GT at Mecum Kissimmee
- Thread starter RJY
- Start date
FBA
GT Owner
Sinovac
GT Owner
FBA
GT Owner
OK, I'm gonna change it up a bit to NOT aggravate you; it's 21.6 actually...oh and did I tell you it still has the little round black stickers on the wheels?
GKW05GT
GT Owner
Sinovac
GT Owner
Indy GT
Yea, I got one...too
Black/Red Dots
Although this might be fun and games, some of the newbie’s may wonder what you two are talking about here.
FBA refers to the "little round black stickers on the wheels". He is correct. Prior to Ford assembling the alum wheel and the Goodyear tire, the two "pieces" were balanced separately. I believe this most probably occurred at the vendor level, not with Ford. So the wheel manufacturing vendor (BBS) determined the circumferential mass distribution of the wheel and marked the heaviest portion of the wheel circumference with a round black stick-on dot about the size of a paper hole punch. These stickers were paper backed and did not last long in a driving (or wheel washing) environment thus the line that if the wheels still had these black stickers on the rim it would indicate very little actual use.
Andy refers to “oem wheels came with red ones”. Well, that is kinda right too. Goodyear did the same type balance operation on the virgin tires after they were made. They used a reddish orange circular stamp on the outside sidewall of the tire (our tires are directional) but the Goodyear stamp indicated the “light” side of the tire circumference. I might have the heavy wheel/light tire transposed but the object of having these dots was to “prebalance” the assembly of rim and tire to capitalize on the inherent imbalance of each to help reduce the overall balance necessary for the final assembly. This type of prebalance is frequently done with aircraft tires. If you look at a FGT that happens to have OE build tires (most likely on the front) you may still see the Goodyear red stamp on the sidewall. My fronts still show the mark after 14K miles. (Rears have long since been replaced and new Goodyears purchased from a retailer do not have the balance stamp). Goodyear told me once they did this specifically at Ford engineering request.
This way when Ford mounted the two pieces and lined up the two dots (black on the rim and red on the tire) the assembly balance would be minimized and the owner would have a minimum of ugly weights stuck on the inside of his rims.
Although this might be fun and games, some of the newbie’s may wonder what you two are talking about here.
FBA refers to the "little round black stickers on the wheels". He is correct. Prior to Ford assembling the alum wheel and the Goodyear tire, the two "pieces" were balanced separately. I believe this most probably occurred at the vendor level, not with Ford. So the wheel manufacturing vendor (BBS) determined the circumferential mass distribution of the wheel and marked the heaviest portion of the wheel circumference with a round black stick-on dot about the size of a paper hole punch. These stickers were paper backed and did not last long in a driving (or wheel washing) environment thus the line that if the wheels still had these black stickers on the rim it would indicate very little actual use.
Andy refers to “oem wheels came with red ones”. Well, that is kinda right too. Goodyear did the same type balance operation on the virgin tires after they were made. They used a reddish orange circular stamp on the outside sidewall of the tire (our tires are directional) but the Goodyear stamp indicated the “light” side of the tire circumference. I might have the heavy wheel/light tire transposed but the object of having these dots was to “prebalance” the assembly of rim and tire to capitalize on the inherent imbalance of each to help reduce the overall balance necessary for the final assembly. This type of prebalance is frequently done with aircraft tires. If you look at a FGT that happens to have OE build tires (most likely on the front) you may still see the Goodyear red stamp on the sidewall. My fronts still show the mark after 14K miles. (Rears have long since been replaced and new Goodyears purchased from a retailer do not have the balance stamp). Goodyear told me once they did this specifically at Ford engineering request.
This way when Ford mounted the two pieces and lined up the two dots (black on the rim and red on the tire) the assembly balance would be minimized and the owner would have a minimum of ugly weights stuck on the inside of his rims.
Sinovac
GT Owner
AtomicGT
GT Owner
Indy GT is correct. I called Ford GT Service in March of 2008 to inquire about getting some red-orange paint applicators. I was given this address and company name and I ordered a couple of boxes of paint applicators. Have used two. Not sure if the others are dried up, but it was the orignal paint color and applicator was the correct circumference.
Akron Paint and Varnish Company
1390 Firestone Parkway
Akron, OH 44301
Ph. 330-773-8911
fax 330.773.1028
Part # D-2861 1795C Red Harmonic
still have the black wheel dots, and the red-orange paint stamps, 5000 mi.
Akron Paint and Varnish Company
1390 Firestone Parkway
Akron, OH 44301
Ph. 330-773-8911
fax 330.773.1028
Part # D-2861 1795C Red Harmonic
still have the black wheel dots, and the red-orange paint stamps, 5000 mi.
AJB
GT
FBA
GT Owner
Well, I have both - black and red as described above. Sinovac, yes, in fact it IS A ROLLBACK; I bought at from Walmart, where Rollbacks are common. It was rolled back from 21.7 to 21.6. Eat my dust....(and my red and black dots)!
maxemus
GT Owner
bret a ewing
GT Owner
- Nov 29, 2006
- 301
Generally the OEM dot on the tire is aligned with the valve stem ( heaviest part of the wheel) when mounting, thus using the least amount of lead balance weights on the wheel.
You will see the dot on the replacement Bridgestones, have your tire guy align that dot with the valve stem.
You will see the dot on the replacement Bridgestones, have your tire guy align that dot with the valve stem.
Last edited:
cobra498
GT Owner
This may not be true any more but when I was with Ford we had a process that off-set bored the wheel .005-.006" in relation to the valve stem hole, (forged wheels will not be out of balance because of the precise manufacturing process). The tire manufacturer would measure the force variation location on their tires and mark the high point with a sticker, the tires were then mounted with the sticker by the valve stem so that the slightly higher tire spring rate was cancelled by the wheel being slightly off set at that point. Tires can be in perfect balance but if the force variation is out of spec (high) the car will act like it has an out of balance tire because the tire spring rate changes as it rotates, in those days Michelin was far better at meeting force variation specs that any other manufacturer. Some times you will hear a NASCAR team say they got a "bad" set of tires, Robert Yates actually measured a loss of rear wheel HP on a chassis dyno due to a high force variation in rear tires. There would be vibration and handling issues associated with high force variation in addition to the power absorption problem.
Blue Moose
GT
Mecum site says: Lot S196 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition 2400 Miles Sold for $320,000
Also of interest: Lot S131 Ford GT Yellow w/ Black Stripes 568 miles High Bid $285,000
Also of interest: Lot S131 Ford GT Yellow w/ Black Stripes 568 miles High Bid $285,000
Xcentric
GT Owner
How much is an $8k paint job (over the cost of stripes) worth? Given, no true "heritage" is involved? I don't understand. I guess some people really really like a paint job. Yeah, I'll pay $100K for an $8k paint job.
BTW, I'm not envious. Just mystified.
BTW, I'm not envious. Just mystified.
Sinovac
GT Owner
The Heritage cars are extremely popular because of the GT40's strong association with the Gulf Oil paint scheme. Nevertheless, I am surprised they command such a huge premium. I can't think of any other cars produced in the same quantities as the Heritage cars which have a similar price premium because of a paint job alone. I believe it reflects the powerful influence the Gulf GT40s have in the minds of collectors and enthusiasts.