Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What parts do I need to bring in to get my engine balanced?
A: To balance any piston type engine, regardless of size or configuration, we will need; the crankshaft, all of the pistons and wrist pins, all of the connecting rods, the flywheel, the pressure plate if it is a manual trans, and the front dampner or pulley. Also on any type of “V” engine ( V/6, V/8, ect) we will need the pistons rings, and the connecting rod bearings.
Q: Can you balance just my flywheel and pressure plate, without having the crankshaft?
A: In most cases, Yes. We have tooling to be able to balance the flywheel with out the crankshaft. However, many late model engines are what is called “ externally balanced” where part of the crankshaft balance is in the flywheel and dampner. These parts must be balanced on the crankshaft that it will be used on. However if you are changing a flywheel or dampner on one of these engines, we can “match balance the new part to the old one so the entire assembly stays balanced.
Q: Can you balance just the crankshaft?
A: Most inline or opposed 4 or 6 cylinder crankshafts can be balanced alone. Most all V/6’s, V/8’s, ect must be balanced to the weights of the piston and connecting rod assembly. This is only advisable when you know for sure that the rods and pistons you are going to use have previously been balanced.
Q: Can you balance my torque converter?
A: Torque converters for automatic transmissions have moving stators inside them that make them impossible to actually balance them down to our normal tolerances. We can however check the balance on them, and accounting for the moving parts, balance them closer than they are from the factory.
Q: What is your balancing tolerances, and for what RPM is that good for?
A: We balance ALL components in ALL our engines to within .5 grams (that’s +/- .25 gram), whether it’s a street motor, or race, they get the same treatment. Most shops use a +/- .5 gram tolerance at best, and most don’t have the precision scales and tooling that we have. This tolerance is more than acceptable for engines running 10,000 plus RPM.
One other note on this, Beware of many shops that now don’t even bother to balance the rods and pistons, but just weigh one of each to obtain the weights needed to balance the crankshaft. Ask questions before taking your parts to any shop!!!
Q: What is a balancing “ Percentage Factor”, or “ Overbalancing”?
A: A balancing percentage is the percent factor of the weight of the rods and pistons used when determining the weight applied to the crankshaft to balance it ( bob weight). This factor can vary widely depending on the engine type and application. We could write volumes on this subject and not cover it all, and there is much information out there discussing it, and just as many opinions on it. To make it simple lets just say that all common V/8 engines are balanced at a 50% factor. This assumes that the reciprocating mass ( pistons, ect) affect the crankshaft only half the time. Over balancing is increasing that percentage to say, 52%. This is sometimes done to compensate for extremely high rpm, or specific RPM ranges, and not advisable without extensive dyno, and vibration analysis time.