issues at highway speeds and the tires would balance just fine. Checking the road-force however would show you they all needed to be adjusted.........One important caveat to this, however. When checking road-force on new tires, sometimes you can get a false reading. I remember certain Michelin tires would show 90+ lbs of road-force but wouldn't experience any type of vibration during driving. Chuck em back up after driving on them for maybe 2 miles and the road-force readings would come back down to normal... Was it just flat-spotting or something similar, I dunno? Just FYI.

 

Anyway, more times than not, it was helpful and kept us from getting chewed out for vibration issues with brand new tires. Or helped quickly identify the source of a vibration that you otherwise wouldn't be able to find... If nothing else, it keeps you from sending customers to the 'other shop' to get it fixed

  • Like 2
Posted (edited)

I have never used one myself, but here is a pretty extensive review from the actual user/customer.

http://www.355nation.net/forum/reviews/16385-review-hunter-gsp9700-road-force-wheel-balancing.html

The problem for me is the cost, from what i have seen, around $10k more (new) than a regular Hunter balancer :(

You'd have to put lots of tires through it at reasonably inflated price per balance, to make it worth the money imo.

Now I understand why AutoFantic considers this to be a good deal:

 

"If you are willing to pay for shipping, this is a good deal on this unit.

 

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/tld/4075179435.html

 

I have seen several of his products that he refurbishes... He also has a 30 day warranty."

Edited by nmikmik
Posted

In keeping withe the general tone of this post, I have used a Hunter RF balancer and think it does a great job, especially for vibration issues. When i worked at the dealer, it was great for condemning brand new tires that were causing a vibration. I do own one in one of my shops now, and most of the time it is used as a regular balancer. The only time the road force is used is if diagnosing a vibration issue, or when mounting tires on one of my vehicles :rolleyes: . They are a good tool to have, but you wont generate huge $$ from one.

Posted

In keeping withe the general tone of this post, I have used a Hunter RF balancer and think it does a great job, especially for vibration issues. When i worked at the dealer, it was great for condemning brand new tires that were causing a vibration. I do own one in one of my shops now, and most of the time it is used as a regular balancer. The only time the road force is used is if diagnosing a vibration issue, or when mounting tires on one of my vehicles :rolleyes: . They are a good tool to have, but you wont generate huge $$ from one.

A road force balancer for me is something nice to have but not something that I think would pay for itself. That was the same situation I had with a Procut on the car brake lathe. Something that at one time I thought it would be nice to have. However, now days I don't even consider it.

Posted

XRac how many vibration balances do you farm out in a mo/year? I am thinking it could be a good investment if OTHER SHOPS were willing to pay for the service. And for me just getting started in tires that is one of my biggest fears...not being able to resolve a vibration issue after installing new tires.

Posted

XRac how many vibration balances do you farm out in a mo/year? I am thinking it could be a good investment if OTHER SHOPS were willing to pay for the service. And for me just getting started in tires that is one of my biggest fears...not being able to resolve a vibration issue after installing new tires.

I probably only have a situation where I really NEED a roadforce balancer only 2-3 times a year.

  • 3 months later...
Posted

We have owned road force balancers for 10+ years now. Wouldn't think of mounting a tire/wheel combo without it. The oppertunities to find and correct issues is many. One of the best ROI of any piece of equipment I have seen.

  • Like 1
Posted

For me this is a nice to have can't afford item.

 

I don't know how yall feel about used equipment, but I've seen quite a few of these 2001-2006 Road Force balancers reconditioned with new spindles and screens on Craigslist for $4000 - $6500 with warranty. Still pretty expensive, but it beats paying $14k for one.

Posted

 

I don't know how yall feel about used equipment, but I've seen quite a few of these 2001-2006 Road Force balancers reconditioned with new spindles and screens on Craigslist for $4000 - $6500 with warranty. Still pretty expensive, but it beats paying $14k for one.

 

There are at least 4 or 5 generations of Road Force Balancers. The range of years you post are of the 1st and 2nd generation. Though better then other brands new balancers in my opinion. The 1st gen I would pass over. The 2nd and 3rd could serve you good. With lateral force then you would be in pretty good position

 

As far as the cost goes I'm not sure you are considering this expense properly. There are profitable and non profitable expenses. I put this one into the profitable category.

