M. G.

Pottinger1

Uniformity: A Crucial Attribute of Tire/

Wheel Assemblies

REFERENCE: Pottinger, M. G., ‘‘Uniformity: A Crucial Attribute of Tire/Wheel

Assemblies,’’ Tire Science and Technology, TSTCA, Vol. 38, No. 1, January – March 2010,
pp. 24-46.

ABSTRACT: Good ride, acceptable comfort for passengers, is a required attribute for all road
vehicles particularly automobiles and light trucks. The tire/wheel assembly is a critical com-
ponent in providing good ride. Indeed, obtaining good ride was the crucial factor that drove
the invention of and rapid popularization of the pneumatic tire. Today, the ride effect of tires
is often thought of in two ways. The first is in terms of the transmission of vibration produced
by the interaction of the tire with road surface irregularities, harshness. The second is in terms
of tire structural irregularity generated energy transmitted during operation on a smooth road,
uniformity. Both types of energy share the dynamic properties of the tire structure though they
differ in source. This paper concentrates primarily on uniformity induced vibration particularly
at the frequency of tire rotation, but does touch on harshness to a small degree, when the
sharing of structural dynamics makes it appropriate. This review of the subject of force
uniformity includes the effect of wheels, as wheels contribute to the vibration that reaches the
vehicle spindle. Balance is touched on only as it affects force uniformity in well-balanced
assemblies. This is not a treatise on balancing. A suggestion is made, which should, if prac-
tical, greatly improve the installed uniformity of tire/wheel assemblies.

KEY WORDS: first harmonic, longitudinal force uniformity, balance, wheel runout, tire-
wheel interaction, match mounting, resonance, phase

Nomenclature

An amplitude of the nth member of a Fourier series

F fore-aft axis
F共t兲 force varying with time
FF fore-aft, longitudinal, force
FFH1 fore-aft first harmonic force
FM moment about the fore-aft axis, overturning moment
H wheel center height, loaded radius
H1 wheel radial runout first harmonic
kR global tire stiffness in the radial direction
L lateral axis, coincident with spindle center line herein
LF lateral, force
LM moment about the lateral axis, torque

1
Corresponding author: M’gineering, LLC, 1465 N. Hametown Road, Akron, Ohio 44333, USA.
Telephone: 共330兲 666-8587. Email: mpottinger@roadrunner.com

24
 POTTINGER ON UNIFORMITY 25

mUNBAL static unbalance expressed as an equivalent mass

n the index of the nth member of a Fourier series
R radial axis
R̄ mean rolling radius
RR rolling radius
RF radial, force
RFH1 radial force first harmonic force
RFH2 radial force second harmonic force
RFH1A assembly radial force first harmonic force
RFH1T tire radial force first harmonic force
RFH1W wheel radial force first harmonic force
RM moment about the radial axis, aligning moment
rW radius to the effective imbalance mass
⌬Rn amplitude of the nth component or harmonic of radial runout
t time
T tire rotational period
UNBALF unbalance force
V forward velocity
␾ reference angle
␾n phase angle of the nth member or harmonic in a Fourier series
␻ ASSEMBLY angular velocity
␻˙ ASSEMBLY angular acceleration

Introduction

The tire/wheel assembly 共herein, ASSEMBLY兲 is a critical component in

providing good ride, a requirement for all road vehicles particularly automobiles
and light trucks. The ASSEMBLY effect is usually thought of in two ways. The
first is in terms of transmission of vibration produced by the interaction of the
tire with road surface irregularities, harshness.2 The second is in terms of tire
structural irregularity generated energy generated and transmitted during opera-
tion on a smooth road, uniformity.3 Both types of energy share the dynamic
properties of the tire structure though they differ in source.
This paper is a broad review of the subject of force uniformity primarily
focused on disturbances at the wheel rotation rate. It touches on balance only as
it affects force uniformity in well-balanced ASSEMBLIES. The obvious unifor-

2
Harshness describes vibration arising from a train of quickly decaying responses to individual
sharp road irregularities, such as tar strips. It is primarily tactile, but is accompanied by noise in the
30–100 Hz range. This is a slight modification to the definition contained in SAE J2047 关1兴.
3
Uniformity is periodic vibration at the ASSEMBLY rotation frequency and its harmonics. It arises
due to inherent imperfections in the rotating tire and wheel, see J2047 关1兴.
26 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 1 — Tire face axis system (reprinted with permission from SAE J2047 ©1988 SAE Interna-
tional, Ref. [1]).

mity and balance problems due to poorly made hubs, brake rotors, etc., are
ignored as there is simply no reason for these problems to exist today.
Rather than to wait until the end of the paper to make observations, they are
presented as numbered statements where they best fit the discussion. In the
summary the observations are distilled into a few conclusions and a suggestion
is presented, which should improve installed ASSEMBLY uniformity for first
harmonic behavior4 with respect to radial and fore-aft forces almost to the
feasible limit.

