SPECIAL SERVICING INSTRUCTIONS Form 6106-T, 12-09

Supersedes Form 6106-T, 10-09

Plastic Clad
Wheels

Copyright 2009 Hunter Engineering Company

 CONTENTS
1. GETTING STARTED....................................................................................... 1
1.1 Special Procedure Information ............................................................................... 1
1.2 Identifying the Wheel .............................................................................................. 1
2. TIRE CHANGING............................................................................................ 3
TC3510/3500 Series..................................................................................................... 3
Wheel Clamping..................................................................................................... 4
Bead Loosening ..................................................................................................... 4
Tire Dismounting.................................................................................................... 4
Tire Mounting ......................................................................................................... 5
TC3700......................................................................................................................... 6
Wheel Clamping..................................................................................................... 6
Bead Loosening ..................................................................................................... 7
Tire Dismounting.................................................................................................... 7
Tire Mounting ......................................................................................................... 9
2.3 TCX550 / TCX550BPS / TCX500......................................................................... 10
Bead Loosening ................................................................................................... 10
Wheel Clamping................................................................................................... 11
Tire Dismounting.................................................................................................. 11
Tire Mounting ....................................................................................................... 11
3. BALANCING ................................................................................................. 13
3.1 Wheel Mounting.................................................................................................... 13
Hunter Flange Plate and Collets .......................................................................... 13
Haweka Flange Plate and Collets........................................................................ 14
Collets vs. Cones ................................................................................................. 14
3.2 Weight Placement ................................................................................................ 16

Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment Contents i

ii CONTENTS Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment
 1. GETTING STARTED

1.1 Special Procedure Information

Plastic clad wheels requires special procedures when changing tires. This document
includes the procedures for servicing and balancing of these wheels on Hunter
equipment.

1.2 Identifying the Wheel

Plastic clad wheels are easily identified when closely inspected. The wheel itself is
aluminum and only the outside face is plastic. The plastic cladding gives the wheel a
high polish chrome look.

Hub Rim

Rear View

Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment Getting Started 1

2 Getting Started Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment
 2. TIRE CHANGING

TC3510/3500 Series
The Hunter TC3510/3500 Series Tire Changer is the best choice for servicing plastic
clad wheels. The combination of the tulip clamping system and the ability to loosen
the bead without using a side shovel means minimal risk to the plastic cladding.

Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment Tire Changing 3

 Wheel Clamping
Clamp the rim as normal. There are no special procedures.

Bead Loosening
Loosen beads with rollers as normal. There are no special procedures except to
ensure the upper bead roller does not contact the plastic cladding.

Tire Dismounting
NOTE: The following procedure applies to plastic clad wheels in
which the plastic extends all the way to the edge of the
wheel flange.

Adjust the tool arm to the Plus 1 lean back position, this creates a gap at the tool
head that prevents damage to the plastic cladding.

4 Tire Changing Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment

 Place the tool head on the rim as shown below.

Use the lower roller to lift up on tire.

Use the HM bead lever to place the upper bead onto the tool head. Remove the bead
lever before rotating tire to eliminate the possibility of damaging to the plastic
cladding.

Demount upper bead and remove lower roller.

Follow normal procedure for lower bead.

Tire Mounting
Mount the tire normally There are no special procedures.

Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment Tire Changing 5

 TC3700
The Hunter TC3700 is a very good tire changer for servicing plastic clad wheels
especially when an optional flange plate is used. The use of an optional flange plate
with the clamping system and the ability to loosen the bead with using a side shovel
makes this tire changer a good choice.

Wheel Clamping

With Flange Plate Preferred Method

Clamp the wheel as normal when using a flange plate, there are no special clamping
procedures.

6 Tire Changing Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment

 Without Flange Plate
Extreme care must be taken when clamping the plastic clad wheel on a TC3700
without a flange plate. The wheel must be perfectly centered on the tire changer.
Check the plastic protector cone on the quick clamp, ensure it is mounted properly
and perfectly centered.

Place quick clamp in center post and lightly hand tighten. Take care to check that
the wheel is perfectly centered before tightening lightly by hand.

CAUTION: Do not over-tighten. The plastic cladding may crack when

servicing.

Bead Loosening
Loosen beads with rollers as normal. There are no special procedures except to
ensure the upper bead roller does not contact the plastic cladding.