Posted

 

There are at least 4 or 5 generations of Road Force Balancers. The range of years you post are of the 1st and 2nd generation. Though better then other brands new balancers in my opinion. The 1st gen I would pass over. The 2nd and 3rd could serve you good. With lateral force then you would be in pretty good position

 

Spence, could you elaborate on this a bit more? What are the differences between the various generations?

Posted

 

Spence, could you elaborate on this a bit more? What are the differences between the various generations?

 

Sure Wes,

 

The 1st generation had a small roller then the later versions. I believe it was 4 or 5 inches in diameter. Don't hold me to that but what I can do is measure the diameter of mine tomorrow and let you know. The later versions were almost twice the diameter. The lateral force was an option. It can not be added to an existing model even of the same generation. Well worth the extra money to have that option.

  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

The other part you are missing is the smart weight feature. I keep track of the weight use on both the hunter and coats machine we have the road force does save you money in wheel weights. I love mine and don't we don't give the customer options they get road forced if I have to take the time to do it again its a loss of revenue. just my two cents. we don't have a problem with spending that kind of of money on a toolbox or scanner why not a balancer?

  • 7 months later...
Posted

Bringing this back to life... I believe my next purchase is going to a RF Balancer. I currently have all Bosch equipment and I am a Bosch Service Center. Long story short I have had about enough with Bosch equipment! Currently my balancer is down due to faulty calibration. Also our alignment machine seems to be acting up. Ever since I've gotten my Bosch equipment we have had issues. I have never been fully confident with them and my lack of alignment and tire sales show it. Hell even my top of the line Bosch tire machine let's me down more often then not! Btw we have to try to service all our own equipment because there is no Bosch tech local to us. Very upsetting considering I have a lot of $$$ tied up in this stuff however I had a alignment customer just today that we attempted 4 alignments on 3 different days. Tons of labor hours wasted along with looking terrible in front of the customer. Also had a thumping vibration issue with a customers car we ended up tearing his whole suspension apart come to find out it was a faulty tire. Ugh!!!!!

Posted (edited)

I don't have much experience with other brands of balancers, but I know when I was using a hunter RF balancer, we fixed a lot of vibration issues that other shops couldn't fix. I'm saving up for one right now. New is expensive, used are hard to find.

 

Had a previous shop owner stop by my place just yesterday and he pretty much told me not to buy anything but a RF balancer. He worked at a huge local tire shop...

Edited by mmotley
Posted

I'm past the phase of buying used equipment. I want the latest and greatest with full support. Years of frustration trying to save money. Just charge what your service is worth, do an excellent job at it and let the pros worry about repairs etc. Financing is an amazing thing lol

Posted

Sorry to hear about all your problems with your equipment. I own a Ranger tire machine and balancer and they have served me well. I recently picked up a 2nd gen RF balancer a few months ago for $1300. Just keep your eyes open.

  • 3 months later...

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      It always amazes me when I hear about a technician who quits one repair shop to go work at another shop for less money. I know you have heard of this too, and you’ve probably asked yourself, “Can this be true? And Why?” The answer rests within the culture of the company. More specifically, the boss, manager, or a toxic work environment literally pushed the technician out the door.
      While money and benefits tend to attract people to a company, it won’t keep them there. When a technician begins to look over the fence for greener grass, that is usually a sign that something is wrong within the workplace. It also means that his or her heart is probably already gone. If the issue is not resolved, no amount of money will keep that technician for the long term. The heart is always the first to leave. The last thing that leaves is the technician’s toolbox.
      Shop owners: Focus more on employee retention than acquisition. This is not to say that you should not be constantly recruiting. You should. What it does means is that once you hire someone, your job isn’t over, that’s when it begins. Get to know your technicians. Build strong relationships. Have frequent one-on-ones. Engage in meaningful conversation. Find what truly motivates your technicians. You may be surprised that while money is a motivator, it’s usually not the prime motivator.
      One last thing; the cost of technician turnover can be financially devastating. It also affects shop morale. Do all you can to create a workplace where technicians feel they are respected, recognized, and know that their work contributes to the overall success of the company. This will lead to improved morale and team spirit. Remember, when you see a technician’s toolbox rolling out of the bay on its way to another shop, the heart was most likely gone long before that.
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