Uniformity Basics

A tire/wheel assembly 共herein, ASSEMBLY兲 rolling on an absolutely

smooth surface inputs rotationally keyed cyclical forces and moments to the
spindle to which it is attached. There are three forces and three moments to
consider 共Fig. 1兲 关1兴. In a practical sense the variation of two forces, radial and
fore-aft, and one moment, aligning moment, are responsible for most of the ride

4
The first harmonic is a sine wave at the frequency of ASSEMBLY rotation.
 POTTINGER ON UNIFORMITY 27

FIG. 2 — Fourier analysis of a waveform [2].

disturbances attributable to balance or nonuniformity. Each of the nonunifor-

mity inputs is a complex time varying waveform keyed to the angular position
of the ASSEMBLY.
It is common engineering practice to use Fourier analysis to decompose
uniformity waveforms into a series of pure sine waves, either sine or cosine,
whose frequency depends on the frequency of rotation of the assembly. Figure
2 关2兴 is an example of a uniformity waveform and its decomposition into a
series of sine waves. The decomposition simplifies analysis.
The basic sine wave, first harmonic, has a frequency equivalent to the
frequency of rotation of the ASSEMBLY. For example, if the ASSEMBLY were
rotating 10 times per second, the frequency of the first harmonic would be 10
Hz 共cycles per second兲 or 20␲ radians5 per second. The next harmonic, the
second, would have a frequency twice that of the first harmonic, 40␲ rad/s. The
third would have a frequency three times that of the first harmonic, 60␲ rad/s
and so forth.
Each waveform varies with speed due to variation of the excitation with

5
Radians are a nondimensional measure of angle expressed by the length of an arc divided by its
radius.
28 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 3 — Fifth radial harmonic (reprinted with permission from STP 929 ©1986 ASTM Interna-
tional, Ref. [3]).

speed and because tires, wheels, and ASSEMBLIES, like all physical objects,
have characteristics called natural frequencies. Physical objects like to vibrate at
these frequencies. Thus, if a harmonic happens to reach the natural frequency of
a mode,6 the harmonic will grow very large 共Fig. 3兲 关3兴.
As a harmonic passes through the frequency range, the vehicle speeds up
and slows down, the system response is delayed with respect to the harmonic
excitation as well as varying in amplitude. This delay is called phase and is
illustrated in Fig. 4 where we see a shift between the start of excitation and the
system’s response. Phase is usually expressed as an angle 关see Eq 共1兲兴.
Tuning forks are a good modal example. A tapped tuning fork emits a
single note associated with its principle mode of vibration.
Complex objects such as a tire, a wheel, an ASSEMBLY, a car or human
beings have multiple natural frequencies each of which has an associated mode

6
Modes are the names given to the preferred vibration states of objects; the natural frequency
associated with a mode is its preferred vibration frequency; and a mode shape, see Fig. 5, is the
preferred shape of the vibrating object associated with a particular natural frequency.
 POTTINGER ON UNIFORMITY 29

FIG. 4 — Phase example.

shape. Figure 5 shows the most important modes for a radial tire with respect to
ride vibration,

F共t兲 = 兺 An sin
n
冉 2␲nt
T
− ␾n 冊 共1兲

共all symbols are defined in the Nomenclature兲. As just noted in Eq 共1兲 the actual
output from a rotating ASSEMBLY into the vehicle spindle is composed of a

FIG. 5 — The crucial radial tire modes for ride [2]. The frequencies are for a given tire design and
size but are nominally related as shown. The 18 Hz mode is associated with wheel hop/shake. The
42 Hz torsional mode is associated with fore-aft excitation and tire roughness. The higher two
modes are primarily associated with boom, an acoustical effect. A definition of each term appears
in SAE J2047 [1].
30 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 6 — Smooth road ride noise and vibration disturbances (reprinted with permission from STP
929 ©1986 ASTM International, Ref. [3]; this is actually a simplification of the figure in Ref. [3]).

first harmonic and higher harmonics. This is true for all of the forces and
moments shown in Fig. 1 but most critically for the fore-aft and radial forces
plus to a lesser extent the aligning moment 关5兴. Figure 6 illustrates which
harmonics are associated with which types of smooth road ride problems.
All service adjustments to ASSEMBLIES such as balancing and match
mounting are based on adjusting first harmonic behavior. In a practical sense the
higher harmonic excitations are the province of the tire manufacturer and, as we
shall see later, perhaps the wheel manufacturer, though this remains to be
proven. The vehicle structural response to all harmonics of each of the forces
and moments is subject to modification by the vehicle manufacturer.
Given these basic facts, this paper emphasizes first harmonic effects and the
first natural modes of the tire in the fore-aft and radial directions because re-
search has shown these to be most critical 关2–5兴.