Tire Dismounting
NOTE: The following procedure applies to plastic clad wheels in
which the plastic extends all the way to the edge of the
wheel flange.

Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment Tire Changing 7

 Adjust the tool arm to the Plus 1 lean back position, this creates a gap at the tool
head that prevents damage to the plastic cladding.

Place the tool head on the rim as shown below.

8 Tire Changing Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment

 Use the lower roller to lift up on tire.

Use the HM bead lever to place the upper bead onto the tool head. Remove the bead
lever before rotating tire to eliminate the possibility of damaging to the plastic
cladding.

Demount upper bead and remove lower roller.

Follow normal procedure for lower bead.

Tire Mounting
Mount the tire normally. There are no special procedures.

Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment Tire Changing 9

 2.3 TCX550 / TCX550BPS / TCX500
The Hunter TCX550 or TCX500 Series are good tire changers for mounting and
demounting tires on plastic clad wheels. The table clamping system and the rigid tire
tool head help minimize damage to the plastic cladding. Extreme caution must be
used when loosening the bead with a side shovel.

Bead Loosening

CAUTION: Extreme care must be used when loosening the bead. The
plastic cladding is easily damaged by the wheel pad when
loosening the opposite bead.

10 Tire Changing Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment

 Wheel Clamping
Place the clamping pedal in the stopped position by partially stepping down on the
pedal with the clamps expanding or in the fully expanded position. The clamping
pedal is the second pedal from the left on the front of the base.

From this stopped position, use additional partial steps on the clamping pedal to
incrementally retract the clamps. Set the clamps to the 16 mark on the turntable.

Place the wheel onto the turntable.

Continue to incrementally retract the clamps until all four clamps contact the rim.

Step down once only on the clamping pedal (second pedal from the left) to fully
retract the clamps to the rim.

NOTE: Always verify that all four clamps are on the rim before
applying pressure to prevent possible failure.

Verify the wheel is perfectly centered on the tire changer. Re-clamp if necessary.

Tire Dismounting
Install the standard metal mount/demount head if the optional polymer head is
installed.

Dismount the tire as normal.

CAUTION: Ensure a gap is maintained between the mount/demount

head and the rims plastic cladding.

Tire Mounting
Mount the tire normally.

CAUTION: Ensure a gap is maintained between the mount/demount

head and the rims plastic cladding.

Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment Tire Changing 11

12 Tire Changing Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment
 3. BALANCING

3.1 Wheel Mounting

When mounting plastic clad wheels on any balancer, a flange plate and low taper
collet must be used.

Hunter Flange Plate and Collets

Place the Hunter Direct-Fit Dual-Taper collet 160 on the balancer with the purple
label facing the balancer hub.

Assemble the Hunter Flange Plate with three of the longer angled-tip fingers. Adjust
flange plate to fit into wheel lug holes.

Mount the wheel on the balancer as normal when using a flange plate and perform
balance procedure.

Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment Balancing 13

 Haweka Flange Plate and Collets
Place the Hunter Direct-Fit Dual-Taper collet 160 on the balancer with the purple
label facing the balancer hub.

Assemble the Haweka No. 4 plate, 231-901-409, using three 271-994-121 fingers in
the #7 position.

Mount the wheel on the balancer as normal when using a flange plate and perform
balance procedure.

Collets vs. Cones

Some plastic clad wheels require specific piloting on balancers to properly center the
wheel and prevent damage to the plastic clad surface. Wheels that have plastic tabs
extending into the wheel pilot bore are examples of such wheels.

VIEWING
INTERIOR OF
WHEEL

PLASTIC
TABS

14 Balancing Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment

 Use a dual taper collet to properly seat the pilot bore without contacting the plastic
tabs.
DUAL TAPER COLLET

COLLET

CORRECT

PLASTIC
TABS

VIEWING INTERIOR OF WHEEL VIEWING EXTERIOR OF WHEEL

Traditional tapered cones will contact the plastic tabs. This will prevent proper pilot
bore seating and will damage the plastic tabs.
TAPERED CONE

CONE

INCORRECT

CONE IS
CONTACTING
PLASTIC
TABS

VIEWING INTERIOR OF WHEEL VIEWING EXTERIOR OF WHEEL

Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment Balancing 15

 3.2 Weight Placement
Weight placement on plastic clad wheels is similar to other custom wheels. In
general, clip weight should not be used on the outside lip of the wheel. The best
option for weight placement is to use tape weights on the inside and outside planes,
or use a clip weight on the inside plane and tape weight on the outside plane.

