Wheel lock on only one per wheel: unbalanced?

[n2oinferno]

Originally Posted by Huehuecoyotl

Uh I can 'feel' a lock missing, so its not that slight!

I'm going to start a business balancing people's lug nuts. I will make a fortune with this snake oil... Er, I mean, completely legitimate practice.

[Laika]

Originally Posted by stocktc1

Is the weight difference of only putting one wheel lock on 1 wheel negligible or does it cause a problem like using a lab centrifuge without balancing the test tubes in it?

The reason you need to counterbalance a centrifuge is because the initially uneven weight is on the outer edge of the rotor. The closer inboard you get to the motor (or the hub in the case of the wheel) the less necessary it is to have perfectly balancing forces.

This is also why when you have your wheels balanced, they place the weights on the barrel on an area furthest from the hub.

Interesting question though.


Edit: Looks like this was already figured out