Sources of Nonuniformity and Imbalance

It is common to begin a discussion of smooth road ride disturbances by

providing a laundry list of potential sources of uniformity problems within the
tires and/or the wheels.7 In a practical sense, from the standpoint of a firm that
wants to correct problems after the tires and wheel are manufactured, only a
limited number of sources are relevant. Also, a number of the sources that have

7
There are also testing problems, but these are not the focus of this discussion. They are mentioned
as relevant in documents related to the measurement of uniformity forces and moments.
 POTTINGER ON UNIFORMITY 31

FIG. 7 — Schematic of a mounted radial tire.

been listed classically are no longer relevant because well made tires manufac-
tured with state-of-the-art equipment by top manufacturers either do not have
these problems or they have been reduced to a low level. Thus, things such
improperly made splices, lumpy extrusions, poor belt width control, and snaked
belts will be largely ignored in what follows. Things that remain are tire runout,
rim runout, rim width variation, tire bead area placement variations, and other
bead seating errors. These will be viewed in the context of radial tires.
Figure 7 is a wheel plane schematic view of a radial tire mounted on a
perfect wheel.8 The radial tire is basically a stiff belt and tread area hoop
supported on a set of sidewall cords tensioned by inflation. It is sort of an odd
relative of a bicycle wheel. The location of the static balance heavy point of the
tire alone is basically at the high point of the tire’s crown radial runout 关5兴.
No matter which radius is loaded against the road the mounted radial tire’s
radial stiffness is about the same. However, for a constant loaded radius9 the
force exerted radially against the spindle varies over a revolution because the
ASSEMBLY’s inherent out-of-roundness causes the deflection of the carcass
spring to vary. Equation 共2兲 expresses the radial force variation developed at the
footprint,10

RF = kR 兺 ⌬Rn sin
n
冉 2␲nt
T
− ␾n .冊 共2兲

Figure 8 illustrates “the well-known correlation between the first harmonic ra-
dial force variation, RFH1, and the first harmonic geometrical runout, H1. The

8
The question of wheel effects and interaction effects between wheels and tires is considered a bit
later.
9
The loaded radius is the distance from wheel center to the test surface at the contact center; in
uniformity machines the loaded radius is held constant and is referred to as a fixed loaded radius.
10
In Eq 共2兲 the deflections are expressed in terms of a radius variation about the mean fixed loaded
radius.
32 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 8 — Correlation of first harmonic radial run-out and first harmonic radial force variation
(reprinted with permission from Tire Science and Technology, Vol. 22, No. 2, ©1994 the Tire Society,
Ref. [6]).

slope of the linear fit represents the tangent stiffness of the tire-wheel assembly
at the test load and inflation pressure. The obvious linearity of the data set is
good experimental evidence that low speed radial force nonuniformities are
manifested as geometrical run-out of tires at least for harmonic 1” 关6兴.
With the tire operating either against a test surface or moving over a road at
a constant speed, the kinematics of rotation force the tread band to undergo
angular acceleration and deceleration due to the presence of the fixed loaded
radius. There is an associated cyclically varying fore-aft force which acts at the
spindle because the tire’s rolling radius is variable. Equation 共3兲 expresses the
variable rolling radius. Substituting the rolling radius expressed into Eq 共4兲 and
differentiating with respect to time Walker and Reeves 关6兴 derived an approxi-
mate expression for the angular acceleration of the belt/tread, which is given in
Eq 共5兲,11

RR = R̄ + 兺 ⌬Rn sin
n
冉 2␲nt
T
− ␾n , 冊 共3兲

V = R␻, 共4兲

11
For the smallest tires in common usage at this time the error in using Eq 共5兲 is 1% or less even for
a very bad uniformity tire; Eq 共5兲 grows more correct as tire size increases.
 POTTINGER ON UNIFORMITY 33

␻
˙=
V2
R̄3 n
兺 ⌬Rnn cos 冉 2␲nt
T
冊
− ␾n . 共5兲

Substitution of the angular acceleration into the equation describing motion

about the spindle derived by drawing a free body diagram of an ASSEMBLY
leads finally to Eq 共6兲, which explains the basic behavior of fore-aft or longi-
tudinal force as a function of variation in the tire’s rolling radius,