The following screens show the proper selections for weight placement on a Hunter
GSP9200, GSP9620, GSP9720, Road Force, SmartWeight, QuickMatch and
ForceMatch HD balancer.

16 Balancing Servicing Plastic Clad Wheels with Hunter Equipment

 HUNTER RESEARCH AND TRAINING
CENTER

HUNTER . . . dedicated to service excellence through professional training

HUNTER TRAINING - Hunter operates the most advanced, up-to-date
Training Center in the industry today.
The courses have been designed to meet the needs of new and
experienced technicians who want to increase their mechanical and
diagnostic capabilities. The low student-teacher ratio (average 7 to 1)
and the emphasis on hands-on training (80% time in shop) create an
excellent learning environment.
Highlights of the Hunter Training Center include:
An instruction staff with over 100 years of shop, field, and teaching
experience.
Fully-equipped service bays.
Classrooms equipped with modern teaching aids.
The most up-to-date wheel alignment, balancing service and brake
equipment on the market today.

Align 1 (Basic Alignment Theory and Practice) 3 day / 24 hrs Align 2 (Advanced theory / Aftermarket Adjustment) 2-day / 16 hrs
Students will learn basic wheel alignment service through classroom and Modified vehicle wheel alignment is the focus of this course. Students
hands-on practice. Pre-alignment services, wheel alignment angle theory learn how to use alignment angles to achieve vehicle handling
and wheel alignment equipment operation are the focus of this course. performance in conjunction with ride height kits and modified tire/wheel
Basic wheel alignment adjustments will be demonstrated and students packages. Aftermarket alignment adjustment kits are discussed and
will practice on vehicles in a shop environment. demonstrated.
Align 3 (Advanced Diagnostics and OE Procedures) 2-day / 16 hrs Performance Tire (Basic and Advanced Tire Changing) 1-day 8 hrs
This class focuses on using advanced diagnostic angles and Students will learn basic terminology and theory related to servicing tires
measurements to determine damaged suspension and steering and wheels. Students learn the proper techniques for changing tires on
components. Techniques used in finding damaged parts are reinforced tulip clamp and table top tire changer designs. This course covers the
with classroom scenarios and hands-on labs designed to both challenge proper tire changing techniques for low profile tires, run flat designs, and
and further embed these much needed skills. tire/wheel assemblies using TPMS.
GSP9700 Certification 2-days / 16 hrs Rolling Smooth (Basic & Advanced vibration theory) 1-day / 8 hrs
This course combines the Rolling Smooth course with a certification This course offers a study of vehicle vibration specific to wheel speed.
program for Hunter Engineerings GSP9700 Road Force Measurement The student will learn basic vibration terminology and vibration theory,
system. Students use hands-on practice with the GSP9700 to gain a Shop activities include the measurement of Road Force Variation, wheel
proficiency level acceptable to be deemed certified. runout and balance. Additional diagnostic tools are discussed.
HDT Alignment 1 (Fundamental Alignment) 3-day / 24 hrs HDT Alignment 2 (Advanced Alignment) 2-day / 16hrs
Classroom and shop practice is used to teach the basic elements of The student will understand the cause and affect of basic alignment
Class 8 truck wheel alignment. Students will learn the proper method to angles relative to ride quality, performance and tire life. Classroom and
measure and correct the required basic alignment angles using state of shop practice are used to learn the proper use of diagnostic alignment
the art equipment. Trailer alignment is included. angles. Additional adjustment techniques and alignment system
operation are explored in both the classroom and lab environment.
Busses and RVs are discussed.
Hunter Universitys eLearning courses are designed for all student levels and can be used
as an integral supplement to instructor-led training courses. In-depth information, detailed
graphics, video and modular segments assist the participant in expanding their knowledge
base at a self-determined level. Go to www.hunter.com and click on TRAINING.
For further information about other classes offered or to schedule into a class,
simply call the Hunter Research and Training Center at 1-800-448-6848.