FF =
I V2 2␲nt
冉
兺 ⌬Rnn cos T − ␾n .
H R̄3 n
冊 共6兲

共The fore-aft nonuniformity force generated due to variation in the tire’s rolling
radius around its circumference is proportional to the rolling velocity squared
and to the inertia of the ASSEMBLY. The velocity squared effect is the basic
reason for the growth of fore-aft nonuniformity force with speed. The inertia
effect says that heavy ASSEMBLES are more of a problem than light ones.
Thus, for a given sized tire a lighter ASSEMBLY is more desirable. Also, since
the polar moment of inertia basically varies as the square of the radius, larger
forces are to be expected as rim diameter increases. Thus, plus sizing will
increase fore-aft uniformity problems all else being equal.兲 Figure 9 shows the
variation of radial force, fore-aft force, and lateral force with speed for tires
tested by Walker and Reeves 关5兴.
Walker and Reeves were well aware of the interaction with the first longi-
tudinal 共torsional兲 mode shown as having a natural frequency of 42 Hz for the
tire design tested to produce Fig. 5. They discussed this interaction primarily in
terms of phase. Richards 关7兴 extended the work of Walker and Reeves to ex-
plicitly include the resonant effect using experiments on a larger tire with a first
longitudinal 共torsional兲 natural frequency of about 26 Hz. Figures in Reeves
work based on hundreds of tests demonstrate that the modal interaction conclu-
sions are correct.
To bring everything home in a practical sense, Figs. 10 and 11, which
approximate first harmonic force examples for a P225/60R16 tire, demonstrate
the effects. Note that the reason the radial force seems relatively speed inde-
pendent in Fig. 9 or Fig. 11 is that its excitation source is not speed dependent
and that the associated frequencies do not get high enough to get near the first
vertical flexural mode, which has a natural frequency of 80 Hz in the example
in Fig. 5 and is about 60 Hz for the P225/60R16 tire used to plot Fig. 11.
Looking back at Fig. 3, we see an example of a higher harmonic of radial force
that did pass through the first vertical flexural mode. It had a sharp response to
frequency which would seem to be a sharp speed response to a driver or on a
uniformity machine where data was reported as a function of speed.
34 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 9 — First harmonic force variation vs. speed for 40 165SR14 textile belted radial tires. (Re-
printed with permission from Tire Science and Technology, Vol. 2, No. 3, ©1974 the Tire Society
[5].) The amplitudes are peak-to-peak. Further, these are 1973 vintage tires so the uniformity is
poorer than is typical today. The force units are English, not metric, as the original data are no
longer available.

FIG. 10 — First harmonic force peak-to-peak fore-aft force amplitude example for a P225/60R16
tire ASSEMBLY with a radial run out first harmonic peak-to-peak amplitude of 0.50 mm (this
assembly is at the upper bounds of acceptability by a typical original equipment manufacturer in the
United States).
 POTTINGER ON UNIFORMITY 35

FIG. 11 — First harmonic force peak-to-peak radial force amplitude example for a P225/60R16 tire
ASSEMBLY with a radial run out first harmonic peak-to-peak amplitude of 0.50 mm. The ampli-
tudes are peak-to-peak. Further, these are 1973 vintage tires so the uniformity is poorer than is
typical today.

The fore-aft force first harmonic, FFH1, lags RFH1 by 90° 共␲ / 2 radians兲 at
low frequencies. This is expected from the fact that Eq 共2兲 is a sine series and
Eq 共6兲 is a cosine series. As the frequency of the first harmonics rises the
interaction with the first longitudinal mode causes FFH1 to lag further and
further behind RFH1. Walker and Reeves 关5兴 observed this and Richards 关7兴
verified this.
Based on the information reviewed to this point there are four observations
about radial force and fore-aft force that are worth making. though these obser-
vations are generalized they apply very well to first harmonic disturbances,
which are those of interest in post manufacturing tire correction as done prior to
tire mounting on vehicles:

1. The run out of the mounted tire’s crown with respect to the spindle is
the major variable driving both fore-aft and radial force first harmonic
variations.
2. Radial force variations arise due to flexing of the tire’s carcass spring
due to crown run out. RF nonuniformity does not show a major change
with speed, but does interact strongly with the first vertical flexural
mode at frequencies above about one-half of the mode’s natural fre-
quencies. This interaction is not relevant for RFH1 or RFH2, but can
become significant for higher harmonics at speeds driven in the USA.
The interaction with the first and second harmonics would be signifi-
cant at Autobahn speeds.
3. Fore-aft force variations show an increase with square of driving
speed. The FF variations arise from angular acceleration of the AS-
36 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SEMBLY about the spindle, ␻ ˙ , due to the variation in rolling radius

arising from the runout of the mounted tire’s crown with respect to the
spindle. Due to the lower frequency of the first longitudinal 共torsional兲
mode all harmonics including FFH1 are affected by this mode at
speeds driven in the USA. For FFH1 the interaction is not typically
significant at speeds below 100 km/h.
4. Fore-aft force variation lags the radial force variation by 90° 共␲ / 2
radians兲 until the angular frequency approaches one-half of the tor-
sional natural frequency at which point the lag begins to increase as
frequency increases 关8兴.

Additionally, the literature makes an important point about the location of

the heavy point, apparent location of the static unbalance:

5. The location of the heavy point of the tire alone is basically at the high
point of the tire’s crown radial runout.

Correction of First Harmonic Nonuniformity Forces and Imbalance

Correction of first harmonic nonuniformity forces in the post manufactur-

ing environment has basically taken two forms: match mounting of the tire and
wheel 关5,6,9,11兴 and postcure, uniformity, grinding of tires 关12兴.12 Weights have
been considered as means of first harmonic nonuniformity force correction in a
perturbation of balancing technology, but they do not work for this purpose 关5兴,
as will be discussed below.
Observing that out of roundness is the principle source of RFH1, Walker
and Reeves 关5兴 explored the effect of match mounting, which they called “se-
lective fitting” on high speed uniformity for 1970s vintage radial tires. In match
mounting the wheel first harmonic radial runout low spot is matched with the
tire first harmonic radial force high spot as shown in Fig. 12. The result, on
average, is a reduction in the overall first harmonic runout of the ASSEMBLY.
Walker and Reeves found that “The technique of selective fitting of tires to
wheels to reduce low SPEED RADIAL FORCE variation is, fortunately, fairly
effective for limiting high speed longitudinal, FORE-AFT, force variations.”
Note that they observed that things were not perfect as represented by the words
“fairly effective.”
A short time before Walker and Reeves published their work Nedley and
Gearig 关9兴, who had only low speed uniformity measurements and ride ratings
for belted bias tires as data, published on the effect of improved component tires

12
Uniformity grinding has been tried for all manner of problems, but has only ever been commercial
for RFH1 reduction.
 POTTINGER ON UNIFORMITY 37

FIG. 12 — Match mounted ASSEMBLY (this figure is based on an illustration in SAE 700089
©1974 SAE International, Ref. [9]).

and wheels on ride. In the process they also covered match mounting with
respect to low speed RFH1 behavior. The improved components were “tru-
centric” wheels 关10兴, well piloted steel wheels manufactured using a process
invented by Kelsey-Hayes and uniformity ground tires, a concept introduced by
General Tire 关12兴. The improved components were reported to sharply reduce
RFH1 for assemblies even when randomly assembled 共Fig. 13兲. Match mount-
ing of the improved components was even better 共Fig. 14兲.
It is important to note that Nedley and Gearig believed that: 共1兲 you could
take a set of RFH1 data for a group of tires measured on true wheels, 共2兲 a set
of H1 data from a group of wheels, multiplied by the tire spring rate, and 共3兲
combine these data according to Eq 共7兲 to predict the RFH1A, maximum am-
plitude data for the possible combinations of wheels and tires, thus, quickly
getting the probable mounting results without experimentation using full
ASSEMBLIES.13 Many unfamiliar with the literature still believe this to be a
true representation of match mounting,

RFH1A = RFH1T − RFH1W . 共7兲

Walker and Reeves knew a bit later that the simple Nedley and Gearig model of
match mounting was not completely correct. In the early 1990s Schuring 关11兴
showed explicitly that the simple assumption for the match mounting was in

13
Nedley and Gearig gave no thought to FFH1 in their work because it was outside the data set with
which they were working.
38 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 13 — ASSEMBLY RFH1 randomly assembled improved and conventional wheels and tires
(reprinted with permission from SAE 700089 ©1970 SAE International, Ref. [9]).

error 共Fig. 15兲. Thus, the conclusions in Nedley and Gearig need to be viewed
with caution.
Further Schuring showed that the mounting uncertainty depended on the
quality of the wheels used, but was unable to provide an explanation for what
was being observed. However, he did observe that the behavior of tires with

FIG. 14 — ASSEMBLY RFH1 for randomly assembled and match mounted improved wheels and
tires (reprinted with permission from SAE 700089 ©1970 SAE International, Ref. [9]).
 POTTINGER ON UNIFORMITY 39

FIG. 15 — RFH1 of 115 tires and wheels matched according to Eq (7) (reprinted with permission
from Tire Science and Technology, Vol. 19, No. 4, ©1991 the Tire Society, Ref. [11]; the force units
are in English units, not metric, as the original data are no longer available).

respect to RFH1 was much more consistent on what he termed precision wheels
when mounted multiple times on each wheel at different angular positions.
Rhyne et al. 关6兴 modeled the effect of rim precision on the location of the
beads in terms of the wheel width variation and radius variation. The inclusion
of the wheel width variation sharply improved the agreement between the pre-
dicted match mounting behavior and the observed match mounting behavior,
Fig. 16, though the results are still not perfect.
It is possible that had the effect of thickness variation in the bead region of
the tire due to splices, etc., been included that most of the rest of the deviation
from the simple match mounting relationship, Eq 共7兲, would have been
explained.14 Importantly, Rhyne and his associates showed that the response to
wheel width variation is mean rim width dependent for a particular tire. There-
fore, it is likely that every different tire specification yields a different response
to wheel width variation. From a user’s viewpoint the ideal wheel is one with
constant bead radius and rim flange to rim flange width as a function of circum-
ferential position. With this, match mounting would work substantially well for
RFH1 based on the simple match mounting relationship.
The situation with respect to match mounting can be summarized in three
observations:

14
Rhyne mentioned the relationship of items that can disturb the tire’s cord path to uniformity
during his unpublished Plenary Lecture at the 2008 Tire Society meeting. Thickness variation in the
bead region is an item that was mentioned.
40 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 16 — The vector difference between the measured and predicted wheel contributions to the
RFH1A using the wheel radial and lateral runouts and using the radial run-out alone for 25
production wheels (reprinted with permission from Tire Science and Technology, Vol. 22, No. 2,
©1994 the Tire Society, Ref. [6]).

6. Match mounting using the classical concept is a helpful procedure for

reducing RFH1A provided that 共a兲 the width between the wheel flanges
is essentially constant over the wheel circumference and 共b兲 the wheel
radial first harmonic runout multiplied by tire vertical spring rate and
tire first radial harmonic are such that matching significantly reduces
the ASSEMBLY RH1.
7. Successful match mounting substantially reduces FFH1A at highway
speed.
8. The best results would be obtained if the tire first radial harmonic and
wheel radial first harmonic runout multiplied by tire vertical spring rate
were identical such that ASSEMBLY RH1 could be made equal to zero
by match mounting.

It should not be forgotten that match mounting results will still be some-
what imperfect even if all three observations are scrupulously adhered to due to
bead position lateral variation caused by thickness variations within the tire
itself.
Earlier, the process of uniformity grinding was briefly mentioned. This
process, invented by Hofelt 关12兴, involves selective alteration of the tire’s tread
surface profile so as to reduce RFH1T. It was quite popular beginning around
1970 because of its effectiveness on tires of that era 共Fig. 17兲. But, its popularity
 POTTINGER ON UNIFORMITY 41

FIG. 17 — Effect of uniformity grinding (reprinted with permission from SAE 700089 ©1970 SAE
International, Ref. [9]).

has waned as tires have changed such that grinding on the shoulder ribs, as in
Fig. 18, is no longer enough. Indeed OE automotive manufacturers often no
longer accept ground tires for reasons of poor appearance and a tendency for the
grinding to trigger uneven wear. In any case, except for some preliminary work
by Caulfield and Higgins 关13兴 uniformity grinding has been a tire factory, not a
service, procedure.
Conventional balancing has been covered rather thoroughly many times.
There are some other balance related items that must be covered, but for con-
sistency sake the question of attempting to correct ASSEMBLY first harmonic
uniformity through an unconventional application of balance weights will be
considered. The discussion is drawn from Walker and Reeves 关5兴 and could be
extended, but their work makes the point.

FIG. 18 — Ground tire image as of 1969 (reprinted with permission from SAE 700089 ©1970 SAE
International, Ref. [9]).
42 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 19 — Relationship of longitudinal (fore-aft) and radial force variations and static unbalance
(reprinted with permission from Tire Science and Technology, Vol. 2, No. 3, ©1974 the Tire Society,
Ref. [5]).

Going back to Fig. 7, if the assembly is rotating, the static unbalance

assumes the positions indicated in Fig. 19.
The magnitude of the static unbalance force vector is given by Eq 共8兲. It is
directed outward from the center of the spindle along a line through the heavy
point, thus, its phase with respect to the assembly never changes:

UNBALF = mUNBALrW␻2 . 共8兲

The RFH1A, exclusive of unbalance, is a maximum at position 1 and a mini-

mum at position 3, note the solid arrows. The FFH1A, exclusive of unbalance, is
a maximum at position 2 and a minimum at position 4, note the dotted arrows.
The unbalance force tends to make RFH1A smaller and FFH1A larger than they
would be in its absence. For the balanced ASSEMBLY, Fig. 20, RFH1A is larger

FIG. 20 — Unbalance and balancing force vector sketch.

 POTTINGER ON UNIFORMITY 43

FIG. 21 — Effect of balance weight on longitudinal (fore-aft) force variation (reprinted with per-
mission from Tire Science and Technology, Vol. 2, No. 3, ©1974 the Tire Society, Ref. [5]).

and FFH1A is smaller than in the unbalanced state because part are all of the
static unbalance induced force has been cancelled.
Noting the effect just mentioned leads to the thought that maybe RFH1A
and FFH1A can be cancelled by a unique use of balance weights. Unfortunately,
the phase for the weight required for correction is different for correcting fore-
aft and radial forces. And in the case of FFH1A the phase of the uniformity
component changes while that of the weight induced, balance component does
not 共Fig. 21兲. Further, the magnitude for RFH1A correction by use of a weight
can only be correct at one speed. This all leads to an important observation first
made by Walker and Reeves:

9. “It is not possible to balance tire and wheel uniformity in a manner

which satisfies radial and longitudinal, fore-aft, directions over a wide
speed range.”

Now turning back to pure balance correction, no concern with trying to

warp balance into correcting tire uniformity forces, there are several other
points worth considering.
Ni 关14兴 showed that wheel lateral runout also contributes to imbalance. By
implication, if a hub has a face that is not perpendicular to the spindle it will
create imbalance which is not accounted for in off-the-car balancing because a
good true running wheel will be forced to act in service as if it possessed lateral
runout.
Neill and Kondo 关15兴 worked on balance right at the time that tru-centric
wheels appeared 共see Refs. 9 and 10兲. They did not have the new “properly
44 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

piloted” wheels and concluded that on-the-car balancing was superior to off-
the-car balancing. This points out the very major effect of having properly
piloted wheels and truly by implication the value of properly centered hubs.
Recently, Ford discussed the possibility of doing away with the static bal-
ance specification on tires and, thus, reducing the number of tires rejected by
their specifications 关16兴. The analytical approach is rather unique and may not
be valid.
Of more practical interest Hunter Engineering, Scribner 关17兴, pushed the
concept that if the dynamic imbalance does not exceed certain ride test deter-
mined levels that it is wasteful of materials and time and perhaps even coun-
terproductive to do more than static balance. This appears to have validity.
There are three additional balance observations worth making:

10. Wheels must be well piloted for good balance results to be obtained in
service.
11. Wheel mounted lateral runout must be small to obtain good balance
with a minimum amount of weight.
12. Static imbalance is always important, but dynamic imbalance needs to
reach a critical threshold before it is a significant problem.

Summary of the Literature

Within the body of this paper, the information in the references has been
distilled into 12 observations. Based on these observations and the fact that
service area ride treatment of tire/wheel ASSEMBLIES is fundamentally con-
fined to correcting radial force first harmonic and fore-aft force first harmonic
whether from a uniformity or balance source, there are four basic conclusions
that can be stated:

1. Reduction in ASSEMBLY first harmonic radial runout is the most im-

portant thing that can be done to simultaneously reduce RFH1 and
FFH1. Thus, effective match mounting is important.
2. For match mounting to work effectively based on the standard match
mounting relationship the wheel width between the rim flanges must
be essentially constant within a few hundredths of a millimeter to
eliminate the effect of wheel width variation.
3. For good ride performance, particularly in balance terms, wheels must
be well piloted and the wheel plus hub must suppress lateral runout.
4. Static imbalance is predominantly important and dynamic imbalance
can be ignored unless it is substantial.
 POTTINGER ON UNIFORMITY 45

FIG. 22 — An example assembly incorporating the ability to deliberately offset the wheel center.

Final Observation and a Suggestion

In real life neither tires nor wheels are bolted to hubs. ASSEMBLIES are
bolted to hubs. Thus, the important thing is good assembly uniformity. Match
mounting offers help, but often the combination of wheel runout and tire uni-
formity in the components of an ASSEMBLY cannot produce a nearly ideal
situation in which the ASSEMBLY’s first harmonic runout defined in force
terms is effectively zero. But, there may be a way to resolve this problem. It was
first suggested by Wik15 in the early 1970s but was never published. The con-
cept is this. Make the wheel center hole larger than needed to pilot the assembly
and insert an element 共RING兲 between the hub and wheel, which is off center
just the right amount to make the radial runout of the assembly based on first
harmonic radial force zero.
Figure 22 is a sketch of such an arrangement. Effectively perfect match
mounting can be induced. By way of example, tap-in metal rings could be used
to generate the effect or a ring formed by a quick setting, injectable, polymer
could be used. Obviously, there are many detail design considerations stretching
from wheel bolting and insuring that the tire cannot move circumferentially
with respect to the rim during operation to force measuring equipment to be
considered, but this idea and a good balance job could make first harmonic
uniformity ride disturbances a thing of the past. Limited subjective ride

15
Today, Wik is Chief Technical Officer of Silicon Design Solutions. At that time he worked for BF
Goodrich.
46 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

experiments done at the time the concept was postulated showed improvements
in ride ratings for awful tires from one to two to seven to eight on the ten point
scale 关18兴.

References

关1兴 “Tire Performance Terminology,” SAE Paper No. J2047, 1998.

关2兴 Marshall, K. D., “Tire Noise and Vibration,” in The Pneumatic Tire, edited by Walter, J. D. and
Gent, A. N., National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C., 2005,
Chap. 9.
关3兴 Pottinger, M. G., Marshall, K. D., Lawther, J. M., and Thrasher, D. B., in The Tire Pavement
Interface, ASTM STP 929, edited by Pottinger, M. G. and Yager, T. J., American Society for
Testing Materials, Philadelphia, PA, 1986, pp. 183–287.
关4兴 Marshall, K. D., Wik, T. R., Miller, R. F., and Iden, R. W., “Tire Roughness—Which Tire
Nonuniformities are Responsible,” SAE Paper No. 740066, 1974.
关5兴 Walker, J. C. and Reeves, N. H., “Uniformity of Tires at Vehicle Operating Speeds,” Tire
Science and Technology, TSTCA, Vol. 2, 1974, pp. 163–178.
关6兴 Rhyne, T. B., Gall, R., and Chang, L. Y., “Influence of Rim Run-Out on the Non-uniformity of
Tire-Wheel Assemblies,” Tire Science and Technology, TSTCA, Vol. 22, 1994, pp. 99–120.
关7兴 Richards, T. L., “The Relationship Between Angular Velocity Variations and Fore and Aft
Non-uniformity Forces in Tires,” SAE Paper No. 900761, 1990.
关8兴 Koutny, F., “Analytical Comments on Radial Tire Nonuniformity,” Tire Science and Technol-
ogy, TSTCA, Vol. 24, 1996, pp. 132–152.
关9兴 Nedley, A. L. and Gearig, D. M., “Radical Improvements in Tire and Wheel Manufacturing—
Their Effects Upon Radial Force Variation of the Assembly,” SAE Paper No. 700089, 1970.
关10兴 MacIntyre, D. D., “Advances in Wheel Uniformity,” SAE Paper No. 710087, 1971.
关11兴 Schuring, D. J., “Uniformity of Tire-Wheel Assemblies,” Tire Science and Technology,
TSTCA, Vol. 19, 1991, pp. 213–236.
关12兴 Hofelt, C., Jr., “Uniformity Control of Cured Tires,” SAE Paper No. 690076, 1969.
关13兴 Caulfield, R. J. and Higgins, R. J., “On-Car Tire Grinder for Improved Tire Smoothness,” SAE
Paper No. 720465, 1972.
关14兴 Ni, E. J., “A Mathematical Model for Tire/Wheel Assembly Balance,” Tire Science and Tech-
nology, TSTCA, Vol. 21, 1993, pp. 220–231.
关15兴 Neill, A. H., Jr. and Kondo, A., “Correcting Vehicle Shake,” Tire Science and Technology,
TSTCA, Vol. 2, 1974, pp. 179–194.
关16兴 Tananko, D., Krivtsov, V., and Rohweder, D., “Do We Really Need a Spec on Tire Static
Balance?” SAE Paper No. 2003-01-0151, 2003.
关17兴 Scribner, D., New Dynamic Balancing Method Based Upon Absolute Force Reduction Algo-
rithms, ITEC, Akron, Ohio, 2006.
关18兴 “Subjective Rating Scale for Evaluation of Noise and Ride Comfort Characteristics Related to
Motor Vehicle Tires,” SAE Paper No. J1060, 2000.

Presented at the twenty-eighth annual meeting of The Tire Society, Akron, Ohio,
September 15–16, 2009.